SHRIMP-IN-A-PICKLE

I love shrimp anyway that it can be fixed, but this recipe may very well be my favorite way to prepare them. I have friends who thought they would not like them and now they are as addicted to them as I am. Set them on your Holiday table with a stack of Saltine crackers and watch them disappear.

8 cups water
2 1/2 lbs. unpeeled fresh shrimp
3 medium onions, sliced
2 1/2 Tbsp. capers with juice
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 bay leaves, broken up
1 tsp. hot sauce

Bring water to a boil, add shrimp, and cook just until pink, 3 minutes should do it, no more. Drain well in colander, rinse under cold running water. Peel and devein shrimp. Layer shrimp and onion in large jar. Combine remaining ingredients, mixing well. Pour over shrimp and onion. Cover and chill at least 24 hours, 2 to 3 days is better, hide them in the back of the refrigerator, stir occasionally.
10 to 12 appetizer servings

COOKS NOTE: Be sure and use all of the ingredients called for. I have used other vinegars for instance but did not turn out as good as the original recipe. Also, break down and buy the capers, the dang lil' things are expensive but they have their own star quality in this dish.

“Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There's, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich... That's, that's about it.”-Bubba Blue in Forrest Gump