Happy Helper's Barbecued Shrimp

	
We once amazed our neighbors by painting the exterior 
of our two-story home and all it's trim in just a few hours.  
We invited a dozen or so friends and passed out paper 
buckets and brushes.  When we were finished, we served 
a barbecue menu built around this recipe (doubled) and all 
our helpers swore they got the better part of the deal.  One
secret to this Cajun recipe is preparing the sauce a week in
advance and refrigerating it to let the flavors meld 'till the 
big day.  We recommend that you serve this one with
Granny's Hot Cajun Tater Salad from the last ARINC 
cookbook , along with some baked beans and cole slaw.

2	cups		ketchup
1	cup		water
½	cup 		cider vinegar
3/4	cup		granulated sugar
2	cloves		garlic, minced
½	cup		onion, finely chopped
½	cup		green bell pepper, finely diced
½	cup		celery, finely diced
¼	cup		fresh parsley, finely minced
1			lemon, rind and juice
¼ to ½ tsp.		liquid hot pepper sauce 
			(Trappey's preferred, 
			Tabasco -or- similar okay)
1½	T.		Worcestershire sauce
1½	tsp.		liquid smoke
½	tsp.		dried basil
½	tsp.		dried oregano
½	tsp.		ground cinnamon
1	T.		bacon drippings
			salt (to taste)
5	lbs.		large shrimp, peeled 
			and deveined

To prepare the sauce:
A)	In a 3-quart saucepan, combine all the ingredients
	through the bacon drippings.  Cook, uncovered, 
	over medium heat, stirring frequently, until contents
	are reduced to 1 quart (4 cups), approximately 35-50
	minutes.  Sample and salt to your taste.
B)	Allow the sauce to cool, then cover and refrigerate 
	for 1 week before using.

To barbecue the shrimp:
A)	Allow the sauce to come to room temperature, then
	place it and the shrimp in a large bowl and marinate
	1 hour.  Stir the shrimp in the sauce once/twice 
	during the marinating period.
B)	While the shrimp are marinating, prepare the grill.
	When the fire is ready, position the rack 4" above	
	the heat source for high-temperature grilling.
C)	Place the shrimp in a hinged wire grill basket if you 
	have one (preferred for browning) -or- spread the 
	shrimp evenly on a rack prepared from foil (poke 
	holes for ventilation).  Allow them to cook for 1 minute,
	then brush them with the barbecue sauce and turn. 
	Brush them again with more sauce.  Shrimp cook
	quickly, and should be ready within five minutes.

NOTE:	Shrimp prepared on the foil will tend to steam in
the sauce that collects on the foil and may take a little longer 
to cook fully.  Shrimp prepared in the basket will brown a
bit more (and require more attention during grilling to prevent
burning) presenting a more-traditional Louisiana texture.  The
baskets are great for this recipe but really shine for grilling 
fish - where they greatly simplify the matter of turning this fish 
& will hold softer-flesh fishes together better through the grilling 
process.  The same sauce works very well for fish-just skip 
the marinating step & brush it on during cooking.