Cruisin’ through the grocery store a couple of days ago I was stopped dead in my tracks by the sign.
“Fresh Brown Gulf Shrimp – 6 Hour Sale”
They were truly fresh, plump and firm, smelled of the Gulf and were $7.99 a pound. Hot damn.
There are only a few virtues to living in exile in Texas for a few months and fresh Gulf seafood is one of them.
That night three of us downed almost a full 2 pounds – boiled with lemon quarters and Zatarain’s Crawfish, Shrimp and Crab boil. Oh my.
MaMa (pronounced Maw Maw) would have been proud.
The other two pounds were made into this simple recipe the next day – Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Apricot Chipotle Glaze.
MaMa would again have accused us of putting on the dog, though I’m sure she’d have had us throw another chipotle pepper in the glaze and eaten her fair share.
This is another one of those shamefully easy recipes that will have your guests / family clamoring for more.
And you might want to double the glaze. It’s outrageously good. On almost anything. Like even on waffles this morning, though I digress.
The Marinated Shrimp
1 cup ‘everyday’ olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
1 small lemon, sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
24 large shrimp, peeled and deveinedThe Apricot Chipotle Glaze
3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
2 chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce (more or less)
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbs honey
Juice of 1 lime (at least 3 tbs)
2 tbs olive oil
Marinate the Shrimp. Peel and devein the shrimp, rinse and drain. Combine the remainder of the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, add the shrimp, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a couple of hours (no longer). Drain.
Make the glaze. Dump all the ingredients in your trusty food processor and combine until smooth and uniform. Chill. Told you it was easy.
Grill. Preheat the grill to medium and grill the drained shrimp for approximately 2 minutes per side or until just done. DO NOT overcook.
Serve ‘em up. For an uptown presentation, spoon a puddle of glaze in the middle of a white plate and artfully place the grilled shrimp atop the glaze. Drizzle more glaze abstractly around the plate. Tell yourself how creative you are in the kitchen. Sign autographs.
Or do what we do and give everybody a small bowl of the glaze / dipping sauce and throw the pile of grilled shrimp in the middle of the table. Grab it and growl. Move fast and watch your fingers.
Enjoy.
Tags: Friday Feast
