Heat the oven
Heat oven to 425°F / 220°C and butter a shallow gratin dish.
Recipes › Shrimp DeJonghe
Shrimp DeJonghe
Chicago’s sherry-garlic shrimp gratin: a buttery, crisp breadcrumb blanket over large shrimp baked just long enough for the topping and center to finish together.
Jump to RecipeAI-generated serving illustration. It is not a photograph of a tested batch or a doneness reference.
The Recipe
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Toast the crumbs
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet and toast breadcrumbs until pale gold. Cool slightly.
Build the garlic butter
Mix remaining softened butter with garlic, shallots, parsley, tarragon, paprika, cayenne, nutmeg, Parmesan, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons sherry. Season lightly.
Make the crumb topping
Fold toasted breadcrumbs into the seasoned butter until moist and crumbly.
Arrange the shrimp
Pat shrimp dry, season lightly, toss with lemon juice and remaining sherry, and arrange in one snug layer.
Bake just to opaque
Crumble the topping evenly over the shrimp. Bake 10 to 13 minutes, just until the centers are opaque and the butter is bubbling.
Broil for color, not cooking
Broil 30 to 90 seconds only if the crumbs need more color. Rest 2 minutes and serve with bread and lemon.
OPTIONAL UPGRADE
Flavor Bomb
Keep the core recipe clean, or flip this on for one or two high-impact upgrades.
How to know it's done
Use these recipe-specific texture cues. Color and curl alone cannot establish safety; use a thermometer to check 145°F / 63°C at the thickest part for cooked shrimp.
ShrimpSense Notes
The little details that make a big difference.
The oven is not tenderizing anything
Shrimp does not benefit from extra bake time. Stop when the center is done.
One tight layer cooks evenly
Overlapping shrimp create wet spots and uneven doneness under the crumbs.
Toast the crumbs first
Pre-toasting gives you color without needing to overbake the shrimp.
Sherry is structural flavor
Use a dry sherry; it balances the butter and garlic rather than reading sweet.