Shrimp-Boulette
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Shrimp Boulette

This is another bayou creation, which my 93 year old mother-in-law taught me.  Have you ever had them?

Step by step photos follow the recipe!

Shrimp Boulette

  • 2 pounds shrimp (cleaned, de-veined if you desire)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 parboiled potato
  • green onion tops (optional)
  • Cajun Seasoning or you can use . . . (optional)
  • tsp -1 . cayenne pepper
  • tsp -2 . salt
  • tsp -1/2 . black pepper
  • 2 tsp . baking powder
  1. Process the onion and garlic, fine, and put in a big mixing bowl.
  2. Peel the parboiled potato, cut into wedges, process, and put in the same bowl.
  3. Finely chop the green onion and add to mixture in bowl. (If your kids don’t like to see green in their food, these can be omitted without harming the recipe!)
  4. Stir together.
  5. In a large food processor, slowly add the shrimp while processor is running. Add the seasonings and 2 tsp. of baking powder while it’s running too.
  6. Add the seasoned ground shrimp to the veggies in the mixing bowl.
  7. Mix with spoon or hands.
  8. Heat oil in shallow skillet on medium-high.
  9. Using a medium sized spoon, scoop up ball shapes of shrimp batter, and drop into skillet.
  10. Brown on both sides.
  11. Drain oil from skillet.
  12. Pour about a half cup of water in the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring the bottom of the skillet making a nice brown sauce.
  13. Turn the heat to low, replace boulette in the gravy and cover to steam, stirring occasionally.
  14. Boulette will steam through and become a nice brown color when they are done.
Make sure to pre-cook your rice & white beans!

Shrimp Boulette Ingred.Ingredients for Shrimp Boulette:
2 pounds shrimp, cleaned, deveined if you desire
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 parboiled potato
green onion tops (optional)
Cajun Seasoning (optional) or you can use . . .
Cayenne Salt, Pepper, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

and then the secret ingredient, which I have never revealed before . . .
Baking Powder2 tsp. baking powder – no lumps

A food processor of some sort makes preparation go a lot faster.  I used to use one of these . . .

Food grinderfor grinding everything in this recipe, but it got rusty and I was too lazy to try to de-rust it for this meal.  Besides, my family was starving for this meal and could not wait for me to do so.  I used the electric one, instead.  Actually, I used two.  A small one for the garlic and green onion.  A large one for the rest.  Here we go!

1) Process the onion and garlic, fine, and put in a big mixing bowl

2)Peel the parboiled potato, cut into wedges, process, and put in the same bowl

3)Finely chop the green onion and add to mixture in bowl.  (If your kids don’t like to see green in their food, these can be omitted without harming the recipe!)

Veggies mixed

Stir together.

Processing shrimp

In the large food processor, slowly add the shrimp while processor is running.  Add the seasonings and 2 tsp. of baking powder while it’s running too.

Now add the seasoned ground shrimp to the veggies in the mixing bowl.  Mix with spoon or hands.

Browning the bouletteHeat oil in shallow skillet on medium-high.  Using a medium sized spoon, scoop up ball shapes of shrimp batter, and drop into skillet.

Browned bouletteBrown on both sides.  Drain oil from skillet.  Pour about a half cup of water in the skillet and bring to a boil, stirring the bottom of the skillet making a nice brown sauce.

Steamed bouletteTurn the heat to low, replace boulette in the gravy and cover to steam, stirring occasionally.  Boulette will steam through and become a nice brown color when they are done.

Make sure you have your rice cooked.

FAvorite riceThis is my favorite.  If you need a lesson in cooking rice bayou style, just let me know!

White beansMake sure your fresh white beans are cooked, too!  I’ve already shown you how to make those!

There’s just one photo missing from this recipe–this meal served up in a plate.  Everyone was so hungry by the time this meal was ready, I totally forgot to take a picture.  You’ll either just have to use your imagination or make some boulette, rice, and white beans yourself!

Comments on this meal will be entered in a random drawing for a gift from Community Coffee.  Not sure what we’ll give away this week, but it will be nice!

So, do you think you might try this recipe?

Let me know!

BW

 

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46 Comments

  1. Nice nice nice….Kind of like shrimp hush puppies? Whats the dark things in the rice? Capers or rosemary or???? Jambing tonight I think.

  2. I’ve heard of Boulette, but had no idea what it was. I’ll have to put this recipe in the “Gotta try this” file. One question though. Is the rice for the beans, Boulette, or both?

    1. The white beans go on top of the rice. The way I cook them, they are more like a “bean gravy”!!! And then you can put the boulette on top if you like, or on the side. Steffi, some folks just deep fry them and forget about the steaming part. You might want to try them both ways. They are good either way!

  3. Oh My Goodness………this sounds absolutely
    FANTASTIC!
    And a cup of hot Black Coffe and maybe
    peach pie served much later in the evening to a
    group of friends all gathered ’round!

    Thank You for being so generous w/your adventures and recipes!

  4. Hey this is just for the male readers….. google boulette… that’s a blogger right there…..

    Medium grain? Why not long? I like Zatarain’s best but confess to brown rice most of time. Health nut in me. I heat it in pan with olive oil stirring constantly before adding water. Boiling out of the pot, you know?

    Maybe these are closer to boudin sp? balls?

    Gyro’s tonight but bayou stuff tomorrow.

    1. Blu, this is bayou comfort food and we’re not looking for the nutrition in the rice, my friend. But it amazes me that somehow they knew years ago that beans and rice were a complete protein, even without the shrimp. And no, I don’t think these are anything like boudin balls. Medium grain rice because bayou people like their rice sticky, substantial, so it sticks to your ribs. We’re not concerned with every grain standing as a separate individual! To each his own personal preference, ya know? Brown rice certainly is healthy and has its place in modern cooking!

  5. I will definitely be trying these!! I wish I had some raw shrimp but, all I have is packaged, pre cooked.
    And yes, since some of us are not familiar with the bayou method of cooking rice let us in on the secret too please!

    Got a long drive in the am to go to a family reunion so, will wait a few days to try these. I know that tomorrows meal will be all country food with a lot of garden vegetables and probably fried chicken, bbq brisket/venison, fried quail and possibly some fresh, fried frog legs. And of course all of those homemade cakes and pies from my husbands aunts and cousins. Those ladies can sure cook.

  6. My Vietnamese work buddy’s wife has all these amazing ball/dumpling/roll things that involve some way sticky rice. I tried a kelp, black fish?, black mushroom thing that was hard to swallow from sticky.

    Late for bike ride then kayaking then cooking…..

    Passed a cobbler recipe on…. berries are in season here.

  7. Took a trip to Grand Isle yesterday for the Tarpon Rodeo weigh-in. Saw lot’s of fish but the 334 lb. blue marlin was the crowd pleaser. Bought some really nice shrimp on the way home and boiled some of them. Just might give the boulettes a try. My wife Deborah is the 5 star chef in our home. She cooked a deer stew to serve over pasta when the kids come home next weekend and she’ll prepare a corn, shrimp and crab chowder. Maybe she’ll let me post the recipe.

    1. Mmmmmm. The corn, shrimp, crab chowder is a real winner!!!! Feel free!!! I’ll even get her something from Community for a recipe like that!!!!

  8. I have got to stop reading these posts right after getting to work! I am so hungry now and I know nothing in our kitchen here is going to be as good and that just frustrates me!

  9. I can’t wait to try this one. We’re eating at home more and enjoying it even more. I need easy recipes DH can fix while I’m laid up (or is it down) with knee surgery. This sounds like something neither one of us could mess up! Thanks.

    1. Hi Susie! Hope all goes well with the knee surgery. And I hope your DH can cook better than mine!!! That is a rare treat, which I’m sure you know! Best Wishes from BW!

  10. Can these be made with crawfish tails? I was digging in the freezer last night and found a package of uncooked, tail meat with fat.
    I seem to remember purchasing it to try to make some crawfish pies. (Got any recipes for them?) But, it was placed in the freezer and was lost until the hunt for some chicken. Never did find that chicken either. I think it is on another shelf.

    1. Cammy, it’s late and I don’t have time to find the link on the blog for you, but do a search in the bar up in the header for “shrimp stew” and that is what you should make with the tails. It would be much better than the boulette. I promise!!!

  11. I am surprised, these are the first I have seen made with potatoes instead of rice and no egg binder. Since there is no ground starch (wheat/corn flour), what does the baking soda work on?

    1. That is a very good question! Maybe we should add a little flour, then? My mother-in-law will not eat eggs, and she is the one who taught me, that is why the eggs are absent!!!

  12. BTW long ago while in school I always attended Lagniappe on the Bayou in Montegut and have tried since to make Boulette as I have had there. I have tried rice and bread crumb combinations. All different meats and seafoods involved, but maybe potatoes are that missing ingredient.

    Thawing out a bag of shrimp now.

    1. Hey Lagniappe on the Bayou was in Chauvin, not Montegut. I love Montegut but we can’t give them credit for the best bayou festival there ever was. I am from Chauvin and was attending St Joseph Catholic School when we started Lagniappe on the Bayou. So many great memories and awesome food.

  13. Mais Cha, make sure you write down all those recipes, after 93 years she knows what she is doing.

    Excellent recipe, I put in too much potato and floured the balls before frying, my bad. Which I would have started with bacon fat to brown also.

    As I am sure folks will always want my new recipe, I promise to always give credit to you and your mother-in-Law.

    So whats next? I have a freezer full of shrimp. LOL.

  14. I had these on a plate lunch special in Chauvin, Louisiana while working there after the Katrina disaster. They even served them with the white beans, yummy!

    1. Well, thanks for coming down and helping out, Terry! Now you can make your own! And the recipe for white beans is somewhere on this blog, too!!! Come back any time. Lots of S. La. memories here! BW

  15. I just finished mixing everything together. Can you freeze the mix if you don’t want to cook the whole batch?

    1. I never have tried to do this, but I guess you could, especially if the shrimp were fresh and not pre-frozen!

      1. Yes, you can freeze them. First, I shape them into balls, then add them onto wax paper on a cookie sheet. Place that in the freezer for about 30 min. to 1 hour to get the outside partially frozen. Then place them in a zip lock bag or vacuum sealed bag to finish the freezing process. When I’m ready for them, I just take them out and add them to a plate to semi-defrost for about 15 min., then start your wonderful cooking process.

        This is my go to recipe for shrimp boulettes. I love them. Tastes just like my grandma’s.

  16. I make these from time to time, but I roll the boulettes in flour and fry with a little olive oil. then I add a little water to make a wonderful brown gravy. I’ll be trying your recipe. Thanks for posting.

  17. I had this about 30 years ago in Laffette, La. Loved it, but never was able to find recipe. Thank you so much. Wednesday’s dinner.

    1. Well, then, I’m so glad you ended up here! Did you see this linked to on Facebook? Is that how you found the recipe! Welcome to the bayou, and I hope your family loves these tonight!

    1. Hi Clara J. Where is the WEGO and what does it stand for? It’s not near here, so I’m not familiar. I hope you and yours enjoy this bayou recipe!

    1. This was an older recipe that hadn’t been “carded” yet…and now it is! Simply use the print button on the recipe card and enjoy!

  18. I fried them and put that and smoked sausage in a spaghetti sauce. I drained the excess moisture from the shrimp overnight and coated them with flour so I could form them into shrimp balls. It was really good. This is the best recipe I’ve found, smells like the pow wow.

    1. Smells like the pow wow! An interesting twist on shrimp spaghetti! Sounds delicious! Thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your creation with us. Might have to try this some time. Where are you writing from? And which is your current sir name–Billiot or Comeaux? Great hearing from you. BW

  19. Haven’t tried these yet. My Mom made the best shrimp boulettes and these appear similar. Without a doubt I feel sure these are quite tasty.Thanks

  20. My Mom steamed her boulettes in a colander after frying them and before making the gravy for them and it puffed them up a bit and made a better presentation. She did hers like meatballs, round and I’ve noticed that most people flatten them out before frying. I prefer them in the meatball shape. Thanks again.

    1. Hi Godfrey and welcome! Steaming them is a great idea too. I don’t flatten mine out, as you see. If so they’d be more like a shrimp pattie!! Thanks for your input.