The Buffalo Shrimp Experience
Spring Break, 1997
Christy and I discovered the amazing awesomeness of Charleston, SC, during the first camping trip that we took together. Charleston is a fascinating city full of history (which I loved) and it’s very close to several beaches (which Christy loved). And the food? Well, the food is fabulous. Both of us loved that.
While we strolled along the beach at the nearby Isle of Palms, we wandered into this little shack right there along the coast. It was here, at The Banana Cabana, that our lives changed.
Forever.
It was here, inside that tiny dining establishment, that we discovered the perfect seafood dish.
The Buffalo Shrimp at The Banana Cabana was the perfect blend of fresh seafood, garlic, and spice. It was so simple. It was so delicious. It was so unlike any other shrimp dish we’d ever had. Every other Buffalo Shrimp that I’ve encountered pales in comparison. And that’s probably because the shrimp is battered and fried. It’s just not the same. At all.
Summer Vacation, 2006
When Aly asked us if she could go to a beach, we loaded up the car and introduced them to the awesomeness of Charleston. Of course, we had to make pilgrimage to Isle of Palms to partake in another dose of The Banana Cabana’s Buffalo Shrimp goodness. And it was as amazing as we had remembered.
Upon returning home, we agreed that we didn’t want to go another 9+ years before participating in the Buffalo Shrimp Experience. So we started to experiment. While I doubt the Buffalo Shrimp is exactly the same as the dish they serve at The Banana Cabana, I’m happy to say that it’s pretty tasty. It might be our favorite dish that we make at home. And it’s so simple to make.
Amazingly simple.
But that can be our little secret. Let’s just pretend that it takes hours of blood, sweat, and tears to make. Because it sure tastes like it.
Recipe: Buffalo Shrimp (Inspired by The Banana Cabana)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. shrimp – peeled and de-veined
- 3 pats (or so) butter
- minced garlic (to taste)
- pepper sauce (to taste)
Directions
1) In a medium saucepan, saute the minced garlic in butter. I used about 2 teaspoons of garlic. This can certainly be adjusted to your garlic preference.
2) Add pepper sauce to the sauteed garlic. Again, how much you use depends on how much you like hot sauce. We only use a few drops because we like our Buffalo Shrimp to have a little bit of kick without setting our mouths on fire.
3) Cook the shrimp in your butter-garlic-hot sauce mixture over medium-high heat. Cook it through, but make sure you don’t overcook the shrimp. Shrimp doesn’t take very long to cook, approximately 2-3 minutes for each side.
4) Enjoy! You can put the shrimp on a plate if you want. Sometimes, we just eat it right out of the pan because we just can’t wait!
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you eat your Buffalo Shrimp while it’s still hot!
This Buffalo Shrimp recipe is so amazingly simple that you’ll wonder why you hadn’t thought of it sooner. And it tastes so fabulous that you’ll be counting down the days until you have it again.
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