Honey and Sake Glazed Shrimp – (Adapted from Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes)

• 2/3 cup Sake
• 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Mirin
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1 small shallot finely diced
• 1 clove garlic finely diced
• 1 lb medium size uncooked shrimp

Creating the Glaze

In a small nonreactive saucepan, bring the sake and honey to a boil.  When the honey dissolves, add the Soy Sauce and Mirin.

Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the glaze reduces by half.  Roughly 3/4 to 1 cup of glaze.

Grilling the Shrimp

Remove the heads and shells from the shrimp.  If you wish you can de-vein the shrimp.  Next skewer the shrimp with metal skewers or bamboo skewers that have been soaking for at least 20 minutes.  If you are not using wide skewers, I would recommend using two skewers per shrimp to prevent rotation.

Preheat the grill to medium/high heat.  Then place the shrimp on the grill and cook for about 1 minute on the first side.

Then flip and cook for 1 minute.  While the second side is cooking brush the glaze onto the shrimp.  Flip and repeat. Grilling for about 1 minute on each side.  After about 2-3 flips the shrimp will be perfectly glazed and fully cooked.

Remove from the grill and serve over rice.

I would recommend making a double batch of the glaze for dipping.

The glaze will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

This was my favorite dish of March.  The glaze was amazing and really added to the shrimp.  Actually I could have just eaten the glaze alone.  You have to try this one.

The Jambalaya had a little kick of heat and an excellent flavor.

Jambalaya

• 2 chicken breasts – cubed
• 4-6 oz fresh andouille sausage – sliced
• 1/2 pound shrimp – cooked – either pre-cooked, steamed, boiled or quickly fried.
  
• 1 tbs butter
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 stalks of celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 14oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups long grain rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp dried mustard
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat butter and oil in a large pan over medium/high heat.  Add the chicken and andouille sausage.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Cook till browned.

Stir in the onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery.  Add the seasonings minus the bay leaves.  Cook until the onions and peppers are tender.

Add the tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the rice and bay leaves.  Stir and then add the chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and then cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir and add the shrimp.  Cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until the rice is tender.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Then it is time to enjoy.

This is a simple one pot recipe that had tremendous flavor.  If you do not have chicken stock feel free to use store bought chicken broth.  While the flavor will not be as intense it will still be delicious.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp - Awesome!!

The bacon is crispy that the shrimp are perfectly cooked.  A great recipe.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

• 11-12 strips of bacon
• 1 lb 22-24 ct shrimp
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce – In the Asian aisle at the grocery store
• zest and juice of two limes
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbs minced ginger
• 1 tbs red chili flakes (optional)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• salt and pepper

The first step is to peel and de-vein the shrimp.  I like to leave the tails on for presentation purposes and to give your guest something to hold on to so that they don’t need a fork.  Holding the shrimp flat against the board slice a 1/8th inch slice down the back of the shrimp.  From the tail fan all the way to the head.  Remove the vein and then peel the shrimp.  I find it is easier to de-vein before peeling, as it makes the peeling so much easier.  You will need a sharp knife as you will have to cut through the shell.

Next place the shrimp in a zip top bag.  Then zest and juice the lime into the bag.

Zest and juice the lime

Now mince the garlic and the ginger and add it to the bag.

Finally add the remaining ingreadients except for the bacon.  Mix around the shrimp and the marinade and place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours.  Remember we have lime juice in this marinade and you don’t want a ceviche.

Let the shrimp mingle in the sauce for at least 20 minutes

Right before you pull the shrimp out it is time to partially cook the bacon.  I find that it is easiest in the microwave.  That way the bacon stays flat and will be easy to work with.  Layer a couple of sheets of paper towel on a microwave safe plate.  Then place as many pieces of bacon as you can without overlapping them.  I could do about 6-7 at a time.  Then place a single sheet of paper towel over the bacon.

Mmm Bacon

Cook for 2-4 minutes depending on how many pieces of bacon you have on the plate.  I had 7 thick cut slices on my plate and it took 3.5 minutes to cook the bacon.  Cook till pink and halfway cooked.  Next remove the bacon from the plate onto a cutting board.  Slice the bacon in half lengthwise and let it cool for a minute.

Slice the bacon in half lengthwise

Remove the shrimp from the fridge and grab your skewers.  I have wide skewers that prevent the shrimp from rotating around the skewer.  If you have them, I recommend them.  Otherwise, use two regular skewers.  One through the head portion and one near the tail portion.  The will make it extremely easy for you to grill.  Otherwise the shrimp just spin around the skewer and they are hard as heck to flip.

Now starting at the tail of the shrimp wrap the bacon around one time so that the end of the bacon is wrapped by the main part of the bacon and is secure.  Then continue to wrap the bacon around the body of the shrimp until you are near the head. Finally make sure that the end of the shrimp is at a point where the skewer can pierce it and hold it in place.  This method will secure the bacon so that it does not fall off before it is cooked.

Ending the bacon right where the skewer pierces it will help keep it on the shrimp.

Continue with the remaining shrimp.

Place the shrimp on a plate and cover with the remaining marinade.  Plus add a bit of salt and pepper to the outside of the bacon wrapped shrimp.  Place in the refrigerator while the grill is heating up.

Preheat your grill to medium.  Seafood is a tricky beast and you don’t want to overcook it.

Now that your grill is preheated, place the skewers on a diagonal to the grill grates.  Unless you have a giant grill, this will probably be the only way that the skewers will fit on the grill and still allow the lid to close. Shut the lid and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Make sure to check for flare-ups.  If you have any squirt them with a little water.

Place on a diagonal to the grates

Flip the shrimp and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.  When the bacon is crisp remove from the grill.

I love grillin shrimp

You may have to cook them for a little longer on each side depending on the thickness of your bacon.

Ready to eat

Let cool for a minute before serving.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Squeeze a little lime juice over the top of the shrimp and serve.

Time to eat

Enjoy!!

There is nothing like it

The grill adds such a great flavor to the crust.

Grilled Shrimp Pizza

• Pizza Dough – Either homemade, store bought or one from your local pizzaria. – Try my Basic Pizza Dough.
• Pizza Sauce – Recipe below
• 1/2-1 cup Mozzarella Cheese – Fresh or grated. 
• 1/4 cup parmesen cheese
• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs cajun seasoning
• 1 tbs sriracha
• 4-40 dashes of hot sauce – Up to you on how spicy you like your shrimp
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Pizza Sauce

• Can whole peeled tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 15 basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flake – (optional)

The first step is to peel the shrimp and cut them in half.  By cutting them in half you are making it so that they will cook quicker on the grill and so that the pieces are bite size and not too thick for the pizza.

Next put the olive oil, cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, sriracha, and hot sauce in a zip top bag.  Then add the shrimp and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Make sure to mix them up so that they get seasoned.

Ziptop bags are the best for marinades

Grilling pizza is easy, but without proper instructions it can be extremely hard.  The first thing is that you need to partially grill one side of the dough before you top the pizza.  Since we have to start cooking the pizza, take it off the heat, and top it, it is best to have all of the toppings ready. 

Start your grill and have it preheat.  Start a indirect fire on one side of the grill.  We will quickly cook the dough over the fire and then move it to the cooler indirect side to melt the cheese and cook the toppings.  If you have a gas grill light only half of the burners. 

If you are going to use a store bought pizza sauce you can skip the next couple steps.  Otherwise, pour the can of whole tomatoes into a bowl and crush with your hand, a potato masher or a pastry cutter.  Once you have all of the big chunks broken up you are good.

Now take the 15 leaves of basil and roll them together like a cigar.  Then thinly slice them into ribbons.  The technical term is chiffonade.  Sounds fancy doesn’t it.  It means breath of butterflies, joking it really only means thin long strips.  Sorry to dissappoint.

Add the chiffonade basil to the bowl with the three cloves of garlic finely minced.  Add the salt, pepper and red pepper flake.  This is a good time to taste the sauce.  If it needs more salt or pepper feel free to add it.

This sauce is tangy and works great with the shrimp

I used fresh mozzarella so I removed it from the water and sliced it about an 1/8th of an inch thick. 

I also grated some fresh parmesen cheese.

Now it is time to start forming the pizza. Take the dough and slowly start pressing it out into a circle.  Start with the center and slow start pushing it out toward the edges.  Make sure to constantly rotate the dough.  Once it is about a foot in diameter, you can toss it, or just pick it up and spin it in your hands to stretch it out into the proper size. 

Place the dough on a dusted pizza peel, pizza pan or a upside down sheet pan.  Any of these work as a way to get the pizza onto the grill.

Before you place your pizza dough on the grill, oil your grates with a vegetable or peanut oil.  You need to use an oil with a high smoke point as you don’t want it catching fire.   Olive oil will not work.

Place the pizza dough halfway over the hot coals/hot side of the grill.  Cook for a minute to a minute and a half and then rotate the dough 180 degrees and cook for another minute to minute and a half.  Rotate the dough when it starts to brown.  Make sure to keep the lid shut in between rotations.  This will help you make sure that the dough doesn’t burn. 

Make sure to rotate every 1-2 mins.

Once the bottom of the dough is browned remove it from the grill and place it cooked side up on a pizza peel or pan.  Make sure that you use cornmeal or flour on the peel/pan.  I forgot to add more cornmeal to my pan and after I added the toppings, it did not want to come off the pan. 

The crust got crispy and delicious. It is very quick too.

Add your toppings.  I added the pizza sauce, shrimp, mozzarella, parmesen and a little chiffonade of basil.

Ready to go back on the grill.

Then place back on the grill in the middle so that it is once again on the hot and cold side.  I rotated mine 4 times, 1/4 of a turn every 2 minutes.  Once I made a full revolution, I move the pizza over to the indirect side to finish melting the cheese.  It took an additional 2 minutes on the indirect side to finish melting the cheese and cooking the shrimp.

Make sure to rotate as you don't want the crust to burn. Keep the lid closed as much as you can.

Remove from the grill and serve. 

I cut right into it. The crust was so amazing.

The pizza had a super crispy crust that was amazing.  The charcoal added a unique flavor to the crust.  I am definitely going to be grilling more pizzas.

Look at that fresh mozzarella

If you have any questions or comments on grilling pizzas let me know.

I can't say enough about how tasty this pizza was.