I stole this recipe for Lemon Garlic Shrimp from a cookbook called Cottage Life’s Summer Weekend Cookbook. This is a great recipe for anytime you want shrimp. What makes this recipe is the lemon garlic baste that the shrimp is marinated in prior to cooking. Lemon juice, olive oil, lemon zest, minced garlic and seasoning make up the baste. Shrimp marinates for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The recipe is actually for shrimp kebabs to be cooked on a grill. But I have cooked the shrimp in a skillet instead of assembling the individual kebabs.
May 10th is National Shrimp Day and making Lemon Garlic Shrimp is a great way to celebrate (to see more Food Holidays click National Food Holidays).
“You don’t mince words. Just garlic.” – Joan Bauer, American writer (see more quotes in the Quotes tab)
Assemble the lemon garlic baste: in a bowl add 2 cloves minced garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp basil, grated zest from 1 lemon, the juice from that lemon and ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Whisk to combine all of the ingredients.
Rinse 2 lbs deveined shrimp in cold water, dry thoroughly, and pour the Lemon-Garlic Baste over the shrimp.
Mix to coat all of the shrimp with the lemon garlic goodness.
Set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature or 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Soak wooden skewers in water while shrimp marinates. When ready place shrimp on skewers.
Heat grill or grill pan on medium, oil grill or spray generously with non-stick spray. Place skewers on hot grill or grill pan. Cook 2-3 minutes per side. (Cooking time will depend on size of shrimp. Check after 3 minutes; the shrimp should be opaque and tender.)
If you want to cook in a skillet, cook over medium heat about 2-3 minutes a side.
Serve shrimp hot, seasoned with salt and fresh lemon juice.
Or serve directly on the skewers.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
A quick easy shrimp dish made special with a lemon garlic baste. These shrimp can be grilled or sautéed. A dish for a few or easily adjusted for a crowd.
Ingredients
Kebabs:
- 16 large fresh shrimp
- Lemon Garlic Baste
- 4 green onions
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- Salt
- 1 lemon cut in wedges
Lemon-Garlic Baste:
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ lemon zest, grated
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Kebabs:
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Remove shells from shrimp, leaving the tails attached if you like. Cut down the back of each shrimp to remove the black intestinal vein. Rinse deveined shrimp in cold water, dry thoroughly, and coat well with Lemon-Garlic Baste. Set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature or 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
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Trim the green onions and cut each into 3 pieces. Assemble 4 skewers, alternating shrimp and green onions and finishing with a tomato.
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Brush assembled kebabs with Lemon-Garlic Baste and place on a hot oiled grill. Cook about 2-3 minutes a side. (Cooking time will depend on size of shrimp. Check after 3 minutes; the shrimp should be opaque and tender.) Serve shrimp hot, seasoned with salt and fresh lemon juice.
Lemon-Garlic Baste:
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Combine ingredients and set aside for 10 minutes or so to allow flavors to blend.
Recipe Notes
I don’t assemble the kebabs. I use the lemon-garlic baste to marinate the shrimp and either grill or cook the shrimp in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I squeeze the lemon I zest for the Baste, into the Baste mixture. I also use basil instead of thyme, I like the way basil works with shrimp and I normally have basil in the pantry. Also feel free to add a couple of shakes of Old Bay Seasoning mix, if you have it in your pantry.