For years, I’ve avoided buying jumbo shrimp (one of my favorite oxymorons), because I’ve never known how to bring out their best. My default method—a few minutes in a small amount of simmering water—is more suited to small or medium shrimp. In my hands, jumbos handled this way become simultaneously tough and mushy on the outside before cooking all the way through. I know plenty of people who can pull this off, but I just don’t have the knack for it.

What changed my perspective on jumbo shrimp (just typing those two words together is really fun) was a closer read of Mom’s Classic Recipes, a privately printed spiral-bound compilation of Sharon Logan’s go-to recipes by her eldest daughter, Lynn. Sharon’s name may ring a bell; she’s a wonderful home cook whose pecan pie and cheesy-sausage english muffins are in my culinary repertoire for life.

I’ve enjoyed that little cookbook no end, but recently I noticed a recipe that specifically called for jumbo shrimp. Titled “Mr B’s Barbecue Shrimp,” it called for baking the shrimp—along with Worcestershire sauce, Creole seasoning, and lots of butter—in the oven just until it turns pink, which takes all of 10 minutes—just enough time to set the table and pour the wine.

Mr. B’s Bistro, on Royal Street, in New Orleans, isn’t on par with Galatoire’s, say, but it’s a place where local people go for local food, and Sharon ate there on her inaugural trip to the city. “I was on a plane to New Orleans for the very first time,” she said. “And a man got up from his seat and asked if he could sit with me. ‘I’m surrounded by children,’ he explained by way of introduction. ‘And I looked over here and saw you reading.’ ”

“Well, we must have talked all the way to New Orleans,” she continued. “One of the restaurants he said I had to go to was Mr. B’s, for the barbecue shrimp.” She paused for effect. “They put a bib around your neck.”

Barbecued shrimp New Orleans style isn’t grilled but cooked in a butter sauce spiked with Worcestershire and Creole seasoning. Sharon came across the below rendition of Mr. B’s barbecue shrimp in a cookbook she saw at an Atlanta bookstore some years later. Today, the version that appears on the Mr. B’s Bistro website calls for sautéing the shrimp in a large skillet and the butter (way more than what’s called for here) is added gradually.

I’m not sure it matters. In Creole Feast: 15 Master Chefs of New Orleans, Larry Williamson cooks his on the stovetop, while in the great River Road Recipes, published by the Junior League of Baton Rouge (since 1959), the shrimp is either broiled over a charcoal fire or baked. And in the big-hearted Cooking Up a Storm, a collection of New Orleans recipes culled from the archives of the Times-Picayune as well as readers and chefs after Hurricane Katrina, Marcelle Bienvenu and Judy Walker write that the dish originated at Pascal’s Manale, and there are almost as many versions as there are cooks. In their recipe, sent in by Maria Vicknair of LaPlace, the shrimp is broiled. “Head-on shrimp are always used in southeast Louisiana,” they note. “The fat in the heads melts and becomes the secret ingredient in the sauce.” Next time.

BARBECUE SHRIMP

Serves 2 generously as a main course (turn any leftovers into shrimp salad)

All you need with this is a baguette or other crusty bread and a big green salad to follow. Serving it in shallow, wide soup plates makes it easy to mop up every last bit of sauce.

16 unpeeled jumbo shrimp (about 1¼ pounds, or 1½ pounds with heads)

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into slices

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving

Crusty bread, for serving

Preheat oven to 425°. Put the shrimp, butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Creole seasoning, and pepper in a large ovenproof skillet or shallow baking dish and stir to combine. Bake until shrimp just turn pink, about 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and bread.