Grilled Harissa Shrimp

Name: Grilled Harissa Shrimp
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 pound Shrimp (Gulf Shrimp preferrably); 1/3 cup Harissa Sauce; 1 Medium Zucchini; 1/3 cup Sun-dried tomatoes; 3 Green Onions; 1 cup Couscous; 1 cup Chicken Stock; 1 TBS olive oil; 1/2 TBS Salt; 1/2 TBS Black Pepper; 8-10 Bamboo Skewers

Posted on May 15th, 2020

by Andrew Armstrong

Categories:

Grilled shrimp skewers over a bed of couscous.

I’ve previously mentioned that my family vacations in Gulf Shores in the summer. It’s a great family-friendly destination with awesome seafood right out your front door. Infact, it’s so good my eyes got a bit bigger than my stomach the last trip and I purchased way too many shrimp to eat during our stay. I brought the extra home and froze them. Well, it’s time to put those beauties to good use. Today I’m going to show you how to prepare Grilled Harissa Shrimp.

Start that fire

Before we prepare our shrimp I’m going to go ahead and start my fire and let my grill come up to medium-high heat. I’m also going to grill the shrimp on wooden skewers. I picked up some inexpensive bamboo skewers at my local supermarket. While the grill is coming up to temp I’m going to soak the skewers in water so they are less likely to catch fire while on the grill. You will need two skewers for every 5-6 shrimp.

Torch lights lump charcoal in a Big Green Egg — Who doesn’t love playing with fire?

Wooden Bamboo Skewers — Use two skewers for every 5-6 shrimp.

Bamboo Skewers soaking in water — Soak your skewers in water while you prep.

You’re so vein

Depending on the type of shrimp you buy you may need to de-vein the shrimp. It’s safe to eat the shrimp with the vein in but it can cause the shrimp to have a muddy/gritty taste and texture. It’s relatively easy to remove so I highly recommend it. Take a small pairing knife and run it down the back of the shrimp to expose the vein. Using the tip of the knife gently lift the exposed vein and pull it out. Easy as that. If this seems like too much work you can simply ask your local seafood market for peeled and deveined shrimp.

Knife runs down the back of a gulf shrimp — Run a small pairing knife down the back of the shrimp.

Fingers pull out the vein of a shrimp — The vein should now be exposed. Simply pull it out.

Hit me with the Harissa

After our shrimp have been deveined I’m going seasoned the shrimp with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of spicy harissa sauce. Harissa is a North African pepper sauce that adds a wonderfully complex, savory, heat to our shrimp. I’ve previously created a recipe so you can make your own Harissa Sauce at home. If you don’t have time to make it yourself I enjoy the Mina Harissa you can find in supermarkets or online. After our shrimp have been thoroughly coated in harissa it’s time to make our skewers.

Bowl of shrimp with salt and pepper — Our shrimp are ready to be seasoned.

Gulf Shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper. — Pinch of salt and pepper.

Small glass bowl of Harissa — Time to add in our Harissa.

Harissa being added to gulf shrimp — Add in enough to coat the shrimp. They don’t need to be swimming in sauce.

Gulf Shrimp coated in spicy Harissa sauce — Coated and ready to be skewered.

Vlad the Impaler

By now our bamboo skewers have soaked enough. Time to impale our shrimp. We are going to use two skewers for every 5-6 shrimp. Using two skewers instead of one keeps the individual shrimp from spinning when you go to rotate them on the grill. If you skip this step and only use one you may end up fighting a few shrimp that want to keep cooking on the same side while the others have been flipped over properly. After you have got all your skewers made cover them and place them back in the fridge.

So good they named it twice

To go along with the shrimp I’m going to make some couscous with zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and green onion. Dice one small to medium size zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces. Roughly chop 1/3 cup of sundried tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Finally, dice 2-3 green onions. Dice the pale green section into 1/4 pieces and thinly slice the green top to add as a garnish at the end.

Zucchini being diced with a chef knife — Dice your zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces. It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Sun-dried tomatoes being roughly chopped — Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes

Green onions on a cutting board — We will need to separate the green onion tops from the bottom. Be sure and remove the roots.

Dicing green onion with a chef knife — The pale green portion will be used for our couscous.

Green onions after being diced — Left: Tops used for garnish Right: pale green sections for the couscous.

Use those Skillet Skillz

In a skillet add a TBS of olive oil and sautee zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes for 3-4 minutes until you can start to pierce them with a fork. As we sautee add in a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Be careful not to overcook the zucchini because it will turn mushy. While the zucchini is being sauteed we need to make our couscous. In a medium saucepan bring 1 cup of chicken stock to a boil. After the stock has reached a boil add in one cup of couscous, a pinch of salt, and the 1/4 pieces of our green onion. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. After five minutes add in our sauteed zucchini and tomatoes and fluff the couscous with a fork. Return the lid and keep warm.

Zucchini being sautéed in a cast iron skillet — Sautée your zucchini and tomatoes.

Couscous with green onions — Add in the green onions with the couscous and remove from heat for 5 minutes.

Hey Grill! Hey!

Place our skewers on the preheated grill and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until they are no longer transparent. Care should be used here to not overcook your shrimp. If you leave them on too long you will end up with an unpleasant rubbery texture instead of a wonderfully juicy and charred piece of shrimp.

Shrimp Skewers on a Big Green Egg grill. — Place your skewers on the pre-heated grill.

Grilled shrimp skewers on a Big Green Egg Grill. — Keep an eye on the shrimp they cook very quickly.

Time to Eat!

After our shrimp skewers are done spoon out a bed of our couscous on a plate and place 1-2 skewers on top. Garnish with the thinly sliced green onion tops. This dish pairs great with dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. If you’d rather have a beer an IPA goes great with spicy grilled foods like these wonderful Grilled Harissa Shrimp. Enjoy.

-Cheers