GRILLED SHRIMP SKEWERS
Serves 4 to 6
There is no other way I have ever come across that produces grilled shrimp
as juicy as these. The coating of olive oil-soaked bread crumbs is what does
it. When preparing it, bear in mind that there should be enough oil to film
the shrimp, but not so much to drench them, enough bread crumbs to absorb
oil and keep it from running, but not so much to bread them and form a thick
crust.
2 pounds medium shrimp,
unshelledweight
3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup fine, dry, unflavored
bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic chopped
very fine
2 teaspoons parsley chopped
very fine
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh
from the mill
Skewers
OPTIONAL:a charcoal grill
1. Shell the shrimp and remove their dark vein. Wash in cold water and
pat thoroughly dry with cloth kitchen towels.
2. Put the shrimp in a roomy bowl. Add as much of the olive and vegetable
oil, in equal parts, and of the bread crumbs as you need to coat the
shrimp evenly, but lightly all over. You may not require all the oil indicated
in
the ingredients list, but if you have a large number of very small shrimp
you
may need even more. When you increase the quantity, use olive and vegetable
oil in equal parts.
3. Add the chopped garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper, and toss thoroughly
to coat the shrimp well. Allow them to steep in their coating a minimum
of
20 to 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, at room temperature.
4. Preheat the broiler at least 15 minutes before you are ready to cook,
or
light the charcoal in time for it to form white ash before cooking.
5. Skewer the shrimp tightly, curling one end of each shrimp inward so
that the skewer goes through at three points, preventing the shrimp from
slipping as you turn the skewer on the grill.
6. Cook the shrimp briefly, close to the source of heat. Depending on
their size and the intensity of the fire, about 2 minutes on one side and
1 1/2
on the other, just until they form a thin, golden crust. Serve piping hot
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