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1
Fill a medium stockpot with 2 quarts of water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
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2
Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.
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3
When the salted water boils, turn off the heat, add the shrimp, stirring them once or twice to distribute them and cook until uniformly pink-opaque and just done, about 1 minute.
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4
With a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the ice bath.
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5
Reserve 2 cups of the shrimp-cooking liquid in a medium bowl.
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6
With the slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate lined with a double thickness of paper towels.
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7
(Dont dump the ice bath yet!)
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8
Add the vinegar, lemon juice and chile to the bowl with the shrimp-cooking liquid and whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the sugar until dissolved.
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9
Set this bowl of brine in the ice bath (add more ice to the bath if needed) and whisk until the liquid cools to room temperature.
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10
Dump the ice bath and use the cold large bowl to toss the shrimp, onion, fennel slices and fennel fronds.
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11
Pour the cooled brine over the shrimp.
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12
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour, tossing once, until chilled and ready to serve.
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13
(Pickled shrimp will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 days.)
