We recently threw an impromptu BBQ to kick-off the outdoor cooking season, and wanted to add something new to our usual menu of burgers and dogs. So, I did a quick search for an Old Bay shrimp recipe, and got the most positive response to anything I’ve ever grilled. I was expecting them to be good, but I had no idea just how good they would turn out. I sifted through a lot of average recipes during my search, but the one that jumped out to me was from this old Sixtwists blog post. There’s a very simple recipe that you can follow on their post, but I modified it a bit for my crowd. There were a bunch of kids at this gathering, so I added two pounds of shrimp, but didn’t quite double-down on all of the other ingredients. I prefer my shrimp a little spicier, but because of all the kids, I had to tone it down a bit. Next time I make them, I plan to spice them up to better suit my taste.
The other change I made was about how I cooked them on the grill. Normally, I would try to cook them directly on the grill, and probably lose a few in the process. I’ve also tried to go the tinfoil route, but I always find myself ripping it during preparation. As I was mixing them together, I remembered a present we “won” during our re-gifting New Years Eve party – the Yoshi Copper Grill and Bake Mats. Now, I’ve never been a fan of “As Seen on TV” products. I considered it a sucker-move to buy anything that I saw on a 3 AM infomercial while trying to get one of my kids back to sleep. But, this thing changed my grilling life. I haven’t tried it in the kitchen yet, but on the grill, it was awesome.
I placed both mats from the 2-pack on the grill, and cooked all 2 pounds of shrimp at once. I was able to just dump the entire bowl onto the mats, and spread them out. No need to worry about the extra sauce causing all kinds of problems with the burners, or sticking to the mat. About three quarters of the way through the cooking time, I simply flipped them all over as the recipe said, and gave them about another 90 seconds. When the chewing stopped, the first compliment I heard was that they were perfectly cooked. I will never again cook seafood or vegetables on the grill without a copper grill mat. It was unreal. I also heard they are great for cooking chicken with a marinade, but I haven’t tried yet. I’ll update this post after I give baking with the copper grill mat a whirl.
As good as the shrimp tasted, the best part was the clean-up effort. I just waited until the grill cooled down, took the mat off the grill, rinsed it in the sink, and placed it in the dishwasher. Free to get back to my beer drinking while the kids made s’mores. I will never discuss anything on this blog that I don’t truly believe in, and actually use myself. This Copper Grill Mat is by far the best regift prize I’ve ever won. I highly recommend grabbing one on Amazon before the BBQ season gets into full swing.
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