San Pedro Shrimp Tray Recipe

The San Pedro Fish Market is well known for its exquisite seafood dishes, with locations all across the U.S. that offer a diverse range of sandwiches, chip dishes, and soups. 

They are well-loved by patrons and have been serving delicious food for over half a century now!

One of their most famous dishes is their self-professed ‘World Famous Shrimp Tray’, which is essentially a tray of jumbo-sized shrimp with a good medley of vegetables, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and potatoes paired with some delicious crispy garlic bread. 

All this combined with their signature San Pedro Fish Market Seasoning culminates into a fish tray like no other.

How to make San Pedro Shrimp Tray 

Heading to the San Pedro Fish Market to enjoy the Shrimp Tray with friends and family is a favorite pastime of patrons, but you can also make this dish at home.

Making your own San Pedro Shrimp Tray allows you to enjoy a little bit of this world-class shrimp dish from the comfort of your home. 

For this recipe, we’ll show you how to make the shrimp, the garlic bread, and the delicious sides.

You can buy the seasoning online or make your own using ingredients you probably already have at home.

Ingredients:

For the main shrimp tray (4 servings):

• 450 g of jumbo shrimp, peeled
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 2 bell peppers, sliced a little thicker
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 225g of small baby potatoes sliced in half
• 3 plum tomatoes, double quartered into 8 pieces
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 1 teaspoon of oregano seasoning (or 1 tablespoon of fresh leaves)
• 2 tablespoon of San Pedro’s popular chili seasoning mix (you can substitute this for another brand if you don’t have San Pedro on hand)
• 2 cups of broccoli (optional)
• 2 cups of seafood stock (this can be lobster or shrimp stock)
• salt and pepper seasonings (to taste)

For the garlic bread:

• 4 slices of bread, this can be pre-purchased french bread or you can make your own.
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano leaves (or you can substitute this for basic)

Instructions:

We’ll start with the shrimp dish and veggies, then we’ll prepare the garlic bread while the rest is cooking.

Step 1:

Heat the canola oil in a skillet and begin to fry the onions.

Step 2: ;

Once the onions are half cooked add the peppers and butter, cook until brown which should take roughly 8-10 minutes.

Step 3: ;

Add in the potatoes, tomatoes, shrimp stock, and chili mix seasoning.

As these are cooking add the optional broccoli florets if you wish.

Step 4:

Cook until the potatoes become soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.

Step 5:

While the potatoes are cooking, we can start with the garlic bread by melting the butter into the olive oil in a small pan.

Step 6:

Add the minced garlic and oregano, as soon as it begins to sizzle remove from the heat immediately.

Step 7:

Dip the 4 slices of bread into the garlic butter mixture and place on a cooking tray.

Step 8:

Bake in the oven at 350°F for 5-10 minutes or until the bread has browned slightly.

Flip them over halfway through to cook both sides evenly.

Step 9:

Finally, we will cook the shrimp.

This step won’t take long: add the peeled shrimp to the vegetable mix until they turn pink.

It will only take 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 10:

Serve in a bowl or on a tray just like San Pedro Fish Market’s, with the crispy garlic bread on the side.

Ingredient substitutions

The original Shrimp Tray recipe is surely the best way to get a result that tastes just like the famous dish served at San Pedro Fish Market.

However, when you don’t have the exact ingredients on hand, there are many substitutes that can work as great alternatives for the originals and help you achieve excellent results nonetheless.

1. Crab

One of the most popular alternatives is to make the same seafood tray but to top it off with a delicious snow crab (or your favorite local crab meat).

2. Fish

Another great seafood substitution for shrimp is any kind of fish that cooks just as fast and that you can just cut into whichever size portions you deem appropriate to enjoy! 

Don’t be afraid to mix and match these together too!

No rules are saying you can’t have fish and shrimp together.

3. Sausage

We’re not just limited to seafood with the meat alternatives here: if you’re not in the mood for crab or shrimp, try some tasty sausage instead.

It will work great with the seasonings used in this dish.

4. Corn

Another popular choice for San Pedro Shrimp is to add some delicious chopped and baked ears of fresh corn to the vegetable tray.

You can use the same seasoning here and it will work great.

What to serve with San Pedro Shrimp Tray 

San Pedro Fish Market offers a wide range of sides, which are all easy to replicate at home.

So no matter what you’re in the mood for there will be something appropriate to go alongside your Shrimp Tray.

Clam Chowder Soup

The perfect accompaniment to a seafood and vegetable tray, Clam Chowder Soup is easy to make and light enough to complement the dish perfectly.

Onion Rings

Another favorite amongst San Pedro Fish Market patrons.

Onion rings offer that perfect texture and taste that anyone can enjoy alongside their shrimp dish.

Coleslaw

A great refreshing cold side dish, offering that nice balance of vegetables and creamy sauce which works great both before and after your shrimp meal.

Fries

You can’t really go wrong with fries, especially if you sprinkle a little bit of that San Pedro seasoning on them.

This is another favorite side that people will often choose to accompany their tray dishes, with the soft potato matching the fried vegetables of the shrimp tray perfectly.

How to reheat a San Pedro Shrimp Tray 

This dish is, by design, meant to serve quite a few people and isn’t measured for a single serving.

So there’s a good chance you will want to save some for later. 

Luckily, it’s very easy to do so as there are no ingredients that will become spoiled in the short term.

Which makes it perfect if you need to reheat it over the next couple of days to finish things off.

How to reheat San Pedro Shrimp Tray in a pan

The main thing we are trying to do when reheating is to bring the ingredients back up to temperature without making them too oily or affecting the texture. 

To reheat in a pan you can simply add a tiny bit of oil, place all the ingredients together (minus the garlic bread), place a lid on the top, and let the temperature come up slowly.

Stir every once in a while until reheated.

The garlic bread can be placed in the oven until up to temperature.

How to reheat San Pedro Shrimp Tray in the microwave

If time is against you, you can also reheat everything in the microwave.

We suggest 3 minutes, taking the dish out halfway through and stirring the ingredients to make sure it reheats evenly.

Keep in mind that microwaving fish is never the most recommended method.

How to reheat San Pedro Shrimp Tray in the oven

Simply place all the ingredients in an ovenproof bowl or plate, cover with foil, and re-bake on medium heat until up to temperature.

How to store San Pedro Shrimp Tray

Once cooked, the vegetables will last for a while, but the shrimp will only last for up to 3 days. So be sure to finish the rest off before then!

Store in the fridge

Allow food to cool down and then either cover the whole tray in foil/cling wrap or the easier option is to pour everything into a large bowl and then cover.

Then you can simply refrigerate until you want more!

Store in the freezer

While it does make the process of re-heating much more difficult, it’s actually ok to re-freeze cooked shrimp.

Place them in a sealed container or covered bowl and freeze them.

Then place them back in the fridge for 24 hours before reheating them, to give them time to thaw.