Wanted: Great Grilled Shrimp Appetizer

[paulgardner]

If anyone has one, I would appreciate it.

[Richard 16]

For an asian approach: Marinate the shrimp in a mix of mirin, a little dark sesame oil, soy sauce, chili paste (or crushed red pepper), lemon grass, a little smoked paprika (yes, it's not asian but I like it), and garlic. You can add ginger too; all ingredients proportioned to your liking. Heck -- play with other combinations -- I do. I have used chipotles insead of the chile paste/ crushed red pepper and smoked paprika; that's good too.

I like to devein with the shells still on -- it takes a sharp knife or sharp scissors. If the shells are still on you can marinate for a couple of hours; if not for maybe an hour. The marinade can be reduced, strained, and used as a sauce (strong!) or a plate decoration.

[jackie de]

Here's the recipe for one of my favs. Hope you like it too---. It has all the right flavors-spicy,sweet and the dipping sauce is terrific.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

[beetlebug]

Grilled shrimp with parsley butter sauce (adapted from Let the Flames Begin)

I use giant shrimp U/15 or U/12 if I can find them.

Devein the shrimp but leave the peel on.

Combine paprika, a little bit of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper into a bowl. Toss the shrimp in and coat it well.

Throw this on the grill, about 4 minutes a side. I usually thread the shrimp threw metal skewers for ease of grilling.

Meanwhile, use the unwashed shrimp bowl and mix softened unsalted butter, minced garlic, parsley, lemon juice, tabasco sauce and worcestershire sauce. When the shrimp are finished cooking, toss them into the bowl, causing the butter to melt and all the ingredients to blend together.

Serve with lots of napkins.

[cowgirlinthesand]

My fav (especially this time of year) is grilled with some olive oil, s & p, then dipped in arugula pesto.
Yummmmmmmm!
It's the most amazing combo!

[Procrastibaker]

Mine is similar but more basic. The key, I think, is leaving the shrimp in their shells. I just skewer them, douse liberally with kosher salt, pepper and a sprinkle of olive oil then grill 'til they're just pink and their tails are curled. Yum. I usually make a remoulade or aioli for dipping.

[Veggo]

I completely agree about leaving the shrimp in the shell. They stay so moist, and finger licking is part of the experience. I use soy, lime juice, splash of Worcestershire, splash of olive oil, and LOTS of ginger. I'm getting lazy and I've started using the ginger paste; works fine. I let it mix with the shrimp for two days, shaking and flipping the tupperware 3 or 4 times a day. Less than a marinade, but more than a coating. If I use large shrimp I use 2 parallel skewers so they don't spin abound. Thin strips of sugar cane make good skewers, in which case one is sufficient.

[starlady]

I'll third that but mine is the simplest of all I take the shell on prawns and toss them in S&P Red pepper flakes nad Olive oil. Let sit as I prep the BBQ. Toss them on until done then toss them with a little more S&P and pepper flakes. Then as people lick their fingers getting the shell off it makes it's own sauce :)

[waver]

This was the one I was going to mention. It is perfect. Those guys wrote a few great BBQ books. The trick in the recipe is to use A LOT of paprika (several tablespoons full) and large crystalled salt. The one thing we do differently from the book is to use even larger shrimp (U8), which are quite a treat but also easier because they don't need skewers. Sometimes I serve the butter as dip on the side in which case I melt it completely.

[kodothedrum]

Last night, I made some shrimp on top of the stove, but they're even better grilled: marinate the shelled/deveined shrimp in a mixture of undiluted frozen orange juice and a mashed up chipotle pepper with a bit of the adobo sauce. I generally use 2-3 peppers and about 4 ounces of the juice concentrate but I love hot food, so use your discretion on how much chipotle. Boil the leftover marinade to serve with the shrimp. I also use this same marinade on pork cutlets or pork cubes. Try it. It's great.

[NYchowcook]

here's my favorite:
marinate cleaned shelled shrimp in olive oil, garlic and rosemary for several hours. Thread onto soaked wooden skewers and grill, turning to cook.

[Jennalynn]

And here's my trick... add sprigs of fresh rosemary to the water in which you're soaking the skewers. Beats those expensive flavored skewers they're selling these days.

[Deenso]

Or, if the rosemary stems are substantial, peel the leaves off and use the stems as skewers.

[starlady]

I was just going to say that!

[SLO]

Try finishing it off with some fresh lime juice ... can also decorate the platter with slices of lime, beautiful color contrast.

[chowser]

I replace the vein with a sliver of jalapeno pepper (leave a of the little seeds). Wrap in bacon secure w/ toothpick, sprinkle w/ brown sugar and ground chipotle. I broil it but I'll bet it would be even better grilled.

[DiningDiva]

Wow, that sounds fabulous. I'm definitely going to have to try that this summer.

Here's my shrimp app - I melt butter slowly with a ton of minced garlic and a juilenned chipotle en adobo or two until the garlic is seriously soft and and deep golden in color; it's finished with a generous squeeze of lime and a little salt if unsalted butter was used. I then take big shrimp, like U-12s, peeled or unpeeled and thread them on to skewers that are about 1/2" - 3/4" apart so that the shrimp won't curl when they're grilled. Brush generously with the garlic butter, baste while grilling and then serve with the remaining garlic butter as a dip for the shrimp.

[Spencer]

I like that method as well. Something I find helpful is to microwave the bacon until it becomes partially cooked, still pliable but not nearly done.
I do this because sometimes the shrimp get done before the bacon does, especially if you are grilling medium or small shrimp..