girlinspired, Author at girl. Inspired.

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

July 1, 2020 by girlinspired Leave a Comment

I drool a little just thinking about today’s grill recipe. These are the most delicious grilled shrimp skewers with a spicy marinade and smothered with garlic herb butter. You can have these ready to eat from start to finish in less than 30 minutes.

grilled shrimp skewers stacked on white plate

Grilled shrimp are so dang good when you do them right and the trick to getting these done right is to marinate them for just a short bit to add spice and flavor, but then pop them on and off the grill quickly so that they don’t overcook! Marinating shrimp too long and/or overcooking them makes tough, chewy shrimp and there’s a world of difference between perfectly grilled shrimp and the overdone version!

grilled shrimp skewers stacked on white plate with lemon wedges and forks

Shrimp Marinade Ingredients:

1-2 lemon (about 3 tablespoons lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 pound raw shrimp

raw shrimp on skewers, bowl of olive oil, lemon, garlic head, spices on blue and white tile

You can typically buy raw shrimp in the meat department of the grocery store. Sometimes, you can even find them pre-skewered. If they are already on skewers, there’s no need to remove them to marinade; just marinade them right on the skewers. If you need to add them to skewers, go ahead and marinate the shrimp loose while simultaneously soaking skewers in water. Soaking the skewers in water will help to keep them from catching fire when they are on the grill.

Preparing and Cooking the Grilled Shrimp Skewers:

Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. You can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper for extra spicy or mild shrimp. This recipe will give the shrimp a decent kick, but not too spicy to eat or taste the other flavors. Pour the marinade over the shrimp and toss to coat them.

The shrimp should marinate for 10-15 minutes only. We don’t want to soak the shrimp too long in the marinade as the acidic lemon juice will toughen the shrimp and actually “cook” them like when we’re making shrimp ceviche.

While the shrimp are marinating, turn on the grill and heat it. Melt 1/2 cup of butter and combine it with the zest of at least one lemon, a minced clove of garlic, and a bit of freshly chopped parsley.

step by step 4 photo collage showing shrimp marinade with whisk in glass bowl, marinade poured over shrimp skewers in glass baking dish, bowl of melted butter, and brushing butter on shrimp skewers on grill

As soon as the grill is hot and the butter basting sauce is prepared, it’s time to throw the shrimp on the grill. Skewer them up if they’re not already on skewers and set them on the hot grill. The shrimp take only a couple minutes on each side to cook through. As soon as the shrimp start to turn pink and opaque, slather them on both sides with the butter sauce. Cook just a few seconds longer on each side. Remove from the grill and eat up! They are so so delicious!

Eat the shrimp skewers straight off the grill or put them over a salad or pasta dish.

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

The most delicious grilled shrimp skewers with a spicy marinade and smothered with a garlic herb butter.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Keyword: grilled shrimp skewers, spicy shrimp

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 308kcal

Ingredients

1 pound raw shrimp
2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

Zest two lemons and set aside for basting butter. Squeeze the juice from the zested lemons to use in the marinade.
Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, cayenne, chili powder, salt, and two garlic cloves to make marinade.
Toss shrimp with marinade. The shrimp only need to marinate for 10-15 minutes, just long enough to heat the grill.
Soak skewers in water while shrimp is marinating.
Turn on the grill and heat to medium.
Melt butter and mix with 1 minced garlic clove, the zest of 1-2 lemons, and fresh parsley.
Skewer shrimp and place on grill.
Grill shrimp skewers 2 minutes on each side.
As soon as shrimp begin turning pink and opaque, baste them on each side with the melted butter mixture.
Remove shrimp from the grill and eat!

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Nutrition

The Best Tri-Tip Marinade

June 29, 2020 by girlinspired Leave a Comment

This balsamic peppercorn Tri-Tip marinade is quick and absolutely delicious. Black peppercorns and red pepper flakes give the grilled steak a nice kick while balsamic vinegar and herbs provide a rich medley of flavor.

grilled and sliced marinated tri tip on wooden cutting board with veggies, paper plates and utensils, bowl of red and blue tortilla chips

Grilled Tri-tip is one of our favorite summer dinners. It’s fabulous alongside some grilled shrimp skewers and with a side of grilled vegetables or our artichoke rice salad and, of course, a nice glass of strawberry sangria. We like to buy a nice big tri-tip roast from Costco and toss it in the marinade while we’re playing out in the pool or doing yard work. Since the marinade flavors the meat in as little as 30 minutes, it’s an easy dinner to prepare. This is my go-to tri-tip recipe so I often mix up a large batch of the spice rub ingredients at once and then just take a scoop and add the oil and vinegar.

grilled and sliced tri tip on wooden cutting board with veggies, paper plates and utensils, bowl of red and blue tortilla chips

Since we are using vinegar to marinate the thick tri-tip roast, our primary goal with marination is to add flavor. Acidic marinades, such as this one, do not tenderize the meat and also do not penetrate further than the first 1/2-1 inch of the meat. 30 minutes is sufficient to get some good flavor. Marinate for 1-2 hours for maximum flavor. The marinade won’t penetrate further into the meat after a couple hours, so there’s no reason to marinate for longer and there is the chance that the acidic nature of the marinade could toughen the meat some.

Tri-Tip Marinade Ingredients:

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black peppercorns (coarsely ground)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion flakes
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pound Tri-Tip roast

How to Make the Marinade:

The tri-tip marinade is super simple to make. I like to use a gallon size Ziploc bag because it seals the juices tightly around the meat, it’s easy to turn, and there are no dishes to clean once the meat gets tossed on the grill. Make the marinade right in the bag! Measure all the dry ingredients into the bag. Then pour in the water, oil, and vinegar. “Smoosh” the bag from the outside to mix the marinade up and then place the tri-tip roast inside. Place the bag into the refrigerator. Let the meat marinate in the bag for at least 30 minutes, but 1-2 hours is best.

Grilling the Tri-tip:

After the meat has sufficiently marinated, it’s time to fire up the grill. The key to delicious grilled meat is to get the barbecue really hot before placing the meat on it. When the meat hits the super hot grill, the seared outside locks the juices in and makes the herbs and spices on the outside cook up to a nice caramelized crust. Mmmmmm. Once the tri-tip is grilling, you can turn the heat down to medium or even a bit lower and let it cook to the desired temperature. Yum!