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Grilled Chipotle Shrimp

By Eva Katz

Published on April 19, 2021

Time

1 hour 10 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Grilled Chipotle Shrimp

Ingredients

¼ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce5 garlic cloves, minced1 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon table salt 2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined8 (10-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Before You Begin

For this recipe, we like using jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), but extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound) work as well, although you will need more skewers and the cooking time will be about 1½ minutes per side. We prefer untreated shrimp—those not treated with salt or additives such as sodium tripolyphosphate. Most frozen E-Z peel shrimp have been treated (the ingredient list should tell you). If you're using treated shrimp, reduce the salt in the mayonnaise mixture to ¼ teaspoon.

Instructions

  1.  Whisk mayonnaise, cilantro, chipotle and adobo sauce, garlic, lime juice, cumin, paprika, sugar, and salt together in large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat with mayonnaise mixture.
  2.  Thread shrimp onto sets of 2 skewers, all facing same direction and nestled snugly together; you should have 8 to 10 shrimp on each set of skewers.
  3. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
  4.  Clean and oil cooking grate. Place kebabs on grill and cook until lightly charred and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.
Grilled Chipotle Shrimp

Grilled Chipotle Shrimp

Headshot of Eva Katz
By Eva Katz
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Time

1 hour 10 minutes

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined
8 (10-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined
8 (10-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
2 pounds jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined
8 (10-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Why This Recipe Works

Grilling shrimp comes with one big inherent challenge: getting nice char on the shrimp while keeping them tender and moist. To prevent overcooking, we stayed away from small shrimp—using bigger specimens meant that we could keep them on the grill for a few seconds longer. We also configured the shrimp on the skewers so that they were spooning each other; this essentially made one large mass of shrimp that gave us a little more insurance against drying out. Lancing each shrimp with two skewers kept them from spinning around during flipping. To marinate the shrimp, we used mayonnaise (which contains a lot of oil) instead of oil. The mayonnaise enhanced the browning and prevented sticking, all while staying where we wanted it—on the shrimp. For a big pop of flavor, we mixed canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and spices in with the mayonnaise. These shrimp are great served as a main course, maybe even piled into warm tortillas. Alternatively, remove them from the skewers and load up a platter to serve as an appetizer for a summer gathering.

Before You Begin

For this recipe, we like using jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), but extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound) work as well, although you will need more skewers and the cooking time will be about 1½ minutes per side. We prefer untreated shrimp—those not treated with salt or additives such as sodium tripolyphosphate. Most frozen E-Z peel shrimp have been treated (the ingredient list should tell you). If you're using treated shrimp, reduce the salt in the mayonnaise mixture to ¼ teaspoon.

Instructions

  1.  Whisk mayonnaise, cilantro, chipotle and adobo sauce, garlic, lime juice, cumin, paprika, sugar, and salt together in large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat with mayonnaise mixture.
  2.  Thread shrimp onto sets of 2 skewers, all facing same direction and nestled snugly together; you should have 8 to 10 shrimp on each set of skewers.
  3. FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Turn all burners to high; cover; and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
  4.  Clean and oil cooking grate. Place kebabs on grill and cook until lightly charred and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.

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