Today’s recipe is inspired by a recent video that I saw from one of my favorite youtube chefs, Adam Rugeasa. If you’ve never heard of him before then I highly recommend you check out his youtube channel, as he does a great job of breaking down the science behind cooking. Anyways in this particular video, he made a dish that he called chipotle glazed shrimp which looked so good that I had to try it out… Of course with a few minor tweaks.
So what is chipotle glazed shrimp?
Well, basically it’s shrimp that is placed on skewers and based in a honey-chipotle sauce while it cooks. Which is great because that means you can quickly clean the shrimp, prepare the basting sauce, and get right to cooking. No need to wait 30 minutes for your shrimp to marinate. But the real magic is what’s in the basting sauce. It has honey for sweetness, chipotle peppers for spicy and smokey notes, and lime juice for a mildly citrus/sour component. It’s a combination that just works perfectly with shrimp. So enough talk let’s get to making our honey-chipotle shrimp.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Adam recommends that you purchase the largest shrimp you can buy for this recipe and I completely agree. You see since we are basting the shrimp while it cooks it needs enough time for the basting sauce to attach and carmelize on the outside. So if you use shrimps that are too small then they will become overcooked before this can happen.
- Most shrimp of this size will come with the shell still attached. So I highly recommend you check out our lesson on peeling and deveining shrimp if you don’t know how to do it.
- Wooden skewers are not just for looks they are actually great for cooking shrimp. You see unlike metal skewers which are great conductors of heat, wooden skewers are poor heat conductors. So using wooden skewers over metal ones will ensure that the shrimp isn’t overcooked on the inside.
- While Adam prefers to cook his honey-chipotle shrimp in the oven today we will be cooking them on the grill. That being said if it isn’t grilling weather where you live then you can easily do this recipe in the oven. Just set it to broil, place the shrimp skewers on a rack lined baking sheet, and cook them for the same amount of time.
- Chipotle peppers can vary in spiciness. So if you are a little timid about spice then I suggest that you use fewer peppers and remove as many seeds as you can.
- This honey-chipotle shrimp is great with a side of jollof rice, and our shirazi salad. Or you can use them to make wonderful shrimp tacos!
Honey-Chipotle Shrimp Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients
1 Lb of large shrimp
For the basting sauce:
½ Cup of honey
4 to 5 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 Tablespoons of the adobo sauce from the same can
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
3 Tablespoons of lime juice
½ Teaspoon of salt
¼ Teaspoon of garlic powder
3 to 4 wooden skewers soaked in water for at least 1 hour.
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to high.
- Make the basting sauce: Cut up the chipotle peppers as fine as you can. Add this to a medium-sized bowl along with the remaining basting sauce ingredients. Then use a whisk, or a fork to mix everything together.
- Prep the shrimp: Peel devein and wash each shrimp and set them aside in a bowl. Then skewer each shrimp on to the wooden skewers making sure to place them through both the tail end and head end of each shrimp. Once all of the shrimp are skewed set them aside on a plate until your grill is nice and hot.
- Grill the shrimp: Baste one side of the shrimp with the sauce before you place it on the grill.
Then place each skewer of shrimp on your hot grill with the basted side down. Quickly baste the other side and let it grill for 2 to 3 minutes.
Then turn the shrimp skewers over and baste it again. Keep doing this for a total of 8 to 12 minutes, or until the shrimp have turned pink and curled up.
- Remove the shrimp from the grill, serve it on a plate with whatever sides you like and enjoy!
Honey-Chipotle Shrimp Recipe
Equipment
- 3 to 4 wooden skewers soaked in water for at least 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 1 Lb of large shrimp
For the basting sauce:
- ½ Cup of honey
- 4 to 5 chipotle peppers From a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 Tablespoons of adobo sauce From the same can
- 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoons of lime juice
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- ¼ Teaspoon of garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to high.
- Make the basting sauce: Cut up the chipotle peppers as fine as you can. Add this to a medium-sized bowl along with the remaining basting sauce ingredients. Then use a whisk, or a fork to mix everything together.
- Prep the shrimp: Peel devein and wash each shrimp and set them aside in a bowl. Then skewer each shrimp on to the wooden skewers making sure to place them through both the tail end and head end of each shrimp. Once all of the shrimp are skewed set them aside on a plate until your grill is nice and hot.
- Grill the shrimp: Baste one side of the shrimp with the sauce before you place it on the grill. Then place each skewer of shrimp on your hot grill with the basted side down. Quickly baste the other side and let it grill for 2 to 3 minutes. Then turn the shrimp skewers over and baste it again. Keep doing this for a total of 8 to 12 minutes, or until the shrimp have turned pink and curled up.
- Remove the shrimp from the grill, serve it on a plate with whatever sides you like and enjoy!
