Barbecue shrimp help

[wolfie]

A local supermarket has a sale on shrimp (56/65 size, easy-peel, uncooked), which looks perfect to bring to a friend's BBQ party. I was planning on setting them up on skewers, but need some advice on cooking them.

- How long per side? A major brand of seafood has garlic and herb shrimp skewers (shrimp are roughly the same size as these) listing 3-4 minutes per side.

- Peel before or after cooking? The seasoned shrimp above are peeled, another brand of shrimp skewers that I saw in the store was unpeeled (and Captain Obvious had struck - there was an allergy warning "contains shrimp").

- As-is or marinate? What is a good marinade for shrimp, and how long would I soak them for?

Thanks for the advice.

[draggar]

IMO 56/65 is a little small for a BBQ but great for a cocktail or appetizer. The best shrimp for cooking is under 30 a pound, colossals (about 10 per pound) are the best (but quite expensive).

If they're frozen put them in a collander or strainer thaw them with COLD running water. Wait until they are frim but not frozen. (I doubt fresh gulf or Maine coldwater shrimp would be on sale now).

But, I would say maybe 5 minutes on one side then maybe 1-2 on the other over medium heat for this size (our information seems right). They'll turn pink when they are cooked.

Peeling - your choice. Before and do it under cold runing water and also devein them. This way it is easier for the people eating them - leave the tail shell on.

Marinate - that's up to your choise. BBQ is good but at a cookout it may be overdone. Lemon pepper is good and refreshing. Teriyaki if you want to spice things up a bit. Maybe let them sit for at least 30 minutes soaking.

BTW - shrimp is not easy to cook. Cook too little and it's undercooked and can give you some digestive issues (most likely nothing too serious). Overcooked and it's rubbery and doesn't taste good.

[Frantic Freddie]

I'm with draggar on the size,they're a bit small but doable.Don't use regular BBQ sauce it's too powerful for shrimp,you want something light.Melted butter with spices like garlic,cayenne,ginger or Old Bay would be good,just brush on right before cooking & a little during.

As far as peeling since they're the easy peel they're already deveined,peel 'em before you skewer them & like draggar said,leave the just the tail on.

It's really easy to overcook shrimp,so watch 'em closely,as soom as they're pink & semi-firm take 'em off the heat,most of the time they'll continue to cook for a bit so keep that in mind.
When I do boiled shrimp I immediately dump 'em in a bowl or bucket of ice water to stop 'em cooking but you don't want to do that with grilled shrimp,just set 'em on something that'll hold 'em off the plate so the air can circulate.

Yes,I cook a lot of shrimp even though I live in the high desert

[draggar]

HOW COULD I FORGET OLD BAY??

Yeah, do that, lightly sprinkle it while they're on the grill or before you put them on.

[Kogarashi]

I'm no shrimp expert, but when we had shrimp kabobs a couple weeks ago for our Sunday barbecue, I just soaked them overnight in lemon juice, then sprinkled them with pepper after skewering them. The ones I got were "Large" size pre-cooked pre-peeled shrimp from the frozen section, so it's doable. They were a bit larger than the shrimp in the pre-assembled shrimp-and-cocktail-sauce trays. We grilled them until they were darker than before, with some grill lines on them.

I'd peel before seasoning/skewering too, if yours still have most of the shell on. We had some at a recent barbecue that hadn't been peeled beforehand, and it was a bit frustrating since the shells were greasy and seasoned and got all over our fingers while we were trying to get at the more edible part. Tails are up to you. If they're going to be eaten right off the skewers, go ahead and remove them, but if the shrimp are going to be removed from the skewers before eating, leave the tails on for convenience.

Dangit, now I want shrimp.

[Kittish]

I like lime juice with a bit of fresh ground pepper and maybe just a touch of seasoned salt as a marinade for uncooked shrimp. Set them to soak an hour or two before you plan on cooking them. You can marinate them skewers and all. Peeling them before putting them on skewers is a definate must for me.

4 minutes or so per side sounds about right, but be sure they're not on the hottest part of the grill or they might get a little scorched.

Edit: correction

[AccountingDrone]

- leave the tail shell on.

*NO* do not leave the damned shells on. people will realize they are shrimp without them, and then they wont have tiny little tail bits to have to dispose of.

Tail shells left on shrimp makes Baby Jebus cry

[Frantic Freddie]

I just soaked them overnight in lemon juice, then sprinkled them with pepper after skewering them.

Then you had ceviche in the morning,no need to cook them after that.

[Kogarashi]

Then you had ceviche in the morning,no need to cook them after that.

Huh, didn't know that counted as a dish itself.

I wanted the grilled taste of them, though. But we did have two shrimp that wouldn't fit on the skewers we had, so I ate those as-is.

[wolfie]

Thanks everyone for the info. Looks like the consensus is peel before cooking, and some combination of lemon, pepper, and garlic for the marinade, with colour change being the "it's done" timer.

[lordlundar]

4 minutes or so per side sounds about right, but be sure they're not on the hottest part of the grill or they might get a little scorched.

To add to this, try indirect heat. Have the heat primarily on one side and let the grill heat up, then put the shrimp on the other side. Takes longer, but it's tougher to screw up.

[Jester]

Don't use regular BBQ sauce it's too powerful for shrimp,you want something light.

I am going to heartily disagree with that.

Don't get me wrong, a light butter sauce is great with shrimp. But barbecue sauce DOES work with shrimp, especially if you want something spicy and go for a spicy barbecue sauce. In that vein, buffalo shrimp is also awesome.

Barbecue: Something with a smoky taste that will just add to the flavor. You want sweet, but not overly sweet, as some BBQ sauces are. Coat them in the sauce and let the grill do its magic. For those who disagree with me, remember, anything coming off of a grill goes great with barbecue. ANYTHING.

Buffalo: Season them with a little salt and/or pepper, grill them naked, then toss them in the buffalo sauce. Serve with bleu cheese and/or ranch dressing for dipping.

*NO* do not leave the damned shells on. people will realize they are shrimp without them, and then they wont have tiny little tail bits to have to dispose of.

Tail shells left on shrimp makes Baby Jebus cry

I disagree with this also. Leaving the tail shells on actually provides a handy-dandy handle for people to grab the shrimp by, which is absent if you de-shell the tail.

As for the actual cooking part, watch the shrimp carefully, if this is your first time grilling them, as it seems to be. As has been said, over- or under-cooking them can be disastrous, though to be fair, they are not as delicate as scallops in that sense. Also, you can either put them right on the grill rack if you want a nice grilled sear on them, or you can put them in the upper rack to slowly cook indirectly. It all depends on what you want, but either one would work. For a barbecue, though, I'd be more likely to go on the main rack, right above the flames, especially if you decide to go with the barbecue sauce.