Deliciously spicy Jerk Shrimp. Don’t you like it?
After Mimi’s pineapple gazpacho, we continued on our Caribbean theme dinner with this delightfully spicy jerk shrimp. It was citrusy, earthy, sweet and spicy, a true flavor explosion in you head. This dish came about because of our last trip to the Caribbean. Now in the post on pickled chipotles I pointed out we are chile heads. One of the ways to know you are a true chile head is when you realize more than half of the souvenirs from that last tropical vacation were hot sauces and spices. Sure enough, when we went to Puerto Rico last year, we stopped by a little spice shop just for grins. In the process of entertaining ourselves we proceeded to buy a myriad of hot sauces and seasonings.
Fun stuff. 🙂 One of the seasonings we bought was some jerk seasoning as we really enjoy Caribbean jerk. Oddly enough, we had yet to try the jerk seasoning. So, considering we were on a Caribbean theme meal, this gave us the perfect opportunity to try it. Everything as delightful and the jerk seasoning went remarkably well with the shrimp accompanied by spur of the moment coconut rice. This is what we did.
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp (26 – 30 count)
- 1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. sea salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 limes, juiced
- 2 oranges juiced
- 2 Serrano peppers (you should actually use scotch bonnet of habanero peppers but we didn’t have any)
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 4 Tbsp jerk seasoning
- cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Instruction
In a bowl, add the jerk seasoning
brown sugar
salt
olive oil
soy sauce
orange juice
lime juice
and whisk together
Pour into a medium saucepan
Heat over medium high heat. Add the onions
and the diced Serrano peppers
Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, pour into a large mixing bowl and add shrimp.
Given the amount of citric acid, do not let this sit for over 15 minutes or you will have an unusual ceviche. 😮 After allowing it to marinade for 15 minutes, place shrimp on a grilling rack.
Place under a broiler and broil for 4 – 5 minutes or until done. In the meantime, while the shrimp are cooking, heat the marinade over medium high heat.
To Serve
When the shrimp are done, remove from broiler. Place a ring of easy, peasy coconut rice (recipe fond here) in the middle of a plate
Arrange shrimp around the coconut rice
Spoon marinade over shrimp
Finish with chopped cilantro
Serve & enjoy!
REMCooks 
Looks delicious! I like that you added onion and peppers to your marinade. Jerk shrimp are a favorite of mine…especially in the summer cooked on the grill.
Thanks, Karen. We love Caribbean jerk. When we were in Jamaica, we went to Scotchies. It was the best and least expensive meal we ate.
Writing from Australia you would probably believe that most of us know but little about jerk seasoning: we do the ‘Asian bit’ more than the Caribbean/Mexican 🙂 ! I know that jerk seasoning is available at every supermarket tho’ and this seems very appealing – so the recipe has been bookmarked 🙂 ! Oh, lovely plating!!
Thanks, Eha. If you have never tried jerk, you need to. It is wonderfully flavorful. We served the jerk shrimp with coconut rice which really took it over the top.
Hi Richard, I had never heard of jerk before. At least not as food 😉 This looks and sounds very tasty! I had to smile at the picture of the hot sauce collection 🙂 Something like that might happen when we enter a cheese shop, or one with kitchen tools…
Hi, Stefan. Jerk (as in food) is a Caribbean method of cooking (similar to smoking meat) that originated in Jamaica. The food is highly seasoned with a jerk rub and cooked over an open pit. The original manner in which it was cooked was to cut certain trees/saplings a certain length, not to cure the wood but lay the green wood over an open pit, season the pork or chicken heavily with a jerk rub heavily spiced with scotch bonnet chiles, and put the meat directly on top of the wood. You get an indirect heat and the smoke flavor of the wood comes through in the meat. It’s bold, spicy and incredibly flavorful. Over time the technique has changed and jerk seasoning started appearing on seafood and other dishes that were impractical to smoke/cook over an open pit.
Thanks Richard for the interesting explanation. I’ll have to remember the technique for if I ever get stranded on an island 🙂
P.S. Did my spicy pork belly post show up in your reader? There seems to be a problem again 😦
Yes, it did. I read it and was going to comment but other unexpected matters came up requiring immediate attention.
No problem, I certainly know what that’s like. When initially the post generated much less likes and comments than usual, I was worrying there was something wrong again.
Anyway, I thought you and the Baby Lady would really like the spicy pork belly, so I was wondering what you’d say about my recipe.
Loving shrimps, living in a place where they are aplenty (and reasonable) I now will have to try out your recipe. Thank you!
Hi, Carina. Thanks for dropping by and commenting. I think you will love this recipe. Thanks again and hope to see you around blogsphere.
This sounds so good, Richard. A low-carb sub for the brown sugar and I can HAVE this! 🙂
Thanks, Peggy. This is a delightful dish. Sorry about the delay in replying but life got little busy and we popped down to Grand Cayman Island for a little vacation. 🙂
Oh, what fun! I’m envious, Richard.
This dish looks so amazing and flavorful. I love the way you plated the rice, very professional!
Hi Sheryl. Good to see you around. Thanks for the very nice compliment. 🙂
Oh I do envy your spice collection! This sounds fabulous!
Hi, Kathryn. Thanks for the nice compliment. Just got back from the Grand Cayman Island with more hot sauces and a little jerk sauce, as well, so the spice collection is groaning. 🙂
Hi Richard, I just got back from Texas a couple of weeks ago and I’m kicking myself for not coming back with some hot sauces and BBQ spice rubs! What was I not thinking? 🙂
You were having way too much fun. 😉 Also, you can order it all online. 🙂 We just got back from Gand Cayman Island with some more hot sauces to go with the collection. I do love the Caribbean. 🙂
That’s some collection of sauces, Richard. This is another fantastic dish that you’ve presented beautifully. This was a great post.
Thanks, John. This one may have a little more kick than you would like but you can always reduce the amount of Serrano chile to fit you taste. 🙂
Hey, I’ve sent you a couple emails, but I never heard back from you.
Hello Richard Love Love Love it.Jerk Shrimp wowwee I love spicy foods and you just hit the nail on the head .I love how you plated it with the rice and put the shrimp around it.I am surprised you don’t try to get your own cooking show you are good.Soon I will posting my jerk cuisine and its going to be good.
Hi, Nicole. We’re glad you liked this recipe. It’s definitely got a kick and a lot of flavors, just up your alley. 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing your jerk recipes. It definitely is one of my favorite cuisines. 🙂