Grilled Scallops & Prawns

Grilled Scallops and Prawns

About 90 minutes before we were to eat dinner, Lauren announced that she had brought home some nice scallops and tiger prawns. For those who may be wondering, shrimp and prawns are synonyms, there is no particular differentiation in their use.

I looked around for a recipe, and found one that used lime juice and dark rum as a marinade before grilling. However, we didn't have any rum, and the fruit store was out of limes. Oh well... not to worry, I used some Madeira wine and lemons that we had on hand.

After washing and drying the scallops and shrimp, I salted and peppered them. The marinade was made from about 3/4 cup of the wine with the juice of 4 lemons. I added the liquid to the fish and let it all marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, while I fired up the Kamado's gas burners. (I didn't want to marinate it for much longer than that, because the acids in the liquid could cook the fish, besides, we had an appointment after dinner, so I was racing against the clock)

I added a little charcoal and some wine barrel wood chips to the fire for a little extra dimension to the flavors. We skewered the shellfish to make it easier to handle, and grilled it at about 550 degrees for a couple of minutes per side.

Lauren made some spaghetti with a simple butter sauce, and we each had one skewer of scallops and one skewer of shrimp, a little parsley finished the dish. A nice Italian bread with sesame seeds completed the meal.

The scallops were sweet and tender (be careful not to overcook either of these shellfish), the shrimp were firm and flavorful. The wine and lemons complemented the seafood well. I'm looking forward to trying it again with lime and rum.