Up next in my summer grilling adventures I head down south to the Caribbean for some grilled Jamaican jerk shrimp using a tasty homemade jerk marinade. Jamaican jerk spice comes in the form of a spice blend a paste or a marinade and its main ingredients are allspice, scotch bonnet peppers, green onions, thyme, nutmeg and garlic. I like to make my own jerk marinate from scratch and although the list of ingredients may be long it is super simple to make and you should have most of the ingredients in your pantry already. This jerk shrimp is as easy to make as marinating the shrimp in the jerk marinade, skewering it and grilling it! Jerk spice is typically on the spicy side so I like to serve it with fresh fruits or salsas, especially in the summer! The only thing that is better than fresh fruit is grilled fresh fruit so why not throw something like pineapple or peaches onto the skewer along with the shrimp for grilling? It is hard to beat grilled meat on a stick for summer entertaining but throw some fruit into the mix and you have to have one of the most perfect appetizers around!
Hot and spicy jerk shrimp along with sweet and juicy pineapple on a stick is a fabulous combo!
Grilled Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers
Spicy grilled jerk marinated shrimp and sweet and juicy pineapple skewers!
ingredients
- 1 pound (20-25 or 16-20) shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup jerk marinade
- 2 slices pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
directions
- Marinate the shrimp in the the half of the jerk marinade for at least 20 minutes and up to over night, skewer the shrimp and pineapple and grill over medium-high heat until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side.
Jerk Marinade
A quick and easy homemade jerk marinade!
ingredients
- 1+ scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 2 green onions
- 1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon allspice
- 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 1/2 orange, juice and zest
- 1 lime, juice and zest
directions
- Puree everything in a food processor.
Jerk Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Salsa, Slaw and Pina Colada Crema
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Jerked Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salad
Jerk Fish on Coconut Rice Topped with Banana and Pineapple Salsa
Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Salsa Quesadillas with Pina Colada Guacamole
Grilled Coconut and Pineapple Sweet Chili Shrimp
Pesto Grilled Shrimp
Chipotle Lime Grilled Shrimp
Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp
Tom Yum Grilled Shrimp
Jerk Fish on Coconut Rice Topped with Banana and Pineapple Salsa
Jerk Chicken
Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Salsa
Jerked Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salad
Jerked Pulled Pork Wraps with Mango and Banana Relish
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
Taco Lime Grilled Shrimp
Balsamic Garlic Grilled Mushroom Skewers
Sriracha Honey Lime Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Salad
Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp and Pineapple
Jamaican Style Jerk Beef Stew
Tieghan says
August 11, 2013 at 1:12 pmToo funny, I am posting jerk salmon and pineapple this week! LOL!
I love your shrimp skewers and I am always game for anything with pineapple. YUM!
Jamie G says
August 11, 2013 at 1:45 pmDelicious! I love jerk seasonings.
Kelli says
August 11, 2013 at 10:01 pmNow I know what I'm cooking for dinner tomorrow! This sounds fabulous. Can't wait to try it.
Danni says
August 11, 2013 at 10:39 pmI'm making this tomorrow. I would have never thought of peaches. 🙂 I have been reading your blog for awhile and hands down- yours is the best cooking blog out there. Your recipes are amazing!
Thanks for sharing them all!
Jenna says
August 11, 2013 at 11:40 pmThis looks delicious. Pinned it. Thank you!
Melanie @ Just Some Salt and Pepper says
August 12, 2013 at 3:56 amYum, looks like the perfect recipe to make on an upcoming vacation!
Tony Rose says
August 12, 2013 at 6:23 amLove the look of that marinade, I'll have to try it.
Sara says
August 12, 2013 at 4:08 pmYUM. These look pretty fantastic…lovely skewers.
Anonymous says
August 12, 2013 at 10:08 pmI am going to make these tomorrow – thanks for the recipes!
Anonymous says
August 14, 2013 at 3:39 amThis sounds delicious and sure looks delicious!
Glory/ Glorious Treats says
August 28, 2013 at 12:32 amOOh yum, this looks delicious! I think I might try this with chicken.
Anonymous says
August 28, 2013 at 10:22 pmIs the "thyme" in the marinade fresh or dried?
kevin says
August 29, 2013 at 12:09 amAnonymous: Fresh or dried thyme will work.
Anonymous says
August 29, 2013 at 3:36 pmThanks – just wasn't sure of the amount (if you meant dried, and I was using fresh, I'd need to add more).
Anonymous says
September 17, 2013 at 5:39 pmIs this precooked shrimp?
kevin says
September 25, 2013 at 2:15 pmAnonymous: Use raw shrimp.
Anonymous says
December 28, 2013 at 10:15 pmThese look fantastic!
Are they good at room temperature? I'm thinking of making them for NYE, but I'd need to make them an hour or so ahead.
-Kat
kevin says
December 29, 2013 at 11:53 amKat: These are better hot but they will still be good at room temp. Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Anonymous says
January 14, 2014 at 9:00 pmIt might sound dumb to you all but I have to ask "what is a scotch bonnet pepper?" I,m sorry but I never heard of it before so what do I look for?
kevin says
January 15, 2014 at 9:49 amAnonymous: The scotch bonnet pepper is a chili pepper common in the Caribbean and it might be labeled as a Caribbean pepper. If you can't find them the habanero pepper has a similar heat and can be used in place of them, though the flavour is different. Here is the wikipedia article for more info on them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_bonnet_(pepper)
Linda K says
April 23, 2014 at 10:25 pmFor those of you not familiar with Scotch Bonnet Peppers, they are probably the hottest pepper available so be careful using them. Don't get any of the juices on your fingers and then rub your eyes. But, they are definitely good in Caribbean dishes!
Linda K says
April 24, 2014 at 5:41 amKevin, what can I use instead of the dark rum? Or, can I just leave it out. I do have some rum extract..would that work? I'm so excited to try this recipe. I love shrimp and this looks fabulous!
Linda K says
April 24, 2014 at 5:49 amOh, I forgot, I have one more question…can this jerk seasoning be stored in the frig for another use later? Or maybe even frozen?!
kevin says
April 24, 2014 at 9:08 amLinda K: A little bit of rum extract will give you the flavour or you can omit it. You can store the marinade in the fridge for a few day or in the freezer for longer term. Enjoy!
Linda K says
April 26, 2014 at 6:02 amThank you…this is definitely tomorrow's menu! Can't wait to try it!!
Anonymous says
June 16, 2014 at 5:55 pm"Marinate the shrimp in the the half of the jerk marinade …" and the other half? %-)
Guy B.
BTW: Delicious – thanks for this!
kevin says
June 25, 2014 at 10:51 amAnonymous: Use the other half for something else like jerk chicken, steak, etc. or just halve the marinade recipe.
Adriana Zavala says
February 5, 2015 at 8:00 pmHow does the marinade have chunks if you blend all the ingredients in a food processor? Did you add them?…..i like the look.
kevin says
February 5, 2015 at 11:09 pmAdriana Zavala: I had a cheap food processor back then and it did not fully puree things like cloves of garlic so the marinade was not perfectly smooth.
Anonymous says
June 11, 2015 at 10:33 pmcan I use bottled jerk marinade?
kevin says
July 25, 2015 at 4:00 pmAnonymous: Yes!
Gayatri Mantra says
May 13, 2016 at 3:50 pmLooks O So Heavenly Yummy!
Gayatri Mantra says
May 13, 2016 at 3:51 pmLooks O So Heavenly Yummy!
alesia gales says
May 19, 2016 at 12:38 pmI love jerk anything, especially shrimp. Your recipe says 2 green onion, is that 2 stalks of green onion or 2 pieces out the stalk?
Unknown says
July 30, 2016 at 7:49 amSo! Just moved into a new place and we can't have a grill at our apartment, could I make these on my stove top? I want to impress my boyfriends parents when they come over to see the new place, and I know they'd love these!
– SsW
WannaBeChef says
March 1, 2017 at 3:46 pmHi Kevin – just stumbled across your site when looking for some jerk recipes. What did it take to fill the decanter you have a picture of? How many times the recipe? I am missing where the volume comes from. Thanks.
I will be trying this marinade soon.
kevin says
March 3, 2017 at 12:22 amWannaBeChef: I made a double recipe with each batch making 1/2 cup or 1 cup in total.
Rhonda says
May 13, 2017 at 7:19 pmI made these. We love jerk seasonings and I thought they looked fantastic!
I doubt I will make them again. The ginger was, in our opinion, incredibly overpowering. If I were to try it again, I would dial it back significantly and maybe use 1/4th the amount prescribed.
I used a habanaro pepper because I could not find a Scotch Bonnet anywhere, and perhaps this altered the taste significantly, it also may have been a good bit hotter than a Scotch Bonnet.I am not sure, but they were wildly BLAZING! Haha.
Jennifer Stephens says
June 25, 2017 at 2:09 pmThis looks fabulous! Is the calorie count for the whole recipe?
Anonymous says
June 27, 2017 at 12:30 amCan this be done in the oven?
Chloe says
August 23, 2017 at 5:36 amThese look incredible! Also interested to know the calorie count if possible? Thank you!
Jennifer Stephens says
August 24, 2017 at 2:24 pmI made them, and they were great. By calculating the calories, the above listed calories are per serving not the whole recipe.
Heather says
November 3, 2017 at 2:15 amLooks delicious! Exactly what I was looking for tonight!
Leslie Little says
July 13, 2018 at 7:40 pmAwesome! Will definitely do this one again! Thank you!
Audre Becker says
July 16, 2018 at 5:42 pmYou are not only one of my favorite chefs, but have always admired the photographs of your food. Today for th first time I was not able to have a photo included with the recipes. Hopefully this is not permanent. Keep up thee good work, enjoy all that you publish.
Happy creating to a Top Chef.
kevin says
July 16, 2018 at 5:53 pmI’m glad that you have been enjoying my recipes! What issue are you seeing with the photo? I recently updated my site and I would love to fix any problems!