Grilled Shrimp Scampi

This is one of those great things to eat that you say to yourself…all these years I could have been living large and eating shrimp this way! 

If you like Shrimp Scampi and really…who doesn’t?  And if you love the smoky flavor you get from a grill, this is a great recipe to try because you get a smoky  AND  garlicky buttery flavor from grilling up your shrimp this way.  I have a grill basket and I tell you it was made for making something like this.  I also think this has less calories than the traditional Shrimp Scampi you might order in a restaurant simply because most of the butter and olive oil in the recipe drip off as the shrimp is grilling but it still leaves all the garlicky flavor and goodness. 

Here is the recipe:

Grilled Shrimp Scampi

2 lbs. of raw, peeled shrimp.  (I use the the kind that are peeled but still have the tail shells on them.)  They need to be thawed out.

1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup), softened

1/4 cup of olive oil

4 large gloves of garlic, pressed (or 1 Tbsp….  the more garlic the better) ;)

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

Mix the softened butter, olive oil, and garlic together in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and paprika. 

Add the thawed shrimp and mix well till all the shrimp are nicely coated with the garlic, butter, olive oil mixture. 

Not very appetizing to look at but this shot gives you a good idea on how they will look before you put them on the grill. 

Preheat your grill and get it nice and hot….I have a gas grill and I brought it up to about 500 degrees with the grill basket in it so it was nice and hot when I added the shrimp.  The shrimp grills up very quickly and be careful when you add it to the basket because it will “flame” up on you because of the oil and the butter.  I used a pair of tongs and tossed the shrimp as they cooked.  And there was LOTS of SMOKE and lots of smoke is good…it adds so much flavor you will see.  They cook up quickly and you will cook them until they reach that pink peachy color.  Some will also pick up some of the color from all the smoke. 

This was so delicious.   I served it on a bed of Jasmine Rice and a most awesome salad that I will post the dressing recipe for it in the next few days.  That salad is incredible!  But that is a blog post for another day. 

This is a quick and easy dinner and it’s what I would call restaurant quality!  Enjoy if you give this one a try.