Southern Cuisine: Cajun Grilled Shrimp Recipe - Quick, Easy, and Delicious!

I love seafood! This is a great grilled shrimp recipe. It's quick and easy, but your dinner guests will think they're eating at some great New Orleans restaurant. It's so simple that you can easily prepare it for the family after a hard day on the job, especially if you use shrimp that are already peeled and deveined, or if you do that yourself the night before. A gas grill will also cut your cooking time. These are even great on a George Foreman grill - and super quick!

The marriage of the smoky bacon and the spices work their magic with the delicate flavor of fresh shrimp. Shrimp often tend to dry out on the grill, but in this case, the bacon keeps them moist and juicy! For this grilled shrimp recipe, get the largest shrimp you can find!

What you'll need:

24 raw jumbo shrimp or prawns

commercially prepared dry Cajun seasoning mix

12 thin slices of hickry smoked bacon, cut in half lengthwise

4 wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers in water for two hours to keep them from burning. Place a plate or other object on the skewers so that they won't float.

If your shrimp aren't already peeled and deveined, do it yourself. Split the shrimp lengthwise, cutting ALMOST all the way through. Leave the tails on. Rinse the shrimp in water, making sure to remove the entire vein. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle the Cajun spice mix in the cavity of the shrimp.

Wrap each shrimp with 1/2 slice of bacon. Thread shrimp on wooden skewers - six shrimp per skewer.

Cook the shrimp over medium-hot coals, a gas grill, or an indoor grill like a Foreman. When the bacon is brown and the shrimp are pink, they're done. This will take only a few minutes.

Serve the skewers over yellow rice, red rice, or rice pilaf. This is also great served with red beans and rice. Add a tossed salad and some garlic bread, and you have a complete meal!

This recipe serves four, but if you're entertaining guests, you can easily double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. Just figure about six jumbo shrimp per person. This is a wonderful recipe for parties and cookouts - easy entertaining at its best!

NOTE: These shrimp are great all by themselves, but for a tasty dipping sauce, check out my recipe for Japanese yum-yum sauce: