Grilled Garlic Shrimp with Scallion Butter – Recipe!

Grilling seafood can sometimes be difficult because it’s so flaky and fresh, it tends to want to break apart.  However, with the right technique it doesn’t have to be that way.  For bigger pieces of fish like salmon or sea bass, try using a wood soaked plank or board that you can find at your local grocery store.  There’s no need for flipping the fish – it all cooks on top of the plank beautifully and tends to capture a light woody flavor, like in this recipe for my Cedar Plank Salmon.

Shrimp are a good choice for the grill because they are easily turnable and don’t reuqire much cooking time.  The key to making great grilled shrimp is to toss them in a little fresh garlic and dried seasoning before cooking – it punches up the flavor.  Also, it’s delicious to top them with butter or sauce, so I created a simple scallion butter that melts over the hot shrimp.  The flavors are mildly delightful and the spring onions pair so beautifully with the sweet seafood.

This recipe is the perfect light dinner, or serve them as an appetizer at an outdoor party on the weekend. However, you might need to double the shrimp because they go down, oh so easily.

Ingredients

12 jumbo wild shrimp

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1 scallion

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

(Serves 4)

To Prepare:

1.  Mince scallion finely.  In a small bowl, add butter and minced scallion, stir to combine.

2.  Dollop butter in center of a piece of plastic wrap.  Fold wrap over butter and mold into a small log, twist ends to seal.  Place scallion butter in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.  You can make scallion butter several days ahead.

3.  In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, paprika, salt and pepper, stir to combine.  Drizzle in olive oil and stir again.  Remove shrimp from any packaging, rinse.  Toss shrimp in garlic mixture and heat grill to 375 degrees, or light charcoal, until coals are light grey in color.

4.  Place shrimp on hot grill and cook 3 minutes on first side.  Flip shrimp over and cook on other side for 2 minutes, remove immediately.  Remove scallion butter from plastic wrap and slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces.  Scatter butter on top of shrimp.  Butter will melt quickly over warm shrimp, serve.  Enjoy!