Ten ingredients and twenty-seven minutes for two sandwiches. The shrimp are cooked first and separately.
Nothing is served with it. No dip, no soup, no side — the plate is the cut sandwich and the parsley that went in with the shrimp.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooking the shrimp in garlic butter first means they are done before the griddle stage.
- Layering cheese above and below holds whole shrimp in place when the sandwich is cut.
- Two cheeses give both a stretch and a clean white melt.
- Medium-low heat browns thick bread through rather than scorching it.
- A minute of rest lets the cheese set enough to cut without sliding.
Ingredient Notes
- Raw large shrimp
- Eight ounces, peeled and deveined, cooked until pearly, opaque and firm. Large is what keeps them whole and visible in the cut face.
- Provolone and mozzarella
- Four slices and half a cup. Both melt white; the provolone frames the shrimp and the mozzarella is the stretch.
- Thick-cut white sandwich bread
- Four slices. Thick-cut holds a heavy filling and gives the deep even gold the finished sandwich shows.
- Butter, in two places
- A tablespoon for the shrimp and garlic, and a tablespoon softened for the bread. Different jobs, measured separately.
How to Make It
Garlic butter, shrimp to pearly and firm
Season shrimp lightly. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet, add garlic, then cook shrimp until pearly, opaque, and firm. Stir in parsley and remove from heat.
Cheese, whole shrimp, cheese
Butter one side of each bread slice. Layer provolone, whole cooked shrimp, mozzarella, and another slice of provolone on the unbuttered sides.
Medium-low until deeply golden
Close the sandwiches and griddle over medium-low heat until the bread is deeply golden and the white cheese melts and stretches.
Rest a minute, cut, nothing alongside
Rest 1 minute before cutting. Serve without soup, dip, chilli, cream cheese, or side dishes.
Why the Cheese Goes On Both Sides
Whole shrimp in a sandwich have a structural problem: they are round, heavy and slippery, and a cut sandwich will drop them. The order below is the recipe's answer, and it is why there are two cheeses rather than one.
The bread - buttered on the OUTSIDE only
2 of 4 slices of THICK-CUT white sandwich bread per sandwich, with a share of 1 tbsp of softened butter on ONE side each. That buttered face goes down on the griddle; everything below is built on the unbuttered side. Thick-cut matters twice over - it carries a heavy filling and it takes the time needed for a deep even gold.
Provolone, first
1 slice laid directly on the bread. It melts into the crumb and becomes the floor the shrimp sit in rather than on - which is the first half of the answer to shrimp sliding out.
The shrimp - WHOLE, and already cooked
Half of 8 oz of large shrimp, cooked separately in 1 tbsp of butter with 2 minced garlic cloves until PEARLY, OPAQUE AND FIRM, then finished off the heat with 1 tbsp of parsley. The shrimp stay whole rather than chopped, and cooking them first is what makes that possible - the griddle stage is timed for bread and cheese, not for raw seafood.
Mozzarella, over the top of them
A share of 1/2 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella, scattered directly onto the shrimp. This is the stretch in the finished sandwich, and it fills the gaps between round shrimp so the layer above has something continuous to bond to.
Provolone again, then the second slice
1 more slice to close. Four cheese surfaces in total - two provolone and one mozzarella layer between them - and every one of them melts WHITE. No orange cheese here, which is what a cheddar would have given.
Griddled on MEDIUM-LOW until deeply golden and the cheese stretches, then RESTED 1 MINUTE before cutting - long enough for the melt to set around the shrimp. Served with nothing: step 4 rules out soup, dip, chilli, cream cheese and side dishes by name.
Success Tips
- Take the shrimp off the heat as soon as they are firm; they cook again on the griddle.
- Keep the pan at medium-low — thick bread needs time to colour through.
- Rest for the minute before cutting or the filling slides out.
Serving Ideas
Two sandwiches cut and stacked on white plates, the thick-cut bread deeply golden, whole pink shrimp visible in the cut face under stretching white cheese and chopped parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I chop the shrimp?
No — they go in whole. Whole shrimp visible in the cut face are part of what this sandwich is.
What is served with it?
Nothing. Step 4 rules out soup, dip, chilli, cream cheese and side dishes.
How do I know the shrimp are done?
Pearly or white, opaque and firm. That is the cue rather than a time or a temperature.
