Why Cook Shrimp In Foil Packets
No one wants to deal with a pile of dishes after chowing down on a tasty dinner. By cooking shrimp in foil packets, its not only mess-free, but its also easy to handle. You dont have to worry about losing any juiciness or seasoning while your shrimp is on the grill.
Plus, everyone gets their own serving in their own silver package! AND! Shrimp Boil in Packets is an awesome camping recipe.
Which Shrimp Is Best For Shrimp Scampi
The shrimp section at the grocery can be a little intimidating. First, youll find cooked shrimp and raw shrimp. You definitely want raw shrimp for this dish.
Then, there is peeled, deveined, unpeeled, tail-on. So many choices. You cant go wrong with any of those. It all comes down to how much work you want to do and how much money you want to spend.
No matter what, I always buy deveined shrimp, because deveining it myself is so time consuming.
Once you find deveined shrimp, you can choose between peeled or unpeeled. The unpeeled shrimp are usually less expensive, because it requires less work on the production side. I often buy unpeeled shrimp because I like the flavor the peels add to dishes, but they do require you to peel them as you eat them.
For grilled shrimp scampi, I like using peeled, tail-on shrimp. The tails still provide added flavor to the broth and are a lot easier to remove as you eat.
Tips For The Best Shrimp Foil Packets
- You really dont want the foil to break open when turning, so make sure to double up and not have just one layer.
- Customize this recipe with other favourite summer vegetables, such as small even sections of corn on the cob. You can also omit one veggie and add extra peppers if you want.
- I used fresh garlic in the jar, as I need to use it up. Yet you can also crush your own if you wish. Fresh or jarred gives best results, yet you can use powdered if necessary.
- I used tail off thawed uncooked jumbo shrimp for my recipe. You can leave the tails on if you want, it does give a bit more flavour to the recipe, but also more work when eating it.
- If you have frozen shrimp, the best way to unthaw is to place them all in a colander and run cold water over the shrimp to unthaw quickly. This should only take a few minutes.
- As you can see, I didnt add salt in the spices. I find our shrimp to be salty, so adding more would be too much. Yet if you know that your shrimp isnt salty, go ahead and add about a 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt to the spices.
- If you want more of a spicy grilled shrimp recipe, add some cajun seasoning or cajun spices.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Charcoal Grill For The Money
What Spices Are Good For Shrimp
Gentle herbs and spices are generally good for shrimp so the sweet flavor can come through. Any spices are good though, so for this recipe we chose onion powder, peppers, thyme, paprika and rosemary. Its a little bit of a bigger flavor since it is covering corn and potatoes as well. You can go cajun style for this recipe, or even just do butter and garlic if youd like!
How To Make Lemon Garlic Foil Packet Shrimp On The Grill:
Preheat your grill to high heat.
Peel and de-vein your raw shrimp if they arent already. Place the shrimp in the center of a long sheet of foil. Add the butter, garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, dried parsley, and red pepper flakes .
Fold the foil into a packet and place on the preheated grill. Replace the cover and grill until shrimp are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Read Also: How To Remove Rust From Grill Grates
How To Grill Shrimp Without Skewers
To cook raw shrimp on the outdoor grill without skewers, use a foil pouch like I did in my recipe. Alternatively, you can also place shrimp on a baking sheet directly on my grill grates. This will prevent the shrimp from falling through the grill grates.
You can also place shrimp in a barbecue friendly skillet with a little bit of olive oil for another cooking method. Just cook over medium-high heat until they turn a nice pink color.
Shrimp cooks really quickly, so keep an eye on it. Youll spend more time getting the shrimp onto skewers than you would cooking them, whether you are making shrimp kabobs using wooden skewers or metal skewers.
For another BBQ favourite, try this Sweet Chili Lime Grilled Chicken!
A Few Tips For This Grilled Shrimp Recipe:
- I dry brine the shrimp in advance to make sure they have a lovely salty flavor to the flesh, it doesnt take more than 20-30 minutes and is an easy way to quickly improve flavor.
- Following advice from Serious Eats, I add a pinch of baking soda to the shrimp so they have a firm and snappy texture . It does turn the shells a little white, but the texture is SO worth it. So the final brine recipe is: 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per pound of shrimp.
- The right knife can do wonders for butterflying the shell-on shrimp, and the best tool for this task is the Gerber Vital. Its got replaceable blades just like a scalpel, but theyre small enough to give you lots of control.
You May Like: How To Clean An Outdoor Grill Grate
Read Also: Where To Buy Weber Gas Grills
How To Tell Your Shrimp Is Fresh
Whenever you purchase shrimp, its best to make sure its still fresh . The shell is often a dead giveaway on if your shrimp should be eaten or passed over. The shells should all have a firm and glossy appearance without any black spots or yellowing. Discoloration can be a sign that the shrimp wasnt properly stored.
And like with other seafood, if your shrimp smells overly fishy or like a rotten egg, its definitely past its prime.
Recommended Reading: What Grill Should I Buy
Packing The Shrimp In Foil
If you are making saucy shrimp, you can wiggle the foil into a bowl shape or place the piece of foil over a bowl.
Put your shrimp inside, and then fold the foil close. You can use the same concept when adding veggies or extra food items with the shrimp.
You want to make sure you add the shrimp on top of any veggies for grilling so the shrimp doesn’t get done too quickly while the vegetables are not yet tender.
You can mix it all in if you are grilling in the oven with a broil setting because the primary heat is above.
With dry spiced shrimp, it will be best to try and lay the shrimp out in an even layer as flat as possible.
That helps all the shrimp cook evenly at once without overlapping shrimp releasing extra juices onto the bottom pieces.
Before you close the foil, remember to drizzle some olive oil or place a few blobs of butter around the shrimp.
It will help cook the shrimp by keeping it tender and adding flavor. In addition, you could also add a few lemon slices for more flavor.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Way To Clean Gas Grill Grates
How To Peel A Shrimp Before Grilling
Before cooking, you need to be able to clean the shrimp properly. Professional chefs advise doing this in the following way:
How Long To Cook Shrimp On The Grill
Giant shrimp need only five minutes to cook, while large prawns take only six to eight minutes. Heat for two to three minutes on each side, turning once halfway through. It will generally take four to six minutes, based on the number of shrimps you have in the barbecue and the size of your prawns.
It would help if you watched out for the aperture toward the rear of the shrimp, where it took out the vein. Keep your eyes focused on the thickest piece of the prawn , and when the tissue at the fissures foundation becomes murky, the shrimp is prepared.
Also Check: How To Grill Salmon On The Grill
Read Also: How To Grill Pork Ribs
How To Cook Shrimp On The Grill
Make sure when you create your seasoning mix, you mix it together very well before measuring it to put in your grilled shrimp foil packet.
I know youre dying to get to the recipe so I wont keep rambling on about how DELICIOUS it is youre going to love this grilled shrimp!
Enjoy these flavorful grilled shrimp! Theyre SO SO GOOD and I know you are going to be dying for more! Be sure to let me know how yours turn out as I love seeing them!
How To Grill Scallops
Scallops seared on a hot grill are second to none. Heres how to do it:
Mike Lang
You May Like: Where Are Z Grills Manufactured
Don’t Miss: Recipes For Bbq Ribs On The Grill
More Shrimp Recipes That Are Easy Recipes:
Cook Time: Total Time:
These easy GRILLED SHRIMP FOIL PACKS are loaded with shrimp, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and tasty spices. Made on the BBQ or oven, cleanup is a breeze!
- 1 lb raw Jumbo Shrimp, thawed and deveined
- 1/2 Zucchini, chopped
- 1 1/2 Bell Pepper, chopped
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
Delicious Grilled Shrimp Foil Packets
Why shrimp foil packets? Shrimp foil packets are an easy and delicious meal all wrapped up in foil. These shrimp foil packets are a whole meal in one. Youve got corn, potatoes, kielbasa, tomatoes, and shrimp.
These shrimp packets are easy to make and the perfect summer meal for a big group or for a family who loves leftovers.
Don’t Miss: How Long Do I Cook Salmon On The Grill
How Long You Can Marinate Shrimp
The marinade is what makes or breaks the dish, and thats why you want to make a good one. And if you are thinking about how long you can marinate shrimp, you should know that you dont want to do it for too long as you do it with some meats. If you are marinating them in a marinade thats acidic and has lemons or limes in it, which goes perfectly with seafood, only 30 minutes is enough. The shrimp meat is delicate, and you dont want to make it mushy. And if you are making a marinade that doesnt have anything acidic in it, you can marinate for around an hour. Like with any seafood, when you put the meat into the marinade, always put it in the fridge until its time to cook.
Shrimp Foil Packet Dinner
If youre on a camping trip I would bring the shrimp frozen in your cooler. You could add small pieces of sausage and corn kernels into the packets for more of a complete meal. Alternatively you could make as is with grilled corn on the cob and/or smoked sausage on the side.
What is great about this if you arent at home is you can use the foil as a plate almost, just be careful of the drippings. Seafood is high in protein and quite healthy so it is a great dinner overall that even my kids absolutely love.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with or visit my Etsy shop?? Take a peek and see how many you might already havetwinsies!
Don’t Miss: How To Clean Grill Exterior
How To Fold A Foil Packet
With some recipes, you can get by fine using one layer of foil, but I recommend using two sheets for this grilled shrimp scampi recipe.
Heres why. When you fold the foil over the pasta and liquid, youre going to create steam, which will escape and drip out. If you add another sheet of foil over the original packet, youll collect the steam in that layer, making cleanup a breeze.
This recipe is for four foil packets, so start by tearing off eight 16-inch sheets of Reynolds Wrap® Non-Stick Foil. Im using their Non-Stick Foil to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom. They also just released new foil boxes with a tab that makes it easier to open and close the box. The new boxes are color coded by foil type, look for the yellow color for non-stick foil.
Stack two sheets on top of each other with the dull side facing up. The dull side is the non-stick side. You should have four stacks.
Because were working with liquid, lay the sheets on a rimmed sheet pan. This will create a slight concave, keeping the liquid from spilling out.
Layer the pasta and liquid onto the center of the foil sheets along with the butter, garlic, pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Working with just the top sheet, bring the long sides of the foil up to the center. Join them so theyre even and touching. Fold the foil over about 1/2-inch a couple of times.
Then, fold the short ends in about 1/-2 inch toward the center a couple of times.
Temperature And Length For Grilling Shrimp In Foil
Reduce the temperature for grilling your shrimp foil packs on a bbq grill to medium heat fire.
If the fire is scorching, your shrimp will not cook properly, and the outer layer will get done too fast with the meat still raw in the middle.
Place the foil pack on the side of the grill so that it is not over direct fire.
In grilling, the masters call it “indirect heat.” You can grill the shrimp for 8-10 minutes, and it will be ready to serve.
When grilling shrimp in the oven using a broiler, keep the temperature between 300-350°F. Place the foil packs in the middle rack of the oven and broil it for 10-12 minutes.
Be mindful when opening up the packs because it will release a lot of steam aside from being incredibly hot to the touch.
Related: When, How and Why to Wrap a Brisket?
Don’t Miss: Are Camp Chef Grills Made In The Usa
Grilled Shrimp Recipe Is The Best
We make this frequently during the summer. Its the perfect recipe to make ahead and serve for a crowd.
Grilling shrimp is so easy and really delicious. Serve this recipe today for an instant crowd favorite. Everyone will definitely like this meal.
I love to make this for guests and it is always a hit. Our entire family loves it as well.
Give it a try for a delicious meal year round. Dont save it for special occasions or cookouts. It is easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
Grilled Shrimp Foil Packs
What does one do when they are grilling more often, and have bags of frozen jumbo shrimp on hand? That was how this delicious recipe came to be. Well, heat the BBQ folks, because this is one seafood recipe youll want to make all summer long!
Up until recently, the only BBQ foil wrapped cooking Id done was sliced potatoes and grilled corn on the cob. This year my grilling game is strong, so Im getting more comfortable making different meals on the BBQ, and with success. Just a little pat on my back, thank you very much.
This foil packed recipe is so good, and very easy to put together. Each happy bundle is packed with shrimp, summer vegetables and a blend of tasty spices.
The best part is that its a complete meal in one easy dinner shrimp packet, and with such an easy clean-up.
As a bonus, you can totally make this in the oven and as a campfire foil pack too. Its started quite the love for foil packet recipes for me. Its a healthy meal with big flavor that the whole family loved.
I have a recipe for Chicken Fajitas Foil Packets in my foil packet meals collection.
Also Check: What Is The Best Countertop Grill
What To Serve With Grilled Shrimp
When we serve this Grilled Shrimp in foil we like to serve with different sides. Most of the time, I try to do sides that can easily be prepared or can be grilled so it is easy clean up. Here are some of our favorites:
- Grilled Bake Potatoes Bake Potatoes are an easy side and they come out perfectly when grilled.
- Grilled Asparagus in FoilWe love grilling out asparagus. You can even cook the asparagus in the same foil as the shrimp.
- Easy Crock Pot Rice Rice, vegetables and shrimp is our favorite dinner option.
