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Crispy Grilled Shrimp (Prawns) with Lemon Garlic Butter

By Nagi Maehashi
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The most amazing Grilled Shrimp is CRISPY on the outside, juicy on the inside, and doused with Lemon Garlic Butter. They’re all MINE!!

And…. welcome to GRILLING WEEK!!🔥🔥🔥

Close up of freshly cooked Crispy Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce on a plate, ready to be served

🔥Welcome to GRILLING WEEK!🔥

With 4th of July around the corner and several pending invitations to “pop over to the States” to join the festivities, I thought I’d get the party started with GRILLING WEEK here on RecipeTin Eats!!

Here’s a little preview of what’s in store – if this doesn’t make your stomach grumble, you’re either made of stone, or a vegetarian…. 😂

And we’re kicking off Grilling Week with a ripper – CRISPY Grilled Shrimp with LEMON GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE!!

Grilled Shrimp

This Grilled Shrimp recipe is designed to make the most of cooking shrimp on the BBQ. It has it all!

  • TEXTURE – from the crispy surface of the shrimp and little golden bits of garlic in the butter sauce

  • FLAVOUR – from the smokey char from the BBQ, seasoning on the shrimp, the shrimp itself and of course, butter, butter, butter…

  • LUXURY – from the rich butter sauce

  • SPEED – it’s a 10 minute recipe, from start to finish!

Crispy Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce with a side of crusty bread, ready to be eaten

What you need

VERY little!

I used to be a fresh prawn/shrimp snob because I always found the texture and flavour of frozen shrimp lacking compared to peeling fresh ones. But nowadays, you can get very good frozen peel shrimp and that’s what I use on a day to day basis.

Shrimp versus prawns

Same thing! What the US and Canada call “shrimp” is called “prawns” in most of the rest of the world. Being Aussie, I usually write my recipes as “prawn” first and foremost, but today’s recipe is for my friends in the US so it’s SHRIMP all the way!

Ingredients in Crispy Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

How to cook it

Very speedy! Specifically for this recipe, there is:

  • no marinating needed. In fact, you should NOT season ahead of time because it will draw moisture out of the shrimp

  • 6 minutes total cook time – 2 minutes for the butter, 4 minutes for the shrimp on the BBQ

The only thing to watch out for is to ensure you do not overcook the shrimp! Overcooked shrimp is tough and rubbery – if you throw it at a wall, it’ll bounce right back and hit you in the face. 😂

How to make Crispy Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

Stove? Oven?

100% yes for the stove. In fact, I had to rephotograph it today because I wasn’t happy with the photos (who me? Fussy? 🤪) but it’s raining so I cooked it inside. Same crust, same flavour!

But the oven is a no-go zone I’m afraid – just can’t get the same crust because of the short cook time.

The shrimp is just the first part….

The really great thing about this Grilled Shrimp recipe is that it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Eat the juicy shrimp first…….

Close up of from piercing crispy prawns cooked on the BBQ with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

……..then you get to mop up all that gorgeous Lemon Garlic Butter with crusty bread……

Bread being dipped into Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce served with Grilled Shrimp

O.M.G.

I hate to talk like a teenager, but sometimes the occasion warrants it.

I feel like this shrimp is one such occasion!! 😂 – Nagi x

Close up of spoon drizzling Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce over grilled shrimp / prawns

Watch how to make it

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Close up of spoon drizzling Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce over grilled shrimp / prawns

Crispy Grilled Shrimp (Prawns) with Lemon Butter Sauce

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
BBQ, Mains
Western
4.98 from 44 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. Seasoned and CRISPY on the outside, juicy on the inside, drizzled with a simple-yet-incredible lemon butter sauce, you’ll love the little crispy little golden garlic bits in the sauce! This is a recipe made for the BBQ, but works great on the stove too (Note 4).

Ingredients

Lemon Garlic Butter:

  • 90g / 6 tbsp butter , unsalted
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp garlic , very finely chopped (do not use mincer, Note 1)
  • 1.5 tbsp lemon juice , plus more to taste

Shrimp/Prawns:

  • 500g/ 1 lb large shrimp / prawns , raw, peeled and deveined (Note 2)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika (plain or sweet ok too)
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (skip if using stove)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Serving (optional):

  • 1 lemon , halved, grilled if desired
  • Lemon wedges or slices
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Instructions

Preparation:

  • Brush BBQ grills with oil, then preheat on high until very hot.
  • If shrimp are small and might fall through grills, skewer them (use 2 skewers, Note 3)

Make Sauce:

  • Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
  • Add garlic and salt. Stir until garlic is LIGHT golden brown, then immediately remove from stove (residual heat will make garlic golden & crispy).
  • Stir through lemon.

Shrimp/Prawns (Stove: Note 4):

  • Pat shrimp dry with paper towels (to ensure crispiness!)
  • Just prior to cooking, place in bowl, sprinkle/drizzle over remaining ingredients. Toss gently to coat.
  • Working quickly, place shrimp on BBQ and cook each side for 2 minutes until golden and crusty.
  • Immediately remove shrimp onto serving plate.

Serving:

  • Drizzle over all the Lemon Garlic Butter, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately with fresh lemon.
  • Crusty bread to mop up the crazy delish butter on the plate is essential!

Recipe Notes:

1. Garlic – don’t use a mincer/garlic crusher, the garlic will burn too quickly before the butter infuses with garlic flavour. Best to finely chop. Plus, we want little crispy golden bits of garlic in the sauce!
2. Shrimp/prawns – “shrimp” in the US and Canada is called “prawns” in most of the rest of the world. If using frozen, thaw completely and drain excess water (I use frozen). Use large/jumbo, so they don’t fall through grills (~22 – 25).
3. Skewering – if using small shrimp/prawns, consider skewering them so they don’t fall though grills and you can turn a whole row in one go.
Use TWO skewers per row ie skewer each shrimp twice, so they do not spin around. If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for 30 minutes before using.
4. Cooking: Do not leave shrimp/prawns sitting around for longer than 10 minutes after coating in seasoning. It will draw out moisture form the prawns.
Stove: Omit lemon juice from prawns. Spread just 1 – 2 tsp oil in large heavy based skillet over high heat. Place half shrimp in skillet and cook per recipe. Lemon butter can be cooked in same skillet afterwards, but be sure to lower heat to medium high.
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming every drop of the butter is mopped up!

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 339cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 26g (52%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Cholesterol: 355mg (118%)Sodium: 575mg (25%)Potassium: 168mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 920IU (18%)Vitamin C: 26.2mg (32%)Calcium: 199mg (20%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Keywords: BBQ prawns, Grilled shrimp
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Life of Dozer

I took most of the prawns I made earlier today to Geoff, the local who lives in his car at the dog park.

He approved!

Neither Dozer nor his companion Cleo got to try it. Too much garlic, bad for dogs!

Dozer the golden retriever dog homeless man at dog park Bayview - grilled shrimp / prawns

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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114 Comments

  1. Nikita says

    Looks yummy! Cannot wait to make this for my glutton of a husband!

    Reply