Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp

Easy to make and easy to love, Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp is a great way to celebrate summer and make a delicious meal in minutes.

Grilled. Garlic. Butter. Shrimp. The name of the recipe alone has all the best food words, right? How could you not love it?

Now factor in that Grilled Garlic Butter Shrimp is super simple to make—with just a few, mostly on-hand ingredients—and it comes together in minutes. How could you not adore it???

But because the recipe is so simple, quality ingredients and a perfect cook can really make a difference. So let’s break it down.

Shrimp, Glorious Shrimp

As any regular visitor to COOKtheSTORY knows, I love shrimp. Juicy, tender, and flavorful, it’s delicious in so many recipes, from alfredo to fried rice.

Shrimp is also quick-cooking—so it’s a busy cook’s best friend. For that reason, I almost always have some on hand. I recommend frozen because the shrimp are frozen right on the boat when they’re caught, making it about as “fresh” as you can get.

Often I even cook it straight from frozen—but for this recipe, because the shrimp are skewered, you’ll need to thaw it first (here’s how).

A Cooking Sauce That’s Also A Dipping Sauce

There’s only one sauce here, and it’s made with—you guessed it—garlic and butter. Some gets brushed onto the shrimp as it’s cooking and the rest gets served at the table for dipping or drizzling.

(Note that the sauce gets divided, though, so the batch you serve at the table isn’t the same as the one that’s had the basting brush going back and for the between the sauce and the raw shrimp.)

One key to the sauce is setting it aside for a few minutes after the butter melts. This allows the garlic to infuse into the butter, becoming not just butter with garlic—it’s garlic-flavored butter. I like to add some red pepper flakes for a little warmth, and that warmth infuses into the butter, too.

Another key is to chop the garlic pretty finely, because smaller pieces will more easily release their flavor. I like a garlic press for that, but a fine chop with a knife will work as well.

A Short Time On A Hot Grill

As I mentioned earlier, shrimp cook quickly. So if you grill them on a not-very-hot fire, they can get overcooked on the inside before they get any of that deliciously smoky charring on the outside. With a medium-high fire, though, they’ll get some charring and be perfectly cooked.

Add a crisp green salad and some warm bread and a perfect summer meal is served.

Enjoy!

Christine :)

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