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Easy Weeknight Meals- Crispy Grilled Shrimp

These grilled shrimp are crispy and juicy at the same time. marinating and grilling them with the shell helps retain the juice and enhance the flavors. A light marinade of lemon, garlic, parsley, and few red chili flakes is used to flavor the juicy shrimp. This is easy to make and a light meal to serve outdoors as well as indoors. Gluten Free, Dairy Free

Crispy Grilled shrimp on a platter
Crispy Grilled Shrimp

This is a my kind of summer dish. It requires very little prep work, very little cook time and minimum cleanup. With dishes like these anyone can cook a wholesome meal – be it your teen learning to grill or your grill master aka significant other.


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I like to serve it with on a bed of salad for a quick lunch. Sometimes the grilled and peeled shrimp are served on avocado toast like in the picture below. Either way it is a quick meal or snack.

Crispy grilled Shrimp on avocado toast

Choosing Shrimp

You can use either fresh or frozen shrimp for this recipe. In either case larger varieties are good here. Select medium or jumbo varieties that contain no more than 30 per pound.

The larger varieties cook better on the grill and of course are easier to prep, especially for this dish.

Select shrimp that are unpeeled. The easy peel varieties are already deveined making prep easy. We want the skin on the shrimp as it helps the marinate seal in resulting in a more flavorful dish.

My recommendation is easy peel shrimp but if you have whole shrimp then do the following –

  • remove the heads
  • using a  sharp kitchen scissors cut across the back of the shell and remove the intestines (the  black  vein) 
  • do not the remove the shell.

Making the Marinade

The marinade used in this recipe is very simple. Minced garlic, a few chili flakes, parsley lemon, a pinch of salt, and oil makes up the marinade. All flavors complementing the juicy crustacean.

Most shrimp available in the supermarket are stored in brine at some time. This increase the amount of sodium. Unless it is fresh caught catch, keep the salt in the marinade low. Sprinkle salt on the grilled shrimp while it is warm of needed.

The few chili flakes in the recipe is there to provide a balance and not heat. Omit omit it if you are averse to chili, but don’t add too much.

The trick to getting the most flavors in the shrimp is to get the marinade in the shell. Gently open up the shells and drizzle a little marinade inside. close the shells back.

Steps to making cripsy grilled shrimp

There it is – Clean shrimp, make the marinade (May be your should reverse the order here), get it in the shell and grill !

Now you know why I chose larger varieties of shrimp !

How to Make the Juicy Shrimp

The shrimp is grilled with the shells on. There are a few advantages to this

  • Easy cleanup – you can place the shrimp right on the hot grill, the shells act like a non stick surface.
  • Flavors – Shells works as individual wrappers sealing the flavors in. This creates the maximum amount of flavors in a very short time.

Turn on the  grill  and  set  the temperature  to  high . Once it is  hot (around 400ºF), spread the  shrimp on the  grill pan and  grill for 3 to 4 on each side. When cooked the outside of the shrimp will turn pink and the inside will look white.

Easy grilled shrimp on a platter
Doesn’t that look gorgeous?!

Remove  from the grill and let it rest for a few  minutes before serving.

Serving Ideas

Serve warm or cold with a side salad and crusty bread or your choice of sides. Serve with a few lime wedges and a sprinkling of greens like scallions or parsley.

Alternately you can let it cool until it becomes easy to handle and remove the shell before tossing it into salads or wraps and such. I like to serve it with mashed avocados on crusty bread. Squeeze a little lemon on top and serve.

Crispy Grilled shrimp on a platter

Crispy Grilled Shrimp

By Syama
This shrimp recipe is quick and easy and the shrimp turn out juicy every time. Marinating and grilling the shrimp on the shells makes them stay juicy and flavorful. A light marinade is all it needs, and in under 30 minutes the shrimps are ready to serve.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 136 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb Easy Peel Shrimp Notes
  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1/8 Tsp Salt Adjust to taste (Notes)
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Tsp Red Chili Flakes To Taste
  • 4 Tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley
  • 1/2 Lemon Juiced

Instructions
 

  • Finely grate the garlic using a micro-plane or crush finely using a mortar and pestle. Mix all the ingredients except shrimp together to make the marinade. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  • Take one shrimp and carefully push open one side of the shell and place a little bit of the marinate inside, and press back to close. Repeat for the other side Do the same for the remaining shrimp.
  • Heat the grill pan or outdoor grill till it is hot (around 400°F) .
  • Place the shrimp on hot grill and grill for about 3 minutes each side . When done the shrimp will shrink a bit and change color. Serve warm .

Notes

  • If  not using easy peel shrimp check the blog for cleaning directions.
  • Most of the shrimp in the supermarket are stored in brine and have added sodium. If you are using fresh catch increase the salt in the marinade. 
  • To serve these off the shell , wait for 5 minutes after the shrimp is taken off the grill and peel off the shell.

Nutrition

Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.1g | Protein: 17.3g | Fat: 7.5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 338mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

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Originally Published Aug 2016, edited for content and pictures

Recipe Rating




Reena Bansal

Monday 6th of July 2020

By far the best shrimp recipe ever. I made this 3 times since finding this recipe and I'm reminded every time how YUMMY it is. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try it on a BBQ will do so this weekend. But if you spread the shrimp out on foil lined (no cleanup!) baking sheet on the top rack under the broiler for 4 minutes- it's still AWESOME! My son who HATES spicy food loves it and I even caught my cat stealing a piece off the plate when my back was turned. The darned cat sat there and gave us the "I'm starving to death" stare the whole time we at dinner.