In this episode, Taryn Solie walks you through her recipe for grilled shrimp fajitas, perfect for a family meal or a backyard BBQ. You’ll get a list of all the ingredients needed, including some quick grilling tips and advice on which skewers to use. Taryn guides you through the instructions step-by-step, and even includes some serving and side dish suggestions. Your family is going to love this easy-customizable recipe!
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
RECIPES MENTIONED
These are some of the recipes mentioned in the episode, all of which are on Hot Pan Kitchen.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Some of the following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
We LOVE our Thermoworks Thermapen ONE meat thermometer to quickly and easily check the internal temperatures of meats. We’ve used a Thermapen for years and they are AMAZING. Get one for yourself here (affiliate link).
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Salt conversion chart from Epicurious
- Metal skewers
- Glass casserole dish (9×13)
- Grilling tongs
- Ove Glove oven mitts
TRANSCRIPT
Taryn Solie: Hello grillers, and thank you for tuning in today! I am your host, Taryn Solie, and I am here to give you some grilling inspiration.
Today I’m going to walk you through how to make shrimp fajitas on a grill. These fajitas are great for several reasons. First, they’re pretty easy to make – just some prep and seasoning is needed, then on the grill they go. And speaking of the grill, everything that needs to be cooked gets cooked on the grill, so you’re not heating up your kitchen if it’s hot out. Then lastly, you can pretty easily customize them because everyone can choose their own toppings. It basically just wins all around.
So let’s jump into the recipe with the ingredients! I’m going to break this down into what you’ll need for the shrimp, for the fajitas, and then for serving everything together.
For the shrimp you’ll need:
- 1 lb of raw shrimp that’s been peeled & deveined,
- ¾ tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt,
- ½ tsp of smoked paprika,
- ¼ tsp of garlic powder,
- ¼ tsp of ground cumin,
- ⅛ tsp of ground black pepper, and
- 2 tsp of oil – I like to use avocado oil.
For the fajitas you’ll need:
- 1 large onion,
- 2 bell peppers,
- 1 tbsp of oil, and
- ½ tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Then for serving everything you’ll need some or all of the following:
- Tortillas of your choice,
- Avocado,
- Chopped cilantro, and
- Lime wedges.
Before we get into the recipe instructions, a few quick tips:
- One, this recipe specifically uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which is my preferred salt for grilling and cooking. This is because it’s less salty by volume than other salts, which leaves more room for error when salting your food. If you’re using a different type of salt, you’ll want to adjust the measurement a bit and I’ll link to a resource on the show notes page for that.
- Two, you want to make sure you’re starting with thawed raw shrimp. Shrimp don’t take a long time to thaw from frozen and you’ll have trouble skewering them if they’re still icy inside, so if you’re starting with frozen shrimp take the time to thaw them first.
- And lastly, some notes about skewers. If you can, invest in metal skewers. They are not that expensive – I’ve seen them as low as $5 – and they’re so much better than wood skewers. I’ve never had wood skewers that didn’t disintegrate on me when grilling and that makes it hard to handle the meat.
- If you do only have wood skewers, which I know will be the case for some people, make sure to give them a good soak in water before you put your shrimp on them. I would say at least an hour, more if you have the time. This will help delay them burning up on the grill.
- If you are purchasing metal skewers – look for ones that are flat instead of round. Flat skewers help the food stay put when cooking, whereas on round skewers the food tends to twirl around and become loose, which makes it hard to rotate the skewers for even cooking.
- Also think about the length of the skewers and the length of your grill grates. If you have a small grill you may want shorter skewers. I typically go with 12 inch skewers.
Okay, that’s all the tips I have, now let’s get to the recipe!
This is going to be a bit of a three-in-one recipe because we are going to go over grilling onions, bell peppers, and the shrimp all to make the grilled fajitas.
First we’re going to start with the veggies. You want to take your onion and remove the ends of it with a large sharp knife on a cutting board. Peel off those thin outer layers, the kind of darker colored ones, then use the knife and cutting board to slice the onion into half inch rings. For a large onion this will result in about 4 to 5 rings total. Place the rings in a single layer in a dish or large platter.
Next you want to measure out about a half a tablespoon of oil and gently pour a little bit on top of each onion slice. Do this as equally as you can per onion. Rub the oil into both sides of the onion making sure the surface is fully covered.
If your onions are coming apart at all, grab some toothpicks and insert them into the side of the onion so that they go through each layer of the onion to the middle and help hold it all together. This will make the onions easier to flip on the grill as well. Then go ahead and set them aside while we prep the bell peppers.
Start by removing the tops of the peppers with the knife that you have. Make an incision less than half an inch down from the top of the pepper and carefully cut all the way around the top of the pepper until it comes off, kind of like a hat. Do this for both bell peppers, then slice each on in half from top to bottom, removing any seeds with your fingers and discarding them.
Place both cut bell peppers in a medium bowl then drizzle with a half a tablespoon of oil and sprinkle over about a half a teaspoon of kosher salt. Use your hands to spread the oil and salt onto the veggies until they’re well covered. Go ahead and set them aside.
Next you want to make the seasoning blend for the shrimp. Use the measuring spoons to measure out ¾ teaspoon of the kosher salt as well as the smoked paprika, garlic powder, ground cumin, and ground black pepper, and combine them all in a small bowl. Set them aside while you prep the shrimp.
Get out a large bowl, or I like to use a glass casserole dish, and place the raw shrimp in it. Dry the shrimp off using paper towels – this will help the seasoning stick better – then throw the towels away. Before you season the shrimp, measure out two teaspoons of oil and place it in a small bowl. This way you won’t have to touch the oil bottle with dirty hands.
Sprinkle the seasoning over the shrimp and stir everything together with your hands. Then go ahead and drizzle the oil over the shrimp as well. Use your hands again to combine everything together, making sure each shrimp is as evenly coated as possible.
Take out one metal skewer and gently push a shrimp onto it in a C shape, making sure to get the skewer’s point as close to the middle of the shrimp as possible. Slide it down to the bottom of the skewer then keep repeating until all of the shrimp are on all of the skewers. Be sure not to place the shrimp too close together so they can cook more evenly.
A quick tip for when you’re skewering the shrimp – do the best you can to place the same size shrimp together on the same skewer. Meaning smaller ones on one skewer, medium ones on another, etc. You should be able to fit 5 shrimp onto 1 skewer, depending on the size of your shrimp (or if you’re using different sized skewers). Once all the shrimp are on skewers, set them aside while you get the grill turned on.
Preheat the grill to 400 degrees F, then once it comes to temperature place the onion slices on the grill with a pair of tongs (whichever side down you like). Cook them for 4 minutes with the lid closed.
After the 4 minutes are up, open the lid and carefully flip the onions using the tongs, then place the bell peppers on the grill. Cook the veggies for another 3 minutes with the lid closed. Open the lid again and flip the bell peppers over, cooking them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until both the bell peppers and onions are lightly charred. They should be soft but not completely limp. Remove the veggies from the grill and set them aside while you cook the shrimp.
Next place the shrimp skewers on the grill. Close the lid and cook for 2 minutes. Open up the lid and flip the skewers over – be sure to wear an oven mitt as the skewers will be hot! Cook the shrimp for another 2 to 4 minutes with the lid closed. Remove the skewers from the grill once the shrimp are opaque and whiteish-pink in color all the way through, and at an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
Remove the shrimp from the grill and place them on a large platter. Cut the onion in half with the knife on the cutting board and break apart the rings to make slices of onion. Cut the bell pepper halves into quarter-inch slices and place both the onion and bell pepper on the platter with the shrimp. From here you can make your fajitas with your tortillas, avocado, chopped cilantro, or any other toppings you like.
These shrimp fajitas are kind of an all in one meal, though you could certainly round the meal out with a green salad or some simple sides like rice and beans or cut up fruit.
I’ll include a link to the full printable recipe for these fajitas, as well as the other recipes and resources I’ve mentioned, on the show notes page. To get to it you can either go to my main website at Hot Pan Kitchen dot com and click on podcast in the main menu, or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening on.
If you enjoyed this recipe, consider subscribing to the show on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss out on future episodes! I’ve got so many more great grilling and smoking recipes you’re going to love.
That’s it for today, thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep grilling like a mother.
Leave a comment