Grilling is one of my favorite things to do during the summer! It adds incredible flavor to any dish and it’s actually one of the healthier ways to cook meat. When you grill meat, more of the excess fat drips off while you are grilling it, versus cooking it in a pan where the excess fat has nowhere to go and sits around the pan and is reabsorbed by the meat.
Thankfully, shrimp is a lean protein already, but grilling also helps you to use less butter. Most people might enjoy shrimp with a garlic butter sauce of some sort, but grilling it already offers tremendous flavor and if grilled right, is moist enough that you don’t need anything extra like butter to keep it juicy.
However, if you’re going to grill, some doctors recommend using gas for grilling instead of charcoal because they say that sometimes using charcoal can expose you and your food to cancer-causing chemicals. However, if you do use charcoal make sure not to overcook the meat and keep it out of the smoke as much as possible.
Other grilling tips? If you’re grilling shrimp I suggest getting the jumbo shrimp variety – it makes it easier to grill and decreases your chances of overcooking them. You can grill shrimp with or without the shell, but I like to grill them with the shell on to lock in the moisture.
You know the shrimp is done when the outside is a nice pink color and the meat inside is white and opaque. Then when they’re done, you can remove the shells and enjoy shrimp that is grilled to perfection!
Grilled shrimp is great by itself, but add some watermelon and feta and you’ve got yourself a delicious summer appetizer! We like to garnish it with cilantro and even drizzle it in a chili-ginger sauce which gives it a little kick! The chili-ginger sauce adds the perfect contrast to the sweet watermelon.
Serve this at your next summer celebration or just make them as a healthy, fancy snack for your family!
Ingredients:
- Large Shrimp, grilled
- Watermelon, cut into one-inch cubes
- Feta Cheese, cut into one-inch cubes
- Cilantro for garnish, chopped
Chili-Ginger Sauce:
- ¼ cup Mae Ploy
- 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
- First, make the chili-ginger sauce. To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
- Take the grilled shrimp, feta and watermelon and start building your skewers. We like to start with placing the feta cheese, watermelon, and shrimp.
3. Once you’ve assembled your skewers drizzle the chili ginger sauce and top with chopped cilantro and serve to guests on platters!
Planning a summer celebration and would you like us to take care of the food? We offer customized boutique catering that accommodates every guest!