Before cooking with shrimp, one must be sure to peel and clean the shrimp. (The only exception is that boiled shrimp are not peeled or cleaned.) To clean fresh shrimp, first pull off their little heads. (I know this sounds barbaric, but trust me! It's necessary!) Next, peel the shell off the shrimp's body and pinch off the tail. You will then see a black line running along the shrimp's back. You don't have to remove this line, but most of us down here do, just because it looks prettier with the line removed. The black line should be removed with a small, sharp knife.
One of the ways we Cajuns most enjoy eating shrimp is boiled. This is probably the simplest way to cook shrimp, but many will agree that it is also the tastiest way to eat them!
To boil your shrimp, first boil a large (we're talking a couple of gallons here!) pot of water which has been seasoned VERY WELL with onion, salt, black pepper, red (cayenne) pepper, celery, garlic, and sliced lemon. (Or you could search your supermarket shelves for a prepared shrimp seasoning mix. A particularly good one is Zatarain's Shrimp and Crab Boil.)
When the water has reached a boil, drop your shrimp into the pot. Be sure that all the shrimp are covered with the boiling water. You might also want to add a few small potatoes, peeled onions, or ears of corn to the boiling water to eat with your shrimp. Let the shrimp boil for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove them from the water and allow them to cool.
The proper way to eat boiled shrimp is with a large group of good friends. You should put the boiled shrimp out on a table covered with newspaper...(That's right, directly onto the newspaper!) Then everyone stands or sits around the table drinking beer and peeling and eating boiled shrimp.
Many people enjoy dipping their boiled shrimp into a mixture of equal parts of ketchup and mayonnaise, with a few drops of hot sauce added.
Peel and devein uncooked shrimp. Make a dark roux with the flour and 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the shrimp to the roux for a few minutes before it is finished, stirring constantly. Set aside.
Smother okra and onions in oil. Add tomatoes when okra is nearly cooked. Then add water, bay leaf, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add shrimp and roux. Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes.
If okra is not used, add gumbo filé after turning off heat.
Serve over rice. Serves 6 to 8.