Andre's Barbecued Shrimp And Homemade Biscuits

Peel the shrimp, leaving only their tails attached. Reserve the shells, sprinkle the shrimp with 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning and 8 turns of the black pepper. Use your hands to coat the shrimp with the seasonings. Refrigerate the shrimp while you make the sauce base and biscuits.

To make the sauce base, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the reserved shrimp shells, the remaining 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning, the bay leaves, lemons, water, Worcestershire, wine, salt, and the remaining 8 turns black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer briskly for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for about 15 minutes, and strain into a small saucepan. There should be about 1 1/2 cups. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, and cook until thick, syrupy, and dark brown, for about 15 minutes. Makes about 4 to 5 tablespoons of barbecue sauce base.

Prepare the Buttermilk Biscuits, and keep warm.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add half of the seasoned shrimp and saute them, occasionally shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.  Saute the remaining shrimp, adding more oil as needed.

Return all the sauteed shrimp to the pan and add the cream and the barbecue base, using a rubber spatula to scrape every bit into the pan. Stir and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp to a warm platter with tongs and continiue to simmer the sauce until desired thickness is reached.  Then whisk the butter into the sauce. Remove from the heat. Makes about 2 cups.

To serve 4, allow 1/2 cup of sauce, about 10 shrimp, and 3 biscuits each; for 6 servings, 1/3 cup sauce, about 7 shrimp, and 2 biscuits.