Easy Grilled Country Club Appetizer
By Andrew Zimmern
In this episode of Wild Game Kitchen, I’m grilling two spectacular shrimp dishes. I’m starting with a twist on a Southern country club classic — skewers of jumbo ocean-caught shrimp wrapped around cubes of country ham, grilled and glazed with a sweet-hot pepper jelly. Then, inspired by my travels through Southeast Asia, I’m sharing a dish of grilled shrimp seasoned with turmeric and cinnamon, served alongside crispy “battle rice” — rounds Japanese short grain rice briefly charred on the grill and topped with sesame seeds. The dish is finished with a complex Malaysian sambal, loaded with lemongrass, shallots, chiles, fresh herbs, and aromatics; it strikes the perfect balance between sweet, sour, and spicy.
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Shrimp Skewers with Country Ham and Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup jalapeno jelly, or other hot pepper jelly
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons Crystal Hot Sauce
- 2 pounds head on shrimp, u-10 or u-12, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound cleaned and trimmed country ham, cut in 3/4-inch cubes
Instructions
Prepare a grill for high direct heat cooking.
Combine the jelly and juice, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the thyme, parsley, olive oil, and hot sauce. Set aside.
Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the head and tail on and intact. Pour the herb hot sauce mixture over the shrimp and toss to combine.
Skewer the shrimp and ham. Place one cube of ham in the middle curve of each shrimp, securing with metal skewers. If you have long skewers, you can fit several shrimp with ham on each skewer.
Clean and oil the grill grate. Grill over high direct heat until shrimp the shrimp begin to turn pink and char. Flip and continue to grill until cooked through, basting with the jelly-juice mixture.
Serve as an appetizer, using leftover jelly mixture as a dipping sauce.
