Amazingly enough, everybody in my house likes shrimp (even the uber-picky kid!) and I like how quickly shrimp cooks up, which means I can get to my weekend relaxing that much sooner.
This recipe calls for a little marinating, so I prepped the marinade in the morning and then put the shrimp in right away when I got home and let it soak while I prepped my side dishes. I thought about letting the shrimp sit in the marinade all day, but I was afraid the acid in the lime juice might actually cook the shrimp and we'd end up with ceviche instead. I learned that fancy word watching Top Chef, but I'm not quite ready to try eating it. I like my animal products thoroughly cooked, thank you very much!
The original recipe says this serves 2, and my hubby is a man and a half at 6'5" and 220 lbs, so I doubled it, and we still ate every last little crustacean.
Honey Lime Shrimp
Prep time: 5 min Chill time: 30 min Cook time: 5 min
Serves 2
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs honey
Juice of one small lime, or half a large lime (2-3 Tbs)
Zest of one small lime, or half a large lime
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
In a large ziploc bag, combine all the marinade ingredients. When everything is well-combined, add the shrimp, squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag, and close it up. Place it in the fridge.
Let the shrimp marinate for 30-60 minutes, flipping the bag around once or twice during that time, so that all the shrimp stay evenly covered in the marinade.
When you’re ready to cook, take the shrimp out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; there is no need to add any oil or butter to the pan, as the marinade has enough oil in it to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. (If you would prefer to use the grill for these, you can thread them onto skewers and toss them on the grill at this point.)
Add your shrimp to the pan in a single layer, making sure they are not too crowded; you can always cook them in more than one batch. Let them cook on one side for about a minute, until they curl up and start to turn pink. Flip them over, and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the shrimp are opaque. Remove from the pan, and serve immediately!
