Firecracker Grilled Shrimp

Firecracker Grilled Shrimp are spicy, garlicky and a little zesty from the lime. Perfect as an appetizer or a less than 30-minute dinner or on top of a crisp salad.

Why You are going to Love Firecracker Grilled Shrimp

With a glass of wine in one hand and a skewer of Firecracker Grilled Shrimp, you have the recipe for the perfect gathering. You are going to love these crunchy perfectly grilled shrimps with the delightful spicy marinade. Drizzle on a little extra freshly squeezed lime juice and you are in heaven. The only question you may want to ask yourself is, “Why didn’t I try this recipe sooner”? If you love shrimp, you may also like to try our Summer Rolls with Chili-Lime Dipping Sauce.

Do you love hot and spicy?

Grilled shrimp marinated in Sriracha hot chili sauce is one of those perfect treats for the grill.  Sriracha sauce has some punch to it but is more flavorful that just traditional hot sauce.  If you do not have Sriracha hot chili sauce, you can feel free to exchange with your chili sauce of choice. Please note your will have to adjust amounts to your desired spice level.

If you like it spicy, add 2 tablespoons of chili sauce. On the other hand, if you like it only mildly spicy, add 1 tablespoon or less of sriracha sauce to your liking. Every person has their own personal desired flavor profile. Actually, because you serve Firecracker Shrimp on a bamboo stick, these would be a great as a football tailgating treat too. What do you think? If you are keen to serving fun appetizer food on a stick, be sure to try our World's Easiest Appetizer, Caprese Salad on a Stick.

An Oldie but Goodie

We originally made this recipe in October 2011 on the grill whilst looking over the China Sea. This recipe was adapted from the recipe on the back of the Sriracha hot chili sauce in Hong Kong. As directions were only in Chinese characters, the word "adapted" or maybe "vaguely" like it might be more like it.  Thank goodness for the pictures.

Today, we are grilling our shrimp with a glass of wine in hand overlooking a beautiful garden, pond and lush greenery. Do you know what we have found out? It’s not the place that makes the difference. It’s the people you are with, your attitude and of course good food that makes the event a memorable one. That, my dear friend is the success to a happy gathering. We love preparing the whole meal outside, including the dessert. If you are in the grilling mood, you may enjoy our Grilled Nectarine and Coconut Cream for dessert.

How to Prepare Shrimp

If you plan to skewer your shrimp, soak your bamboo sticks in water for water for at least minutes. This prevents the bamboo sticks from burning while grilling.

If you have one of those cool grilling baskets that keep small food items from falling in the grill, you can just clean and prep your grill and grilling basket. You are good to go.

Make sure that you peel and devein your raw shrimp first. You can leave the shrimp tail on or off.

Do not use precooked shrimp for this recipe or otherwise it will be tough and rubbery and no wants a tough and rubbery shrimp. The effect you are going for is crunchy and juicy.

Allow your shrimp to marinate for about 15 minutes in the delicious spicy sriracha garlic sauce. Maximum up to one hour.

How to Grill Shrimp

Preheat your grill to medium heat about 350-450°F.

Grill the shrimp over direct, medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Turn your shrimp over half way though the cooking process.

Your goal is that the shrimp should be pink with a few grill marks and the inside of the shrimp should be opaque and lightly white in color. Grilled shrimp should not look translucent.

Do Not Overcook your Shrimp

If you overcook your shrimp, they will be super white on the inside and no longer crunchy but rubbery.

Perfectly cooked shrimp with look like the letter “C”. Whereas, over cooked shrimp will look the letter “O”.

C = Cooked

O = Overcooked

Delicious Ways to serve your Firecracker Grilled Shrimp

Firecracker grilled shrimp are a great appetizer along with grilled shishito peppers. Come and learn How To Cook Shishito Peppers On The Grill. Allow your guests to munch on a few Spicy Garlic Cucumber Refrigerator Pickles or Gingered Red Onion Pickled Golden Beets and add a chilled glass of wine and you are sorted.

You can also serve your Firecracker Grilled Shrimp as a main on top of a delicious salad topped with our Lemon White Balsamic Vinaigrette  or with our Grilled Shrimp Nectarine Summer Salad.

If serving  your Firecracker Grilled Shrimp as a main be sure to add our Nutty Ginger Tamari Quinoa Salad  , Favorite Provencal Ratatouille Recipe or Super Easy Grilled Asian Eggplant as a delicious side dish. It's a fabulous celebrate all of the deliciousness of the summer harvest. If you are going to be outside grilling, you might as well use the full surface area of the grill and makes some delicious nibbles.

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Firecracker Grilled Shrimp

Firecracker Grilled Shrimp are spicy, garlicky and a little zesty from the lime. Perfect as an appetizer or a less than 30-minute dinner or on top of a crisp salad.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizers/ Snacks

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 181kcal

Author: HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• ▢ Bamboo grilling sticks
  
• ▢ 1 pound shrimp
  large (16 to 20 count) peeled and deveined
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Sriracha Sauce
  hot chili sauce (adjust amount to your liking- this version is HOT so adjust as needed)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
  
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
  
• ▢ 2 teaspoon sugar
  or low glycemic sugar alternative
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic
  chopped
• ▢ Lime slices sliced - optional
• ▢ cilantro chopped - optional

US Customary - Metric

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Place bamboo grilling sticks in water and soak submerged for at least 30 minutes (This step helps prevent the wood from burning) If you have a grilling basket, you can skip this step.
• Prepare your grill. Preheat to 350 -450 degrees F.
• Get the grilling chef a nice cold drink for one hand and get the tongs ready for the other.
• Peel and devein shrimp. You can leave the tail on or off, depending on your preference.
• Add shrimp, sriracha sauce, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar or sugar alternative and garlic in a bowl. Toss well. Marinate for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. We marinated at room temperature so that the shrimp were ready for grill and will heat evenly. (If you need to hold the shrimp longer than 30 minutes, pop them in the refrigerator)
• Skewer shrimp onto bamboo stick and place approximately 3-5 shrimp on each stick depending on size of shrimp and bamboo stick. (Pierce head and bottom of shrimp on stick so the shrimp lays flat for grilling)
• Prepare the grill for cooking and set grill to 350 to 450 degrees F (176 C to 232 C). (If you do not have a grill you can use an indoor grill pan to get those nice little grill marks on the shrimp)
• Lay the firecracker shrimp skewers on the grill and cook for about 2- 3 minutes on each side until shrimp are opaque, slightly white inside and have nice grill marks. They should no longer be translucent.
• Garnish with a fresh squeeze of lime juice, lime slices and chopped cilantro, if desired. Invite your guests and family to join you to watch the sunset or to enjoy the last half of the football game. Firecracker Grilled Shrimp are delicious served with a chilled glass of Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc.

Notes

If you plan to skewer your shrimp, soak your bamboo sticks in water for water for at least 30 minutes. This prevents the bamboo sticks from burning while grilling. If you have one of those cool grilling baskets that keep small food items from falling in the grill, you can just clean and prep your grill and grilling basket and skip using the bamboo sticks. You are good to go.

Do not use precooked shrimp for this recipe or otherwise it will be tough and rubbery and no wants a tough and rubbery shrimp. The effect you are going for is crunchy and juicy. Allow your shrimp to marinate for about 15 minutes in the delicious spicy sriracha garlic sauce. Maximum up to one hour. Feel free to use another chili sauce of choice if you do not have sriracha sauce.

You will have to adjust to your heat level. If you like things mildly spicy use only 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce. We used 2 tablespoons of sriracha, and it was quite spicy. Our fresh garlic cloves were huge, so we used only 2 cloves. You can adjust between 2-4 cloves depending on how large your garlic cloves are. We used coconut sugar as our sweetener, or you can use a sugar free alternative if diabetic. You can decrease down to 1 teaspoon, if you wish but this is a nice balance between the spicy, sweet, savory and sour, if using 2 tablespoons of sriracha sauce.

Do not overcook your shrimp. If you overcook your shrimp, they will be super white on the inside and no longer crunchy but rubbery. Perfectly cooked shrimp with look like the letter “C”. Whereas, over cooked shrimp will look the letter “O”. C = Cooked O = Overcooked.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 286mg | Sodium: 1199mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 2mg

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