Spicy Shrimp Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Grill/Barbecue

by: Helen

July26,2009

4.6

34 Ratings

  • Prep time 4 hours
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves a bunch of shrimp

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Author Notes

This is dead simple, and totally delicious. I tend to grill up millions of them, take them off the skewers, pile them on a platter, and stick a few toothpicks on. People get the idea pretty quickly, and they disappear... I like them good and spicy, but you can adjust the amount of Sriracha as you'd like. - Helen —Helen

Test Kitchen Notes

We love Sriracha's heat, which is warm, lasting, and assertive without being overbearing. Helen combined the hot sauce with a few everyday ingredients -- olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, sugar and cilantro -- to create a sublime marinade for shrimp. The oil and sugar give the marinade some viscosity so it doesn't just season the shrimp but clings to it. But it's the sugar that makes this dish -- on the grill, the sugar caramelizes, giving the shrimp a laquered feel, and its sweetness balances the kick of the Sriracha. Buy some beer or Tequila. - A&M —The Editors

  • Test Kitchen-Approved
  • Your Best Shrimp Recipe Contest Winner

What You'll Need

Watch This Recipe

SpicyShrimp

Ingredients
  • 1/3 cupSriracha
  • 1/3 cupolive oil
  • 1 teaspoonWorcestershire Sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 handfulcilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoonsugar
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 poundslarge shrimp (16 to 20 count), peeled and deveined
Directions
  1. Mix together the Sriracha, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cilantro, and sugar. Season aggressively with salt and pepper. Put in a 1-gallon plastic bag, add the shrimp, and mix together in the bag. Marinate in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours. Or longer.
  2. Heat a grill. Skewer the shrimp (4 to 6 shrimp per skewer) and grill until pink and delicious, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
  3. Remove the shrimp from the grill, slide the shrimp from the skewer using a fork, and pile on a serving platter. Sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro, and throw a few toothpicks in a few shrimp. Watch them disappear.

Tags:

  • American
  • Cilantro
  • Shrimp
  • Seafood
  • Make Ahead
  • Serves a Crowd
  • Grill/Barbecue
  • Summer
  • Appetizer
Contest Entries
  • Your Best Shrimp Recipe

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Cy Yuh

  • bethL

  • Steve Wichman

  • Ko Takanashi

  • lawprof

100 Reviews

nadiclori October 31, 2023

i'm was co*k very yummy

Leslie J. July 19, 2023

LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! So easy and delicious. We tend to serve it when we are entertaining, and everyone always asks about the recipe. My grocery store sells peeled raw shrimp already skewered, so that makes this even easier to dump on the marinade and grill or smoke. So good just thinking about it that I'm going to make some tonight!

erin April 13, 2023

I've made this at least a dozen times, and everyone I've shared this with has asked for the recipe. I've made shrimp tacos, a shrimp dip, and sauteed over pasta . Excellent for so many reasons besides ease.

anniette August 16, 2022

We usually end up tweaking recipes, but not this one. It is perfection as written. We love it more each time we make it. Thank you! A keeper, destined to become a classic.

Charles April 20, 2022

This marinade is super easy to make - followed the recipe as written. I made the full amount of marinade although I was cooking only half the amount of shrimp for which it calls. I think this amount of marinade would have been insufficient for two pounds of shrimp. I grill shrimp often (I live on the Florida Gulf Coast) and this definitely goes into the rotation - it makes great, spicy shrimp! We served it with Mom’s PortugueseRice (recipe also on this site). We like spicy food and these two are a terrific match. Washed it down with a chilled, Rioja rose. Doesn't get any better than that

Nick K. September 10, 2020

This really is a fantastic recipe, and after I make it, I always end up thinking two things: One, why didn't I wait so long to make this again? And two, why didn't I make more for leftovers in salads, rice bowls, or tacos?

Make the recipe as is. I have a gas grill and set the burners to high. 3 min, then flip and turn the burners down slightly for about another 2 min. They come out great every time. Enjoy!

Cy Y. September 7, 2020

I was so surprised by the flavor of this shrimp. I halved the recipe and didn’t expect much but oh wow! Loved, loved the spicy 🌶 flavor! This recipe will definitely be a regular at my house. Thanks so much!

Casey M. August 4, 2020

This is my go-to grilled shrimp recipe -- deceptively simple and exceedingly delicious.

chop C. July 4, 2020

I have made this dish twice now in the last week. Love the ease of it and the taste. I tweaked the recipe just a touch and that is to use one tablespoon of worcestershire instead of one teaspoon.

smccassell June 19, 2020

Just made this but in oven at 500. With asparagus with ginger. Husband is very happy

Jacquie April 3, 2020

AhhMazing. Sharing the recipe. Making it twice for every share. This is so good!

bethL July 23, 2019

Made this 2x. It's a hit.
Very easy.

3 things:
-I don't have a bbq. So cooked it on stove-top in grill pan sprayed lightly with oil, without skewers.

-The first time I marinated for at least 2 hours. Last night I only marinated for about 45m and it was still very tasty. I'm not sure there was much difference.

-Ask if your fishmonger will remove shells and tails to save you time. Unless you're super fast at that.

Steve W. August 25, 2018

New to Food 52 so strictly as a courtesy I'm going to share the one 1st step of making virtually any shrimp dish. This will be especially helpful to those of you who insist on overcooking your seafood. Step one: place cleaned shrimp in a bowl, add about a teaspoon of baking soda, and some water, and stir until mixed. Brine for 15 minutes and pour off water. People will all comment how succulent and tasty your shrimp are. This also works wonderfully for thinly cut slices of chicken breast to keep juicy when stir frying.

Carolyn K. July 3, 2020

After brining the shrimp, do you rinse shrimp off??

cosmiccook August 1, 2021

Cooking shrimp w baking soda is a restaurant/Northern thing. I've asked several seafood stores in New Orleans if they do this and I get looks like I'm speaking Klingon. I don't care for the texture the soda produces or the taste. Then again, living in New Orleans we get our shrimp pretty much right fresh caught and off the boat.

Imbatnan June 18, 2022

Yup. Food52 already covered that
https://food52.com/blog/19776-4-little-genius-tricks-to-make-all-your-shrimp-dinners-better

Steve W. August 16, 2022

Since I don't want to affect the PH of any sauces I always rinse and pat dry for shrimp.

MikNik June 25, 2018

Grilled this last night exactly as written after marinating for about 3 hours. So, so good, and so, so easy. Heat level was pretty mild, in a good way.

Ko T. December 15, 2017

So easy, so tasty. Everyone that I introduced this recipe to loves it. I take it to potluck (cook them in my cast iron pan instead of on the grill), summer grilling session, beach picnic, camping trip, you name it. I love it!

Lucy October 20, 2017

Really easy and delicious both hot and cold. Cooked on a skillet due to the weather but a charcoal grill would be an excellent addition! Paired excellently with the sriracha lime corn salsa.

lawprof July 30, 2017

Absolutely wonderful! I varied the recipe a bit (Frank's instead of Sriracha, twice the garlic, juice of half lemon). After savoring the meal, I heated the remaining marinade, reducing it slightly, then cooled it, added: a splash of cider vinegar; diced onion, celery, sweet red pepper; and the left-over shrimp - and marinated it all for a few days. Result: and excellent shrimp salad.

Megan June 13, 2017

Have made this many times and always wish there was more! Tonight, I didn't have quite as much shrimp as I thought. Inspired by EmilyC's use of marinated broccoli on the grill in a recipe I can't wait to try (https://food52.com/recipes/71410-grilled-tahini-yogurt-broccoli-salad-with-bread-basil-and-almonds?from_feed=1), I decided to throw some broccoli florets in the marinade and then skewered them separately and grilled (they needed a bit more time than the shrimp). So delicious! We ate this piled up next to a chickpea salad w/chimichurri. Such a great warm weather meal!

Yvette August 8, 2016

This is such a great recipe - I plan on making these for the rest of my life.

ace June 25, 2016

i tried this recipe a few times, and sometimes substituted the prawns with chicken. it works! Really good recipe. Many thanks for sharing.

Spicy Shrimp Recipe on Food52 (2024)
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