Description
Juicy and tender grilled cajun shrimp skewers are garlicky, lemony, and packed with flavour by the cajun marinade. Ready in under 30 minutes including prep.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. tiger prawns (or jumbo shrimp), peeled, deveined, and tails removed (about 24 prawns)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon cajun spice (or Old Bay spice)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 2 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Use scissors to cut through the shell along the back of the prawns, and remove the shells. Rinse to remove the veins and pat dry with paper towel.
- Add the prawns into a large bowl and add in a tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, cajun spice, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Shrimp are naturally quite flavourful on their own, so you do not need to over season them.
- Toss to combine and fully coat the prawns with the marinade. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
- Thread the marinated prawns onto skewers. Add 4 prawns on each skewer.
- Lightly brush some olive oil over the grill pan. Preheat the grill over medium high heat for 3 minutes until the oil starts sizzling and shimmering. In a small bowl, combine remaining olive oil with finely chopped parsley. Set aside until ready to grill.
- Place the skewers spaced evenly apart on the grill pan and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the prawns turn completely orange. Brush the olive oil parsley mixture over the prawns during grilling.
- Transfer to a plate and serve warm with some lemon wedges on the side. Sprinkle extra chopped parsley on top.
Notes
Equipment used: skewers, tongs for grilling, an indoor grill pan, and a digital meat thermometer.
How to serve cajun shrimp: Serve cajun shrimp on it's own as a snack or appetizer. You can also serve it with a side of coconut rice or plain white rice. It is also really nice served on top of creamy mashed potatoes or cauliflower mash. Some other ways to serve it are on a salad (try it with a Mediterranean orzo pasta salad or a summer corn salad) or in shrimp tacos with lime crema slaw.
How to marinate prawns: I recommend marinating the prawns for just 15 minutes and up to a maximum of 30 minutes. This is because of the acidic lemon juice in the marinade, which will actually start to "cook" the prawns. The same idea that makes ceviche work.
Double up the recipe: This recipe that makes about 6 skewers. You can easily double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd (or if you just want to make sure you have leftovers for lunch the next day). Leftovers are amazing in a salad, and you don't even need to warm it up.
How to make cajun shrimp in the air fryer: To cook in the air fryer, place about 10 prawns (not threaded in skewers) in the air fryer basket at a time. Cook at 350 F for 8 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
How to store: Unthread the prawns from the skewers and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes (+15 minutes time to marinate)
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American