Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Grilled Garlic & Herb Shrimp – Why We Grow Our Own

Now that we all have our very own culinary herb gardens, I thought I’d post a recipe that takes full advantage. This grilled garlic and herb shrimp recipe is very easy, IF you can just walk out into the backyard, and pick a handful of your own fresh, green sprigs.

Without that luxury, you’d have to buy four different bunches, and probably only use a little of each. What a waste. However, these are so amazingly delicious, if you don’t have a garden, you should do exactly that. Then plant the herb garden. 

While you're out buying stuff, pick up a mortar and pestle, if you don't already have one. A blender or food processor won't produce the same intense flavors as this primitive tool. It's all about the compounds released by the crushing, or at least that's what I've been told.

Try to get the largest shrimp you can find, since that will allow for maximum grilling time, which equals maximum caramelization, which is where so much of the flavor comes from. So, whether you have an herb garden or not, I really hope you give these great grilled shrimp a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 servings:
*Note: I just guessed at these amounts because it’s that kind of a recipe.
2 pounds 16/20 peeled and deveined shrimp
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1/2 cup of fresh picked and chopped herbs
I used basil, Italian parsley, oregano, and lemon thyme (everything works, but be careful with rosemary, as it can be over-powering)
About 4 to 6 tbsps of olive oil, or as needed
- Use 2/3 for the marinade, and save the other 1/3 for the sauce

For the sauce:
Reserved garlic herb marinade
Red chili flakes and cayenne to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
season to taste

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John,
I totally agree about the mortar and pestle. In fact, I prefer to make my chimichurri that way! I know your recipe calls for using a blender, but I've always had the more rustic one and I love it. Great video as always,
Adrien.

Troy Howard said...

Not bad Chef. But I think you were holding back...

Unknown said...

Very nice recipe for us on a low-/ketogenic diet! Thank you Chef John!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I cannot make this video play beyond the very beginning.....

Unknown said...

That is a great mortar and Pestle. Can you tell us where you bought it?

Chef John said...

I got it here! http://www.sholiveoil.com/store/categories/STORE/OTHER-INGREDIENTS/Olive-Wood/

Juniar Tjoeng said...

Hi Chef John! I'm wondering what kind of grill you have because I'm looking for a good one to invest upon the years.
I watch all your uploads and the grilling ones are the ones I can't do because my grill is teeny-tiny. Any thoughts?

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Next day , and the video works perfectly.

Chef John said...

It's a Weber Q, but they don't make that model anymore!

LuisaCA said...

Just what I was looking for ! Especially since I bought a huge bag-O-shrimp from Costco only to find another bag-O in my freezer....
LuisaCA

Unknown said...

Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious. Only thing … didn't make enough. Next time, lots more and some crusty bread too.

Unknown said...

Chef John, I made this with Costco frozen 21-25 shrimp. Worked awesome. My wife was giving me the "I don't know about this" eye all day - as I am not a big shellfish person - so cooking this for her - I think she thought I would mess it up by not being experience with shrimp. The reason I tore into this was that we just planted an herb garden right before your post. So we had all the herbs and i wanted to see how they worked.

My one deviation from your ingredients is Cilantro instead of parsley. We love cilantro and it worked out awesome (I didn't' do too much - just a few sprigs).

Thank you for your recipes. The wife whoofed these down like a sailor on shore leave at a burger bar. I got the go ahead to make these once per week!

Unknown said...

I made this with some frozen shrimp I picked up at Sam's Club, following the recipe exactly, and it turned out way too salty. I checked the bag the shrimp came in and found that there was salt already added to them! I tried again without salt and it turned out fine. Lesson learned: check the frozen shrimp for salt!

Unknown said...

Can the marinade be made ahead and refrigerated? I need about a week for a camping trip. Thanks.i

Chef John said...

Sorry, but no shrimp will last a week.

The Revival Kitchen said...

Love your recipes! Did you say you put the garlic shrimp on Meyer Lemon Toast? You got a recipe for that?

Unknown said...

I bet this is delicioooouuuus !

Unknown said...

Once again an excellent recipe. My son said bring an appetizer for T-Day and this was it. Raining cats and dogs in the Pacific Northwest so under the broiler went the shrimp which worked out nicely. At the event, pffft, gone.

Jeff said...

I have a few perennial herbs in my garden. It's too early to plant annuals, so I am making do with thyme, rosemary(just a smidge) and Greek oregano. I do have one other herb, but I'm scared to try it in this recipe -- English and French Lavenders. Lavender smells nice and I was always hoping to use it in the kitchen some day (maybe my own herbs de provence blend?). What would you think about adding lavender to this???