Don’t let the summer slip away without a few more great meals on the grill. August is the perfect time to cook outdoors.
This recipe was a last-minute, subconsciously put-together recipe while at the farmer’s market looking at a pineapple, knowing that I had 2 lbs of shrimp in the fridge and that my wife had just purchased a bag of locally grown jalapenos.
Ingredients
2 pounds of wild-caught shrimp
1 fresh pineapple
8 whole jalapenos (optional -bell pepper slices can be used)
1 sweet onion, cut for skewers
12-14 bamboo skewers
Glaze
2 Oranges – squeeze for fresh juice
1/4 cup of pineapple juice
1 lemon – squeeze for fresh juice
1/8 cup white wine
4 tablespoons of honey or agave
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Begin soaking skewers during the prep of the dish so that they do not burn on the grill.
Prep shrimp, shell, and de-vein but leave the tails on.
Glaze Prep
Note: After trimming and slicing the fresh pineapple, I use the scraps and core pieces from which to extract fresh pineapple juice with a hand press.
Combine the fruit juices and white wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the liquids by 1/2, approximately 10-15 minutes.
Add all of the other ingredients for the glaze and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove the glaze from the heat and strain. It should coat the spoon, but not be too thick at this point. It will thicken further as it cools.
Skewer the ingredients.
Put the shrimp on their skewers and the pineapple on their skewers. The onions and peppers can be combined onto the same skewers. This is due to the unique cooking times required of the individual ingredients.
Grill Time
Brush the jalapenos and onions with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and onion powder. Place them on a hot grill. I grill the onions and peppers the longest – about 20 minutes depending on the grill temp.
Place the pineapple on the grill about 5 minutes after the jalapenos and onions. The pineapple will require 10-15 minutes total grilling time.
Judging the finish time of all other ingredients, place the shrimp on the grill about 6 minutes before everything else is ready. Immediately coat with the glaze after placing on the grill. Flip the skewers after 3 minutes and brush with the glaze again. Sprinkle the shrimp with just a bit of salt. Remove the shrimp as they turn pink, indicating that they are done.
If you like spicy foods then you may want to leave the seeds in the jalapenos while cooking the sauce.
Enjoy.
