Fiery Cajun Shrimp

The original Fiery Cajun Shrimp recipe gets an update, but it's still a tasty and beloved recipe in rotation since the early 1990's.

Fiery Cajun Shrimp has been a favorite of our family since the early 1990's when I cut the recipe out of a Southern Living magazine. No, it was not created by a celebrity chef as you might think if you did an internet search of the title. That's an interesting story.

Jump to:

• The backstory
• Ingredient updates made over the years
• Tips for the Best Fiery Cajun Shrimp
• How to make it
• FAQ's
• Storing
• What to eat with your baked Cajun shrimp
• More shrimp recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• Cajun & Creole

The backstory

It was Sara's idea to cook and share Fiery Cajun Shrimp as a blog post. We typically post only original recipes that we created ourselves or have been passed down from family members, but we do make occasional exceptions.

Ritz Carlton Lodge Spicy Pecans is one that everyone loves and we clearly got it somewhere else. Bourbon-Glazed Cajun Beef Tenderloin is another that came from an older cookbook, but we're always honest about the source.

Below you'll see a photo of my obviously old, well used magazine clipping of Fiery Cajun Shrimp. I remembered it as being from the late 1980's to early 1990's, but I hoped to find out exactly when it was published in Southern Living so I began searching. First I attempted to contact Southern Living.

Lo and behold, the only references I could find using this recipe title attributed Paula Deen, via the Food Network.

So, I also reached out to the Paula Deen operation, but got no response from them either. As you can see, Fiery Cajun Shrimp originally came from Betty McLendon in Pensacola, Florida.  I set out to see if I could find Mrs. McLendon or some of her family and get the rest of the story about this recipe that we love so much.

Sara and son James both helped dig for for contact information, and eventually came up with a winner. In the end, I didn't actually speak to Mrs. McLendon who was nearly 90 years old, but she did ask her daughter-in-law to contact me.

We had a delightful conversation and I learned the following: Betty created the recipe by combining a few others. She submitted it to Southern Living and it was published in October, 1991. They paid her $10 for this recipe! She also had a few other recipes published in Southern Living over the years and was quite proud of that!

If you love reading stories about the origins of recipes and ingredients you'll want to check out Southern Food: Then & Now.

Fiery Cajun Shrimp was published October, 1991

In the meantime I had located and ordered this "Index of Recipes" from Southern Living covering the years 1979-1999. By the time it arrived I had spoken to Mrs. McLendon's daughter-in-law and therefore I went right to it, just like she said.

For a fun cocktail to have with your shrimp and a classic from New Orleans a Hurricane is easy to make and delicious!

Ingredient updates made over the years

This recipe is very similar to what many folks call BBQ Shrimp or even Louisiana BBQ Shrimp. It's my guess that Betty being from Pensacola was influenced by those dishes as they're also popular along the gulf coast.

As you can see from my cut out above, I've changed the amounts of pepper and, over the years gone back and forth between black and red (cayenne) pepper. It should definitely have a hefty portion of black pepper, but to truly make it "fiery" you would want to add cayenne as well. Adjust that according to your tastes and tolerance level for heat.

I rarely make the full 5 pounds of shrimp so I've written the recipe for two and a half pounds. Mrs. McLendon developed the original recipe with half butter and half margarine. Being butter lovers we use all butter.

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Tips for the Best Fiery Cajun Shrimp

• Make sure you have a good sharp knife for getting those lemons thinly sliced and our favorite citrus juicing tool to get fresh lemon juice quickly and easily.
• We like our shrimp to be deveined, but you must cook the shrimp with the shells on. It keeps the shrimp from drying out. Therefore, buy your shrimp deveined with the shells on or devein yourself by cutting down the back with good sharp kitchen shears and then rinse out the vein. We have an entire article on how to clean shrimp.
• Be sure to have good, crusty bread for dipping into that amazing sauce.
• For ease of clean up with a casual meal like this we like to use aluminum pans. This size works well for 2.5 pounds.
• As with any shrimp dish, the size of the shrimp will determine the cooking time. Keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.

How to make it

1. First you'll prepare the shrimp by cutting down the back and deveining. Leave on the shell and the tail (details on how to devein and clean shrimp here).
2. Thinly slice the lemons and set them aside.
3. Combine all of the remaining ingredients and pour about half into a baking dish.
4. Put the shrimp in the dish and lay the lemon slices on top.
5. Pour the remaining sauce over the shrimp and lemon and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring once about halfway through. Keep an eye on the shrimp and don't let them overcook.
6. Drain the sauce into a bowl and serve along with the shrimp and crusty bread for dipping.

FAQ's

Storing

Shrimp is always best eaten immediately after cooking if it's a recipe where it's served hot. If you do have leftovers store the sauce and the shrimp separately for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Combine them just before reheating in a hot (400 degree) oven.

What to eat with your baked Cajun shrimp

Besides the must-have crusty bread, a green salad is always an excellent choice. A few more side suggestions follow:

• Roasted Cajun Potatoes
• One Pan Smoked Mac and Cheese
• Easy Corn Souffle
• Vegetables au Gratin
• Squash Fritters (oven baked)
• Smoked Deviled Eggs

More shrimp recipes

• Blacked Shrimp Bowls
• Air Fryer Breaded Shrimp
• Easy Shrimp Etouffee
• Greek Shrimp Crostini
• Spicy Cucumber & Shrimp Salad

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