After these plump up from a quick brine, and cook in their shells, they'll eat more like peel-and-eat lobster tails than plain old shrimp. Serve this alongside grilled steak, and it'll be not only a great respite from the meat's richness, but it'll give you a surf-and-turf experience, which for me was one of the most exciting things to get at a restaurant when I was little.
Ingredients
8 servings
Cocktail sauce:
Brine:
Step 1
Stir together all of the cocktail sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight for the flavors to develop.
Step 2
Combine all of the brine ingredients in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Cut the lemons in half, squeeze the juice into the brine, and add the whole lemons as well. Stir in the garlic, followed by the ice.
Step 3
For each of the shrimp, using a paring knife, cut along the curve of the back of the shrimp, and remove the vein, keeping the shells intact. Clip the feet off with a small pair of scissors.
Step 4
Place the shrimp in the brine and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Step 5
Preheat all grates of a well-oiled charcoal or gas grill to medium.
Step 6
Remove the shrimp from the brine and lightly pat dry with paper towels.
Step 7
In a bowl, toss the shrimp in the canola oil.
Step 8
In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and chives. Set aside.
Step 9
Place the shrimp on the grate, close the lid, and grill for 4 minutes. Flip to the second side and grill for 4 minutes.
Step 10
Remove from the grill and immediately place in the bowl with the olive oil mixture, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
Fresh horseradish is available in many markets and is worth seeking out. If you can't find it, the sauce won't have that extra punch, but it'll still have great flavor. Use additional bottled horseradish to taste.
Leave a Review
Reviews (36)
Back to TopDelicious!
Anonymous
Toronto, ON
4/26/2017
我做了如此多的变化,我的评论not be that helpful. Still I'm posting because I was so pleased with the brining aspect of the recipe. I didn't have access to the grill in the rain, so broiled these instead. I left them brining much longer than the recipe called for and was worried they would be overly salty, but overnight in the fridge turned out just fine. In future I would brine them for less time so I could add salt to the olive oil and herb coating at the end. I'm not a fan of ketchup, so decided to just flavor the olive oil and chive mixture a bit more. Added fresh horseradish grated very finely, a healthy dose of lemon zest from the two lemons, much more pepper and a larger amount of fresh chives. Also added juniper berry and crushed bay leaves to the brine. It turned out delicious in spite of the absence of the grill, but mainly I'm keeping this recipe so I can play with it more. The greatest flavor was in the shrimp shells, so I'll hope to be able to grill next time. I'll brine for a shorter time to be able to add good sea salt at the end. And am thinking shallots and maybe fresh tarragon would be a nicer addition to the olive oil mixture at the end. Still no desire for the cocktail sauce. I was impressed with what the brine did for tenderness--just less impressed with how it impacted the natural sweet flavor of the shrimp. Hopefully less time in the brine per recipe will fix that.
kalexandr
Los Angeles, CA
1/25/2017
I made this for a thanksgiving appetizer and everyone including me loved it. I used smaller fresh pink Key shrimp and so only grilled for 2 minutes per side. I did not have any chives so I used 2 medium sizes shallots instead. I'll try this with the chives but I'd encourage that everyone try shallots because I believe it balances well with the lemon. Delicious and I know from the raves I got that this will be a do-over and one of my go-to receipes for shrimp cocktail.
Cleve1960
Pensacola FL
11/27/2015
Brining the shrimp really plumped them up. Delicious. The only problem with the recipe as written is about putting them into the lemon oil-chive mixture after grilling. Shells should come off first so I thin it is better to dip twice: first in that mixture and then in cocktail sauce.
salenak
New Jersey
7/1/2015
Love this recipe!! Followed the directions and it was so good, I have made it for my friends and family again and again. It's a winner!
rbelove
Corona del Mar, CA
2/8/2015
Made according to the recipe. Fantastic!!!!!
ndavis2502
Alexandria, VA
4/13/2014
Served at a neighbor potluck function with rave reviews from everyone. I added smoked paprika to the brine, and used real maple syrup instead of sugar also in the brine. Instead of BBQing at medium, I got my weber nice and hot and did 3 minutes a side, knowing that the 20 minutes between pulling them from the grill and laying out on my neighbors buffet would finish them off just right. I also subbed coconut oil for canola oil in the pre-grill tossing, with good results although initial grill flare ups did occur at first, adding a nice char, which is appreciated by many BBQ fans. Otherwise a propane grill would provide for a cleaner taste if you prefer.
dmskyline
santa cruz, ca
9/2/2013
This is a great grilled shrimp recipe. I usually grill with shells on, but only had peeled shrimp in the freezer. They were still awesome. I also forgot to take the cocktail sauce to the party. While the sauce is good, it was not missed. I will try it with shells on and serving the sauce next time.
nikkib91460
Seattle
3/24/2013
I was very disappointed with this recipe. The one glaring note that stood out above the rest is the overwhelming taste of lemons! There was no balance in this dish at all. I will stick with my beer- and herb-poached shrimp from Pierre Franey's The Seafood Cookbook ... a thousand times better!
Anonymous
Philadelphia, PA
1/13/2013
Fantastic! I used 2 lb of 16-20 ct prawns and grilled them about 3-4 min each side. They were very tender and moist. We're a casual bunch so everyone just stood around the bowl and peeled and dipped together. Messy but tasty! A few pointers: half the cocktail sauce recipe is plenty, using only bottled horseradish is a time saver and more likely to be in the pantry, and overnight brining works well if that is more convenient.
lisakk
Issaquah, WA
8/6/2012
Excellent and simple! Made these for July 4th BBQ. I brined the shrimp four about 6 hours, then used bamboo skewers when grilling the shrimp. I would recommend peeling the shrimp before you add the oil/chive mixture (otherwise it's a mess for the guests to peel). All our guests agreed that we didn't need the cocktail sauce as the shrimp were tasty without it. Delicious!
Wine4Me
Hermosa Beach, CA
7/11/2012
I made this twice. The first time I forgot to use the olive oil, lemon and chives. It was pretty good, but I think it is much better with it, which I remembered to add the second time. I broiled the shrimp in the shells but removed the shells before putting them in the olive oil mixture. Then I stirred them to coat and drained the rest before serving to keep it a little less messy. I served a group of friends and they loved it.
Anonymous
Folsom, CA
6/6/2012
I made this Saturday night for a birthday dinner for my husband. It was incredible and all of our guests loved it. The only change I made is that I left the shrimp in the brine overnight and drained it the next morning. I left it in a bowl in the refrigerator until we grilled it that afternoon.
paulabell
St. Louis, MO
6/5/2012
These brined shrimp were perfect! Not sure if it was the brining or the cooking in the shell or the combination, but these are fantastic! Yes, you could easily make half the cocktail sauce and have plenty. Enjoy.
kimba_lane
San Francisco, CA
5/30/2012
盐水是这道菜的关键。After cooking and then adding to the olive oil mixture gives it excellent flavor...just remember you can add all kinds of great herbs. Served this for a clients Sunday luncheon with a mix green salad of fresh spinach and watercress, sliced avocado, korean pear slices and my favorite go to dressing...Hendriksons sweet italian olive oil and vinegar dressing. This is a keeper and really very easy.
grillerdude
Kansas City
4/2/2012
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