Grilled Margarita Shrimp

 

Jeff Pinkham, a life-long buddy since Wooddale grade school in Edina, turned me on to this fabulous Brenda Score recipe. Jeff and I share a love of home cooking and have been slinging recipes back and forth for years. You'll find a cornucopia of Jeff's stuff in the 14 years of posts on this blog.

Brenda's recipe called for raw, tail-off shrimp. I altered this recipe, thanks to an insight from one of my favorite chefs, Bobby Flay. He always grills his shrimp with the shells on. The grilled shells infuse the shrimp with incredible flavor...much the same as grilling a lobster with the shell intact.

This forces you to peel the shrimp before you eat it, which gets the grilled marinade flavors all over your fingers. So the dining experience becomes peel and eat with your hands...and don't forget to suck your fingers! If you are a Karen and need your food to be on a fork, buy your shrimp naked without the shell and tail.

INGREDIENTS

For the Marinade

2 teaspoons tequila

1/3 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

For the Shrimp

1 pound raw extra jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), shells intact

Wedges of fresh lime to squeeze over grilled shrimp

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in as small bowl and whisk thoroughly to mix.
2. Put shrimp into a zip lock bag and add marinade. Seal. Toss to blend thoroughly and place in refrigerator for 3 hours, flipping the bag halfway through.
3. Prepare a grill for direct cooking over high heat.
4. Place shrimp on skewers. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side until shrimp are no longer translucent and have a nice char on them. See photo above. (Cooking times are based on using a charcoal grill with lump hardwood charcoal. Your mileage may vary.)
5. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.

     

Pairing: Well, duh!

RIP, Jimmy...heaven has an everlasting supply of salt shakers.