Belizean Grilled Shrimp

My dear wife caught a great sale on these monstrous 10/12 count JUMBO shrimp. I knew I had to do these babies proud, so I went with my version of the chili lime marinade that we first had at Wish Willy’s in Belize.

1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon hot sauce (preferably Marie Sharp’s)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 lime, about 1/4 cup

Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients, except the shrimp, and give them a whirl until they are well-combined.

Put the shrimp in a freezer bag and cover with the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for as long as it takes to get the grill going.

Set your grill up for a direct cook over high (500°F) heat.

Put a veggie tray or grill pan on the grate and let it heat up for about 10 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the marinade and put them into the pan. Reserve the marinade.

Grill the shrimp until they are pink and curly – about 3 to 5 minutes a side. Remove to a bowl and top with the reserved marinade.

The Verdict: ★★★★☆
The shrimp really took on that lovely Caribbean blend of tangy/sweet/hot/salty/spicy. Each bite was a big burst of flavor, but nothing got overwhelmed.

The only change I would have made was to cook them just a little more – they were so big that even though the outsides had picked up a bit of char, the insides were a little underdone. If I get a bunch this big again I might skewer them together tightly so they cook more like one big piece of meat.

Keep watching those sales, honey!

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