Pickled Shrimp Y'all

Is what we've been up to tonight.

That's some sexy shrimp.

We are going to a party tomorrow.  We're from the South.  Our reaction to "no need to bring anything" is this.  It's our way of putting on our party shoes.

How do we make it?  Glad you asked...

For 2 Quart Mason Jars Full

3 lbs. shrimp (boiled for no more than a minute and a half, just enough to get them pink)
1 white onion, sliced thin
bay leaves
4c olive oil
8 lemons, juiced and zested
1T celery seeds
1T mustard seeds
1/2T ground mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
1T Kosher salt

Whisk together all of the ingredients from the olive oil down.  Taste this and add whatever you think you aren't tasting enough of.  Layer in the jar the onion, a couple of bay leaves, shrimp, the onion...until you get to the top.  Whisk your pickling liquid again.  Pour it over your shrimp (stopping to whisk it again) and refrigerate overnight.  If you can remember turn the jar upside down and back again every so often b/c the acid will sink to the bottom and the oil will congeal on the top.

If your party is on a hot summer day, serve it in a bowl nested in another bowl of ice.  With some toothpicks.  And napkins.

If you have any leftover, eat them w/in a day or the shrimp get stringy.  Chop 'em up w/ some of the onion and mix with a little  Duke's for a shrimp salad sandwich.

We suspect that instead of the bay leaves, tarragon or fresh curry leaves might make an interesting twist.  We totally forgot to pick some before it got dark, so we'll have to try it out the next time.  Up here, once these Yankees have some of our pickled shrimp they are always requesting we put on our party shoes.  There will ALWAYS be a next time.