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Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Recipes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

The shrimp and sauce finish cooking together on the grill, so prepare the sauce ingredients while the grill is heating up. To fit all the shrimp on the cooking grate at once, you’ll need three 14-inch metal skewers for this recipe. Serve with grilled bread, if desired.

SERVES 4 as a Main Dish or 6 as an Appetizer

Either yellow or white onions work well in this recipe, but stay away from sweet onions, such as Vidalias, which will make the tart watery. Use a 9-inch tinned-steel tart pan. This tart can be served hot or at room temperature and pairs well with a green salad as a main course. Leftovers should be wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated. Reheat on a baking sheet in a 325-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

  • 1½ pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil for brushing skewers
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 recipe Spicy Lemon-Garlic
  • Sauce (recipe follows)
  • Lemon wedges

SPICY LEMON-GARLIC SAUCE

Makes enough to sauce 11/2 pounds shrimp. This spicy sauce gets its heat from red pepper flakes.

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
  • ¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ – ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • Disposable aluminum pan or pie plate
  • 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. FOR THE SKEWERS: Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Thread shrimp onto 3 skewers, alternating direction of heads and tails. Brush both sides of shrimp with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 side of each skewer evenly with sugar.
  2. Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until very hot, about 15 minutes. Leave primary burner on high and turn other burners to medium-low.
  3. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in vegetable oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe grate with oiled paper towels, redipping towels in oil between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times. Set disposable aluminum pan with sauce ingredients on hotter side of grill and cook with lid down; transfer pan to cooler side of grill. Place shrimp skewers, sugared sides down, on hotter side of grill; 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.
  4. Using potholder, carefully lift each skewer from grill; use tongs to slide shrimp off skewers into pan with sauce. Toss shrimp and sauce to combine and transfer pan to hotter 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.
  5. FOR THE SAUCE: Combine butter, lemon juice, garlic, pepper flakes to taste, and salt in disposable pan. Cook mixture over hotter side of grill, stirring occasionally, until butter melts, about 11/2 minutes; transfer to cooler side of grill and proceed to grill shrimp, adding parsley just before serving.