After a recent fundraiser at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, there was so much good food that we never got around to bringing out more shrimp. The next morning several of us split the unused cooked shrimp, which made a delicious shrimp cocktail. But there is only so much shrimp cocktail I can take. I gave some away and I still had plenty left, so what can I do with all this cooked shrimp?

These were medium sized cooked shrimp and being free, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. However, the catering company that donated them is very high quality so I’m going to assume these were “good” shrimp. They certainly tasted good.

I looked online for some suggestions but I didn’t find anything I wanted to make. However my father in law said why not make them like I would baked shrimp? I would just have to be careful that they don’t get too tough from being overcooked. So that is what I decided to do, baked leftover shrimp.

Baked Leftover Cooked Shrimp

• Leftover cooked shrimp: enough for a small casserole dish
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 8-10 Ritz crackers
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Fresh ground black pepper

If needed, remove any shells and place in the casserole dish. Melt half the butter in the microwave and mix with half the lemon juice and let it cool a bit. Mix well with the shrimp. Pulse the rest of the ingredients in a food processor then top the shrimp. Since they are already cooked bake or broil them just long enough for the topping to get brown.

The Verdict

I was pleasantly surprised. Very tasty with all that butter of course and a little on the firm side, but I would not call them overcooked. It was nearly as good as the baked shrimp casseroles you see in local restaurants. If I ever find myself in a similar situation, with more cooked shrimp than I know what to do with, this will be my go-to option.