Sicilian Grilled Shrimp (Grill Or Grill Pan)

This Sicilian style grilled shrimp brings back so many childhood memories. This was often cooked for the Feast of Seven fishes on Christmas eve. Shrimp were budget friendly and there are minimal ingredients so it was perfect for a larger Italian family.

I always loved the lemony, garlicky parsley sauce, and I would scoop the sauce on to anything.

My family always made this Italian shrimp with an Italian sauce called Salmoriglio and we put it on all our seafood and meats that are grilled. A little goes on after grilling and the rest served on the side.

You may sometimes see this sauce with oregano in it as well. My family made it without it so that is what I make today and I promise, it is delicious with the shrimp.

What You Will Need

• Jumbo shrimp in their shells: Uncooked jumbo shrimp with the tails and shell left on. You can also go up a size and use colossal shrimp and add a little more cooking time or go down a size with large shrimp and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. Try to get the shrimp cleaned (deveined by the fish monger if you can.) If you have shrimp without the shells, see my recipe tips area at the bottom.
• Metal skewers: I suggest using metal since you can easily remove the shrimp from the skewers and there is no risk of flare ups or burning during grilling. Almost every grocery store sells these.
• Olive oil: This is to toss the shrimp in before grilling so they do not burn.
• Sea salt: Or kosher salt
• Gas grill, Charcoal grill or grill pan.

Salmoriglio Sauce

• Lemon: This is that lemony flavor that pairs so well with shrimp.
• Garlic: The garlicky flavor of this shrimp is what makes it so traditionally Italian!
• Italian Parsley: This is the flat leaf parsley not curly parsley.
• Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Coarse Sea salt: Or kosher salt

How To Skewer Shrimp For Grilling

As I mentioned above, you want to use metal skewers for this Italian shrimp recipe. Shrimp will cook around and on to wooden skewers making it very difficult to remove after grilling.

When adding the shrimp to the skewers, you want to lay the shrimp flat and I like to skewer then through the middle part of their belly first and out the top. You want to make sure all the shrimp are facing the same way so they can lay flat on the grill or grill pan and cook evenly.

How to make Sicilian Grilled Shrimp

• Toss shrimp in olive oil and salt: Add the shrimp to a large bowl along with olive oil and salt and with your hands, toss them well so the shrimp are coated evenly. Make sure to wash your hands well afterwards!
• Skewer the shrimp: Lay each shrimp on its side and push the skewer through the belly and out the top making sure to slide the shrimp down the skewer making room for more shrimp. Leave a pinch of space between the shrimp.

• Make the Salmoriglio Sauce: Mince the garlic and parsley, then add them to a medium bowl with salt, lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Set aside.
• Preheat the grill or grill pan: Preheat the grill or grill pan to medium high heat.
• Grill the shrimp: Lay the shrimp on the grill (lid closed) or grill pan and cook for 3 minutes per side until the flesh becomes an opaque white color.
• Serve: Remove the shrimp skewers on to a large plate and pour ½ of the Salmoriglio Sauce evenly over them while they are hot. Serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Top tips

• Do not add the Salmoriglio Sauce before grilling: The lemon juice in the sauce will cook the shrimp and make the grilled shrimp tough.
• Grill the shrimp with the shell on: This will prevent the shrimp from sticking to the grill grates or grill pan. If you cannot get shrimp in their shell, cover the grill with aluminum foil or oil your grill grates really well before grilling them. You may prefer this shrimp with avocado recipe that uses shrimp without the shells as well.
• Add the Salmoriglio Sauce right after the shrimp are removed from the grill: The hot shrimp will absorb the lemony garlicky sauce much better giving the shrimp so much flavor.