Fiery Shrimp Skewers

These shrimp skewers are sweet, spicy and great for a weekday meal or party appetizer.  Whether served chilled or warm, cooked under the broiler or on a grill these easy-peasy bites are sure to get rave reviews from even your toughest home critics. The recipe below is for the cold appetizer version I made for a baby shower. Be sure to check out The Broken Oven Tip at the bottom of the page for warm meal ideas using this versatile recipe.

Marinade

Ingredients

1 orange to zest and juice
1 lemon to zest and juice
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 table spoons fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Pour the olive oil into a medium sized bowl.
• Zest the entire lemon and half the orange.
• Squeeze the juice of both the lemons and orange into the marinade and add the zest. 
• Rasp in or finely mince the garlic cloves and add to the marinade.
• Sprinkle in red pepper flakes.
• Finely chop mint, basil and oregano and add to marinade.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade and pour the remaining liquid into a large resealable plastic bag. 

Skewers

Ingredients
24 - 6 inch flat bamboo skewers -- you may use the thin round skewers but I've found these work better
2 lb. Jumbo raw shrimp peeled and deveined
3 fresh Mandarin or Clementine oranges
Fresh pineapple cored and cut into chunks -- I use the pre-cut from the produce section of grocery store
Fresh mint leaves

Directions

• Thaw shrimp, remove tails and rinse.
• Place shrimp in the large resealable plastic bag with the marinade. Seal, shake and place in the refrigerator and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes. Do not marinate longer than 30 minutes or the shrimp will burn from the added citrus.
• While shrimp is marinating, peel and clean theMandarin orange slices, cut pineapple into chunks, clip mint leaves and set aside.
• Remove shrimp from from bag and place on a baking sheet.
• Broil on low for 3 minutes each side or until shrimp is pink and opaque.
• Remove from the broiler and place in bowl to cool.
• Skewer 3 shrimp, 1 mandarin oranges, 1 pineapple chunk and 1 mint leaf onto skewer. 
• Cover and chill.
• Brush with reserved marinade before serving.

Servings
Approximately 24 - 6 inch skewers.

A Broken Oven Tip

Want to make these on the grill for a BBQ or weekday dinner? Use larger skewers pre-soaked in cold water and add different kinds of veggies such as red, green or yellow peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant onions and more. Set grill the at medium heat and grill about 3 minutes per side or until the shrimp is pink and opaque. Be sure not to over cook the shrimp or they can become rubbery. The shrimp pairs nicely with couscous or risotto for an extra fancy flair!