This is a simple grilled shrimp dish that is great as an appetizer, or on a Caesar salad. As I write this I realize that this will work well in quesadillas too, especially if I double the cayenne for a bit more zing.
1 lb. raw peeled shrimp (#30 is a good size), tails left on.
1 ½ limes, juiced*
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2 oz. Extra Virgin olive oil
Soak 4-5 wooden skewers in warm water while the shrimp is marinating.
Whisk the marinade ingredients together. No need to emulsify them, just mix well. Actually I think it would work quite well if you are able to emulsify this marinade, but I haven’t been able to, and it tastes great anyway.
Pour the marinade over the shrimp and mix gently. A small bowl is fine, or you can put it all into a Ziploc™ bag and squish them around until they are covered completely with the marinade. Whatever works.
Refrigerate for about an hour and then place the shrimp onto the soaked skewers. Pierce the shrimp in two places so they don’t rotate around the skewer and make you nuts when you try, and fail, to flip them on the grill.
Preheat the grill for several minutes; the hot grill will leave great looking and tasting grill marks on the shrimp. The hotter the grill, the better the flavor, so use the surface-of-the-sun setting if you have one.
Grill, covered, for a 2-3 minutes on each side. Try not to overcook the shrimp. This is the only remotely difficult part of this recipe. If you get distracted by the pretty birds in the backyard, or go inside for another drink, the shrimp will still taste good, but they’ll be a bit rubbery and not as sweet.
*Use the extra ½ lime for fresh-squeezed lime juice for the
margarita that goes really well with this dish.