Cook BBQ Shrimp This Way For 10x The Flavor (No Frying Required)

Do you love shrimp-infused meals but can't seem to prepare this versatile seafood without overcooking it? Unfortunately, overcooked shrimp has a rubbery texture and bland flavor due to a significant loss of moisture that can happen during the cooking process. Thankfully, there's a delicious, foolproof way to prepare your next batch of shrimp that is sure to give you tasty results every time. All you need to do is marinate raw shrimp in advance and cook this popular seafood on skewers over your grill. Grilling imparts a smokey, earthy flavor that is hard to replicate with a frying pan over your stove.

Sure enough, among the shrimp cooking mistakes you should avoid, not marinating your shrimp or can lead to lackluster results. Marinate it in a moisture-rich, easy-to-use condiment like barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce has a complex range of savory, sweet, and acidic flavors and contains enough moisture to keep your shrimp nice and plump during the cooking process.

After using this complex sauce as an all-in-one marinade, placing your shrimp on skewers promotes even cooking. Better yet, the heat of the grill gives this delicate meat way more flavor. Since barbecue sauce contains sugar, it will caramelize under high-heat conditions and give your shrimp a charred, flavor-rich crust. However, to create the best-tasting barbecue shrimp straight from your grill every single time, there are a few other noteworthy pointers you should keep in mind.

For starters, during preparation, follow an important skewer tip for perfectly grilled shrimp at every meal. Upon soaking your skewers in water and marinating your shrimp for at least 15 minutes, pack your shrimp tightly onto each stick with little room in between. Reducing the amount of surface area exposed to your grill keeps your seafood juicy during grilling and limits the risk of overcooking.

Also, to avoid your shrimp from swiveling during the grilling process, thread your shrimp using two parallel skewers instead of one. You should also thread your shrimp head-to-tail or in opposing directions for a flatter surface during cooking. In order to grill shrimp perfectly every time, prior to cooking, brush your grill grates with oil and grill your shrimp skewers no longer than two or three minutes on each side. Fortunately, since shrimp cooks fairly quickly, you don't have to worry about the added barbecue sauce burning on the grill.

If you're still worried about overcooking your shrimp, consider first grilling this prized seafood in a barbecue rub only rather than barbecue sauce. Especially if you're new to grilling shrimp, covering it in a dark barbecue sauce may increase your risk of overcooking. By adding just a thin layer of dried seasonings, you can better see when your shrimp is done and ready to remove from the grill. Then, come mealtime, you can relax and enjoy your perfectly cooked shrimp with bold, sweet, spicy, or citrus-infused barbecue sauce.