This fresh and zesty summer recipe is the perfect dish for those summer afternoons or on those cold days dreaming of summer and the beach.  These grilled whole shrimp where full of flavor with a hint of smokiness from the grill.  Heads and all, this recipe is one to try.

Prepare the shrimp

For this recipe, I decided to go with whole shrimp which includes the head.  You get more flavor from using the whole crustacean instead of just the body.  If you are not comfortable with that, uncooked deveined shrimp with also work.

For those getting the whole shrimp, make sure to devein each one.  To do so, cut down the top of the crustacean and remove the thin dirty vein.  Do not remove the shell.

I decided to not season the shrimp.  It’s a delicate piece of protein that can be quickly overpowered with seasonings.  I wanted the freshness of the ocean and decided to make a homemade chimichurri sauce as a compliment to the dish.

How to make homemade chimichurri sauce

My homemade Chimichurri sauce is very simple to make.  It adds a burst of freshness to any dish. To start, finely chop an entire batch of parsley and cilantro.  I have seen this done with parsley only, with cilantro only or both.  In my personal opinion, an equal mix of both makes it just right.

Next add a tablespoon of minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, red wine vinegar and olive oil.  For this recipe I also added some freshly squeezed lemon juice to give it a nice boost of zestiness that works great with any fish. Mix these ingredients together with a spoon and you are done!

Set aside about 1/4 of the sauce for later usage and pour the rest over the deveined shrimp.  Make sure to mix thoroughly to cover all pieces.

How to grill whole shrimp

Before getting the shrimp on the grill, double skewer them to help with fast and easy flipping while on the grill.

Preheat the grill for 400 degrees and set for direct heat.  Place the shrimp skewers on the grill and flip after 1.5 minutes.

Once you have removed the grilled whole shrimp off the grill, brush them with the remaining chimichurri sauce for some extra freshness and these are ready to be served.

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