These Jamaican jerk shrimp skewers are perfect for a weeknight meal or a daytime lunch. They have the perfect amount of spice and zest to them.
Get some spice in your life
Jamaican Jerk seasoning is one of my favorite spice mixtures to use. It brings spice, sweet and heat all together in one bite. You won’t go wrong when you season your shrimp, chicken or fish with this blend.
What does the ‘Jerk’ in Jamaican Jerk mean?
The jerk portion of the name is referring to which type of meat you are cooking with. In this case it would be shrimp would be the jerk. The seasoning becomes a type of marinade on top of the protein. Sometimes Jamaican jerk is turned into a paste and will become the marinade for chicken, pork, beef, fish or goat.
Ingredients you will need for your skewers
- Large shrimp (prawns); I love using large tails on prawns. They have a nice bite to them and are full of meat.
- Lemon; add a little bit of acidity with all the spice.
- Jamaican Jerk seasoning; a blend of spices that have a nice heat element to them.
- Extra virgin olive oil; helps keep the seasoning on the shrimp.
- Dill; added garnish
- Cedar plank; medium size to your plank will do.
What spices are in Jamaican Jerk
- Cumin
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
- Smoke paprika
- Cinnamon
- Red pepper flakes
- Cayenne pepper
- Brown sugar
- Clove
- Dried thyme
- Dried parsley
How to video
How to create the shrimp skewers
- Heat oven to 375° F
- Soak Cedar planks in water for 15 minutes each side to prepare.
- In a medium sized bowl, add your peeled deveined shrimp. I prefer to keep the tail on. This just makes for a better look.
- In a medium sized bowl, season shrimp with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and olive oil.
- Mix together well and make sure every shrimp is coated with the seasoning.
- Using wood or metal skewers shrimp and lemons.
- For every two shrimp alternate adding lemon in between.
- Place on a cedar plank or a baking sheet.
- Bacon in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes.
- Once the shrimp is cooked, remove from the oven and enjoy a nice bed of sticky rice!
Pro Tips
- Make sure that you don’t overcook your shrimp. Remember shrimp cook very quickly so 8 to 12 minutes is plenty in the oven.
- Switch it up, if you don’t like shrimp, you can use pork, chicken or even beef for the same technique and style of cooking.
How to make Jamacian Jerk blend from scratch
Mix all spices together in a small bowl. Store the leftovers in a cool dry place.
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 tsp. Red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground clove
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp. Brown sugar
To store, freeze and reheat
Store
The store skewers remove meat and lemons from the skewer sticks and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze
To freeze, remove from skewers placed in an airtight Ziploc bag and freeze for up to one to two months.
Reheat
Reheat shrimp skewers in an oven set to 300° F. Add a little bit of water to the sheet pan so that it creates steam while they’re reheating. Cover The sheet pan lightly with foil and heat for about 10 minutes. Try not to over heat them so they do not become rubbery.
Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Skewers
Equipment
- Cedar Plank
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1-2 Lb Prawns deveined with tail on
- 2 tbsp. Jamaican Jerk seasoning Savory and Spice
- 2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Lemon thinly sliced and halved
- 2 Medium sized Cedar Planks
- Dill for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375° F
- Soak Cedar planks in water for 15 minutes each side to prepare.
- In a medium sized bowl, add your peeled deveined shrimp. I prefer to keep the tail on. This just makes for a better look.
- In a medium sized bowl, season shrimp with Jamaican Jerk seasoning and olive oil.
- Mix together well and make sure every shrimp is coated with the seasoning.
- Using wood or metal skewers shrimp and lemons.
- For every two shrimp alternate adding lemon in between.
- Place on a cedar plank or a baking sheet.
- Bacon in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes.
- Once the shrimp is cooked, remove from the oven and enjoy a nice bed of sticky rice!
Notes
- Make sure that you don’t overcook your shrimp. Remember shrimp cook very quickly so 8 to 12 minutes is plenty in the oven.
- Switch it up, if you don’t like shrimp, you can use pork, chicken or even beef for the same technique and style of cooking.
This dish has the right amount of spice and doesn’t overpower your taste buds. It’s a must have for a ‘shrimp’ rotation in the kitchen.