The Home Cook: Spicy Barbequed Shrimp Skewers

I really like seafood. A lot. But for a decidedly landlocked girl this can cause problems. Mostly, that unless I'm searching for it in just the right places it comes in only one of two states fried or fried in tempura batter. Now to start off there is nothing wrong with fried shrimp, it can on occasion be quite yummy. But more often than not, fried shrimp is lacking a certain...decent flavor. Usually when the waitress places that plate heaped fried golden shrimp and fries in front of me I delve in excitedly until I realize the only thing I'm tasting is either A) oil or B)that nasty Cod wedge the shrimp was fried with. Eww. In the last few years find myself disdaining any form of fried shrimp in favor of its' steamed, broiled, sauteed or grilled counterparts. I've been eating a lot less shrimp.

Until, now anyway. I've come to embrace the frozen, uncooked ez-peal bag o' shrimp. Coming in a variety of sizes semi-fresh shrimp is now at my fingertips. Now I just need to figure out the best way to cook them. We've steamed them and on Sunday I broiled them. Originally they were supposed to be grilled on skewers, but my recent purchase of bamboo skewers seems to have gone MIA somewhere in my teeny-tiny house. (I'm starting to think the kitchen is the new Bermuda triangle...but that's another post.) Grilling also presented problems because the grill is buried deep with in the back shed and because it still gets dark at 5:30. (We don't have a light on the patio, also another post.) So after 30 or so seconds of deliberation, the broiler seemed like the way to go. I also knew that the shrimp needed to have a somewhat Cajun edge, since Tim was asking for "something like Bennigan's Cajun Shrimp Skewers". With my Cajun directive I turned to the one person I thought could handle it...Emeril.

I shudder to recall it, since I find Emeril's show a bit more than grating, fortunately for him he knows how to cook. After trudging through Foodnetwork.com, I came across this recipe for some very tasty looking shrimp skewers...a few tweaks later (using dried herbs and substituting Tabasco for the jalapeno that was not on hand) and it was ready to go. From start to finish supper was prepped and served in 30 minutes.

Spicy Barbequed Shrimp Skewers

from FoodNetwork.com, Emeril Lagasse

1/4 cup Vegetable or Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon minced Garlic

1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme

1 Tablespoon chopped Cilantro leaves, plus more, for garnish

1 Jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Light Brown sugar or Honey

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1 Lime, juiced

2 pounds large Shrimp, peeled

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the shrimp and the relish mix well to combine. Add the shrimp to the seasoning paste, and toss to thoroughly coat with the seasoning mixture. Let the shrimp sit in the seasoning mixture while you prepare the grill. Prepare a grill and thread the shrimp onto 4 or 6 metal skewers (depending on their size)*. Place shrimp skewers on the grill and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp turn pink and are lightly charred on both sides. Do not overcook!

*If you don't have metal skewers for grilling, bamboo skewers will work just fine. Simply remember to soak them for at least 30 minutes in warm water before threading them with ingredients, this will keep them from burning.