Grilled Pesto Shrimp

The middle of America is hardly seafood country. There are more chicken and rib recipes in my arsenal than shellfish. A no fuss hit is grilled shrimp with pesto.

This is so easy you’ll do it for every dinner party. Use medium to large sized shrimp to get a good mix of pesto and shrimp flavor. The above picture is 16-20 count shrimp. This is the number of shrimp that it takes to make a pound. These were a little too large in my opinion. 26-30 count shrimp is more like it.

To prep, remove the shells and tails from the shrimp. Don’t throw them away. Use the shells and tails for a seafood stock. I use premade pesto found in the pasta sauce section of the grocery store. Liberally coat the shrimp with the pesto sauce.

Set your gas grill to medium-high or get a hot fire going on your charcoal grill. One of those grill plates with the holes works well for this. Coat the griddle or grate with olive oil so the shrimp won’t stick. Grill about 3-4 minutes each side. Just watch for the shrimp to get golden and a little crusty. They grill fast, so don’t overcook or you’ll have popcorn, pesto shrimp.
Enjoy!