Throw Some Shrimp on the Barbie

August 30, 2010, By Nayab Naseer 0 comments

One good way to impress the family is by grilling some shellfish. Before throwing shrimp or lobster on the grill, follow these tips.

Prep the Shellfish

Whenever possible, opt for fresh shrimp and lobster – buy it the day you plan to cook it. If fresh is not an option, thaw the shellfish to room temperature. Defrosting ensures an even cooking and prevents contamination by harmful bacteria. Place the seafood in a plastic bag and immersing in a bowl of warm water ranks among the best and fastest methods of defrosting. Refreezing after defrosting is, however, a strict no-no, as it lowers quality drastically.

It's not required, but lobster tails look good when cut into two halves lengthwise. Shrimp does not need to be cut up, but it's a good idea to remove the shell. The optimal serving size depends on the type of seafood, but it's usually half a pound per person (or more if it's the main event) for peeled shrimp or lobster.

Two common, but optional, seafood precooking tasks are deveining and marinating.

Deveining involves removing the dark band, or vein, from shrimp. The best way to do this is to split the shrimp down the back using a paring knife and to pick out the vein. If you don't want to mess with this task, buy shrimp that has already been deveined.

Marination follows de-veining. Immerse the seafood in the marinade of your choice, stir well, and refrigerate for around one hour. As a final preparation measure, apply a thin coat of vegetable oil to the grill in order to prevent the seafood from sticking to the rack, and preheat the grill to medium heat.

Grilling Techniques

Once the pre-grilling preparation steps are over, it’s time to grill.

Baste the food items with the required herbs and seasonings immediately before placing the seafood on the hot grill to enhance the flavor. Baste again in intervals of 2 to 3 minutes during the cooking process so that the meat becomes firm and opaque to enrich the taste and flavor even further.

Skewers not only make it easy to control the seafood on the grill but also help determine the shape. For instance, skewering shrimp lengthwise reduces the natural curling, giving nice and straight shrimp. Skewing each shrimp twice, first through the top and then through the bottom, provides a curved and more attractive shape. You may want to soak bamboo or wood skewers in water before loading them with seafood. This will prevent the skewers from wicking the juices out of the shrimp – and from catching on fire on the grill.

The optimal cooking time for seafood varies. For instance, lobster generally takes 8 to 10 minutes while shrimp takes only 2 to 5 minutes. What is more important, however, is to have a good understanding of cooking signs that let you know when the seafood needs to be turned or is done. For instance, light grill marks that appear on lobster tails after 4 to 5 minutes indicate that it is time to flip the shell side down. A translucent pink coloring for shrimp indicates cooking is still in progress, and an opaque, white (with some orange or pink) color indicates fully cooked shrimp.

Seafood cooks fast and, as such, grilling on medium to medium-low heat lets you monitor the cooking better. Low temperatures also ensure more even cooking.

Finally, allow the seafood to cool for a few minutes after grilling before delving in to it. Not only will this help prevent you from burning your mouth, but it also allows the flavor a little more time to develop.

Nayab Nasser is a contributor to Six Apart Media.