Easy for Weekday Grilling: Garlic Shrimp

Sometimes during the week, we get so busy that we think we may not have time to cook on the grill. I personally love grilling and I love the taste of charcoal in my food, so I’m always trying to find easy and quick recipes that can be done using the grill during a weeknight.

Even though I’m busy and worried about deadlines and emails, lighting the grill and listening to the sound of charcoal burning helps me calm down and disconnect with work and my worries. My wife calls it my “man cave”.

Usually my go-to is to do steak. I just love steak, but I have to look for variety for my kids’ sake! In the hunt for easy weekday recipes that I can do for my family, I thought of doing grilled shrimp when I was at the supermarket. This one is easy and fantastic! My family and kids loved it so much. And, it was pretty quick, what took me the most time probably was mincing the garlic (and you can actually use minced garlic instead!). You will want to do them every week!

The shrimp with the flavor of the charcoal grill, a little charred and a little smoky, will make an amazing dinner you will want to repeat every week. Combine it with some grilled veggies like corn, peppers, squash or zucchini.

I got two kinds of local shrimp. Key West shrimp, it had a sweet flavor to it, and shrimp from the Gulf of North Florida. 

Video Recipe

Directions

Preparing the Shrimps (at least an hour before grill time):

1. Wash the shrimp thoroughly and pat with some towel paper to dry. If you prefer, you can butterfly it, to do that, make a cut along the back. Butterflying shrimp helps them cook more evenly and offers a pretty presentation.
2. Place the shrimps in a medium bowl, then add the oil and the lemon juice.
3. Combine well the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, paprika and sugar and dried basil. Add this mixture into the bowl and toss around the shrimps so they are all covered, and finally add the minced garlic and toss it again once more. 
4. Let the shrimp marinate for at least an hour, ideally overnight to absorb all the flavors.

Grilling the shrimps:

1. When you're ready to grill your shrimps, light your grill and set it for searing at medium heat, at about 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grill the shrimp about 4-5 min per side. Flipping once. You know the shrimp is done when it slightly starts curling, don’t cook them until they have curled up all around, just watch the slight curl of the tail, the nice pink color and take them off and sprinkle with lemon juice. You don’t want to cook them until they are all closed off and round because they would be overcooked!

If you try this, let me know how it goes!

It is my hope that with the FOGO Life videos I inspire you to grill more, during the week and during the weekend! To inspire you and help you get creative and know that you can do anything on the grill!