Tequila Lime Grilled Shrimp

Looking for a great meal on hot summer night? Get out of the kitchen and fire up the grill. Now get your hands on some wild-caught, American shrimp. Got shrimp? Go ahead and peel and devein them. I love my Toadfish shrimp tool for the task. One pass and your shrimp is clean and veinless.

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This one gets a little heat from a seeded and diced jalapeño pepper.

Remove the seeds and stems before dicing the pepper.

Now it's time to marinade the shrimp. Place them into a 1-gallon zip top bag. Add the juice of 3 limes, the tequila, some honey to balance the tart lime juice, the zest from one of the limes, a jalapeño pepper that you seeded and diced, some red pepper flakes (let your heat preference guide you here, remembering that there is already a diced jalapeño in the marinade), and your favorite seafood seasoning.

The zest of a fresh lime really kicks up the marinade flavor.

For me, that is J.O. Maryland Seafood Seasoning. While I go with JO #1 or #2 on my steamed blue crabs, I like the all purpose Seafood Seasoning on shrimp and fish.

Try this Maryland style seafood seasoning for a different flavor style.

This family owned Eastern Shore business has been making good seafood seasonings for generations. They know fish. Now move the shrimp around in the bag to blend everything. Seal the bag and place it into the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour. Don’t go much longer than an hour or the acid in the lime juice will “cook” the shrimp and cause them to be chewy after grilling.

Marinate the shrimp for 45 to 60 minutes.

The next step is to slice some limes. These line the bottom of a disposable aluminum grill pan if you want to avoid dishes, or an aluminum cake pan if you just enjoy standing at a sink full of soapy water.

Line the bottom of a pan with sliced limes to make a bed for the shrimp.

Once you have the limes sliced and in the pan, drain the marinade from the shrimp and spread them over the limes in the pan. Try to keep them in more or less a single layer. Now give everything a good shake of the JO Maryland Seafood Seasoning.

Place the pan on a pre-heated grill at 350 degrees. Grill for 20-30 minutes or until the shrimp are just cooked through and not overcooked.

Grill the shrimp until just cooked through and not overdone.

I like to serve these in a couple of ways. For an appetizer, I just set the pan on the counter next to a cup of toothpicks and let my guests spear a shrimp or two as they walk by. For a main course, I serve the shrimp over cilantro lime rice and spoon over some of the juice from the bottom of the pan for added flavor.

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