Shrimp with the SnS?

[PBCDad]

Never cooked shrimp in my life, but the wife wants it so I'm going to try tonight. I got a bunch of 16/20 shrimp, already deveined but with the shell still on. I re-read the Science of Shrimp and the other shrimp recipes, but I'm a little confused. Everything seems to say:
1. Grill with direct heat
2. Grill at 325
I'll be using my SnS, still getting used to how to set it up for different temps. My impression from reading everything though is that 225 and 325 are easy to set up on the indirect side, not the direct side.

So basically, when you cook shrimp, do you use the SnS? Do you cook over the coals or indirect with the lid on? My plan was to brush with a little butter, salt, and pepper, and have more butter at the table. Any suggestions to make it turn out better?

Thanks everyone.

[Greasy]

When I do shrimp on skewers I take the SNS out of my kettle and put in a chimney load of charcoal and cook them over that.
I would suppose if your using an SNS then they would be on the indirect side.

[David Parrish]

fuzzydaddy

[fuzzydaddy]

PBCDad Sorry for the delay. I've been driving all day and just arrived! I've cooked shrimp directly over charcoal (about 1/3 chimney well lit Kingsford BB) in the SnS with lid off for about 1.5 lbs of 16/20. They cook very fast, maybe 2 to 3 minutes per side and I pull them a little quicker than my eyes tell me, to avoid overcooking if that makes sense. They will dry out if overcooked. This gives them a nice sear. Since they cook so quick you can do a quick test cook with 1 to see how you do before you cook all of them. By cooking them over the SnS you have the rest of the grill to sit a pan to put them in as they are done. Here's my last cook.

[CeramicChef]

Guest - dadgummit man, that's a droolicious pile of shrimp you've cooked up! You ever done that on your kamado? Would you use a griddle, skewers or both? Give it up! Inquiring minds NEED to know!

[lemayp]

I've been prepping the shrimp as described on serious eats lately, http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...ab-recipe.html. I cook them directly over the coals in the SnS. Came home to find shrimp, skewers, and a bag of charcoal waiting for me a week later, so I'm counting it as a successful cook...

[PBCDad]

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely have to try that as well!

[Potkettleblack]

Nice tutorial. Kenji calls for high high heat... hello SnS...

[BluesDaddy]

This is how I do it, though I typically only cook two or three skewers of shrimp at a time. A minute or two a side is all it takes.

[PBCDad]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I hate these fire drills a few hours before cooking, I really need to think about posting earlier in the day, I keep forgetting how easy it is get great advice.

Cook was definitely a success, hero status achieved once again. Pit Boss reminded me that fuzzydaddy had posted before on shrimp cooks, so I found that post on prep and how much charcoal to use. Then the man himself posted right before I put them on and suggested the test cook, which gave me a lot more confidence.

I tossed all the shrimp with some EVOO, kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Put 30 briquettes in the chimney to light. Pro tip, that amount lights better with the chimney flipped upside down, ask me how I found that out today Skewered them for easier handling. Pro tip, wood skewers burn if you put them over coals This was a very educational cook.

Put a test skewer on and grilled up very nicely in under 2 minutes per side. Nice pink color on the shell, white meat inside. Followed with the rest of the skewers in groups of two or three. I tried one group of four skewers but there were a few shrimp on the edges that didn't cook as fast, which revealed to me the biggest downside of using skewers, the difficulty of adjusting individual shrimp cooking times. I still think ease of handling was worth it though.

Once all the shrimpies were done, I melted half a stick of butter and sprinkled in a few herbs, and it was time to eat. Served with rice, salad, and the melted butter for spooning over once peeled. My four year old daughter told me, after trying shrimp for the first time, "I really really like shrimp!" Wife was happy, said she ate more than she should and was stuffed. I count that as a win All in all, very simple to do and would be a real quick nice meal if I learn my lessons. If only I liked shrimp as much as the rest of my family, we would probably be having it quite often now.

Pics below.

[Henrik]

Looks great, thanks for sharing all your hard-earned lessons :-)

[David Parrish]

Great cook!

[Thunder77]

Looks great! You can soak your skewers a bit to keep them from burning. 😀

[RonB]

Congrats on a successful cook PBCDad Dad. I suggest peeing the shrimp on one skewer before grilling the next time you do this. That might up the flavor a bit.

[PBCDad]

I assume you meant "peeling"
Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely try that next time.

[DWCowles]

I'm not peeing on my shrimp 😎

[RonB]

Hey - whatever works for you...

[thefist]

You could also use a mesh grill mat instead of the skewers. Saves prep time. Dump, spread, flip once and you're done.
Upside down grillgrates work great for seared shrimp and scallops too.

[Thunder77]

I have a fish basket that I use for that purpose, thefist, and it is great!

[Potkettleblack]

Frog mats not supposed to go over 400F. Not so good for direct high heat shrimp. Basket better, but bunching on skewers apparently produces superior results.

[fuzzydaddy]

CeramicChef thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated. I've only done these on the Kettle over the SnS so far here in Florida using pre-pealed/de-vained shrimp. The BGE is in Nashville and I've not bought shrimp in Nashville yet.

On my BGE I would first do a Grill Grate temp test with my IR gun to determine the best level (inside the Woo's lower ring, about 2-3" from the lump vs normal grate level). I might use skewers, but I really like turning them 1 at a time because I can control which ones I turn first / remove first, if some are cooking quicker than others. I've got the 20" Tool Wizard BBQ Tongs to keep my hands away from the lump. It's fast paced when they're ready but I'm ok with that.

[CeramicChef]

Sounds as if this isn't your first rodeo! You've given me several ideas ... THANKS! I'm thinking scallops ...