Which Spices Go Well With Shrimp? Old Bay, Garlic, Chiles, Paprika, Dill and Lemon

Shrimp has a sweet, briny flavor of its own and cooks in minutes, so the seasonings that suit it are ones that work fast: garlic and chiles in hot oil, a spice blend shaken over the pot, or fresh herbs and citrus at the end. The pattern shows up across very different cooking traditions, from Chesapeake Bay to Madrid, Louisiana, Thailand and Jamaica. This page covers the core seasonings, five named recipes side by side, and how to tell when shrimp is done. Quantities appear only where a named recipe gives them.

At a glance

The core seasonings and what each does

Old Bay: the Chesapeake blend

Old Bay began as a crab seasoning. Baltimore Heritage records that Gustav Brunn created it in 1939 at his Baltimore Spice Company, across from the city’s wholesale fish market, and that sales picked up after he gave samples to local crab steamers.² McCormick, which bought the rights to the original recipe in 1990,² now sells it as a seafood seasoning.¹

McCormick’s label lists celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices including red pepper and black pepper, and paprika; the rest of the spice list is not disclosed.¹ A common claim names mace as an Old Bay ingredient; the label does not confirm it. Using it in a shrimp boil, in the coating for fried shrimp or in cocktail sauce are common uses we suggest rather than ones a source documents. See Old Bay vs. Creole seasoning.

Garlic: the base

Garlic leads in gambas al ajillo, which Saveur calls a classic dish from Madrid, simmering shrimp in olive oil laced with garlic and chile.⁹ In José Andrés’ version he slices 4 cloves thinly and fries them gently in ¼ cup of olive oil before the shrimp go in.³ The Cook’s Illustrated chicken and shrimp jambalaya uses 5 cloves among its aromatics.⁴ In our judgment, garlic works best with shrimp when it cooks just long enough to turn fragrant and is not allowed to brown hard. See garlic vs. garlic powder.

Chiles: heat

Andrés adds 5 dried árbol chiles to the garlic oil and 2 more to his brava sauce.³ The jambalaya uses ¼ teaspoon of cayenne.⁴ McCormick Science Institute lists seafood among the foods red pepper adds heat and bite to.¹⁰ Fresh chiles such as jalapeño work too (our suggestion). See red pepper flakes and jalapeño powder.

Paprika: color and sweetness

Andrés finishes his brava sauce, which goes into the shrimp, with 1 tablespoon of sweet Spanish pimentón.³ See paprika and smoked paprika.

Lemon: brightness

Andrés adds 5 tablespoons of lemon juice along with brandy once the shrimp begin to change color.³ McCormick suggests its lemon pepper for seafood, stirred into melted butter or olive oil and brushed on while grilling or broiling.⁵ Lemon zest gives aroma without the acidity of juice (our note). See lemon pepper.

Dill: the Scandinavian route

Katzer notes that in Scandinavia fish and shellfish dishes are usually flavored with dill.⁶ Britannica describes dill’s flavor as warm and slightly sharp, somewhat reminiscent of caraway.¹¹ America’s Test Kitchen classes dill as a delicate herb to add at the last minute,¹² which suits shrimp’s short cooking time. See cooking with dill.

Blackening seasoning

Blackening is tied to Paul Prudhomme. Britannica records that he opened K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans’ French Quarter in 1979 and describes his blackened redfish as made by dredging redfish fillets in butter.¹³ His own company, Magic Seasoning Blends, dates the dish to March 1980 and describes fillets dipped in melted butter, coated with his spice blend and cooked in a cast-iron skillet heated to about 600°F.¹⁴ The company does not list the blend’s ingredients,¹⁴ so any claim about what “blackening seasoning” contains is a description of other cooks’ blends, not his. The same method works on shrimp (our note; neither source covers shrimp). It produces a lot of smoke, so ventilate well (our advice). See Cajun seasoning and Cajun vs. Creole seasoning.

Five shrimp dishes side by side

Hank Shaw notes that Jamaican curry powder uses more allspice and turmeric than Indian curry powders.⁸ These are the named cooks’ recipes, not a house standard. See jambalaya spices, cooking with lemongrass and Jamaican curry powder.

Doneness and safety

FoodSafety.gov’s guidance for shrimp is visual: cook until the flesh is pearly or white, and opaque.¹⁵ The FDA describes the same sign, flesh that becomes firm, pearly and opaque, and says most seafood should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F.¹⁶

Related

• Best spices for salmon
• Best spices for tilapia
• Old Bay seasoning
• Thai spices