Charcoal-Grilled Shrimp Skewers
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 6, 2012
Yield
Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as an appetizer
Ingredients
Before You Begin
The shrimp and charmoula sauce finish cooking together on the grill, so prepare the sauce ingredients while the coals are heating, then carry them out to the grill with you. To fit all of the shrimp on the cooking grate at once, you’ll need three 14-inch metal skewers. (Wooden skewers will likely burn.) Serve with grilled crusty bread brushed with olive oil as an appetizer; add rice salad or couscous for a main course.
Instructions
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread shrimp onto 3 skewers, alternating direction of heads and tails. Brush both sides of shrimp with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one side of each skewer with sugar.
- Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build modified two-level fire by arranging coals to cover one-half of grill, piling them about 3 briquettes high, leaving other half empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush.
- Set disposable aluminum pie plate with sauce ingredients over hot side of grill and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 1 1/2 minutes; transfer plate to cooler side of grill. Place shrimp skewers, sugared sides down, on hot side of grate; use tongs to push shrimp together on skewer if they have separated. Grill shrimp, uncovered, until lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip and grill until second side is pink and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Using potholder or oven mitt, carefully lift each skewer from grill; use tongs to slide shrimp off skewers into pie plate with sauce. Toss shrimp and sauce to combine and transfer pie plate to hot side of grill; cook, stirring, until shrimp are opaque and fully cooked, about 30 seconds. Remove from grill, add remaining sauce ingredients and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Yield
Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as an appetizerIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Great grilled shrimp—tender, moist, and flavorful—are hard to come by. Usually, they’re overcooked and rubbery, giving the jaws a workout, thanks to their quick cooking time and the high temperature of the grill. Grilling shrimp in their shells can guarantee juiciness, but the seasoning tends to be lost when the shells are pulled off. We wanted tender, juicy, boldly seasoned grilled shrimp, with the flavor in the shrimp and not on our fingers.
Our decision to go with peeled shrimp for this recipe meant we had to revisit how we traditionally grilled shrimp. First we eliminated brining, which created waterlogged shrimp and hindered caramelization. Then we set the shrimp over a screaming-hot fire. This worked well with jumbo shrimp, but smaller shrimp overcooked before charring. With jumbo shrimp costing as much as $25 per pound, we decided against them. They did give us an idea, though. For our next step, we created faux jumbo shrimp by cramming a skewer with several normal-sized shrimp pressed tightly together. Our final revision was to take the shrimp off the fire before they were completely cooked (but after they had picked up attractive grill marks). We finished cooking them in a heated sauce waiting on the cool side of the grill; this final simmer gave them tons of flavor.
Before You Begin
The shrimp and charmoula sauce finish cooking together on the grill, so prepare the sauce ingredients while the coals are heating, then carry them out to the grill with you. To fit all of the shrimp on the cooking grate at once, you’ll need three 14-inch metal skewers. (Wooden skewers will likely burn.) Serve with grilled crusty bread brushed with olive oil as an appetizer; add rice salad or couscous for a main course.
Instructions
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread shrimp onto 3 skewers, alternating direction of heads and tails. Brush both sides of shrimp with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle one side of each skewer with sugar.
- Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, or about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build modified two-level fire by arranging coals to cover one-half of grill, piling them about 3 briquettes high, leaving other half empty. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush.
- Set disposable aluminum pie plate with sauce ingredients over hot side of grill and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 1 1/2 minutes; transfer plate to cooler side of grill. Place shrimp skewers, sugared sides down, on hot side of grate; use tongs to push shrimp together on skewer if they have separated. Grill shrimp, uncovered, until lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip and grill until second side is pink and slightly translucent, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Using potholder or oven mitt, carefully lift each skewer from grill; use tongs to slide shrimp off skewers into pie plate with sauce. Toss shrimp and sauce to combine and transfer pie plate to hot side of grill; cook, stirring, until shrimp are opaque and fully cooked, about 30 seconds. Remove from grill, add remaining sauce ingredients and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Key Equipment
Keep Exploring
0 Comments