Barbecued Shrimp

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Dunking just-grilled shrimp into this sweet-spicy barbecue sauce is our idea of the perfect summer meal.

By
Carla Hall
Portrait of Carla Hall
Carla Hall

Carla Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo's Top Chef and Top Chef: All Stars and shared her philosophy to always cook with love. She believes food connects us all, and she strives to communicate this through her work, her cooking, and in her daily interactions with others.

Expertise: cooking, soul food, food TV, cookbooks.

Experience: Carla spent 7 years co-hosting ABC's Emmy award-winning, popular lifestyle series The Chew, and she currently brightens the mornings of millions as a Culinary Contributor to Good Morning America. Carla is featured on Food Network shows such as BakeAway Camp, Thanksgiving Baking Championship, Holiday Baking Championship, and Worst Cooks in America, as a judge and a host. She was also a judge on Netflix's Crazy Delicious. Carla hosts a podcast on the Wondery Platform, called Say Yes with Carla Hall, focused on interviews with successful people to explore how they overcame challenges and found ways to flourish. Her latest cookbook, Carla Hall's Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on best cookbook lists across the country and receiving a NAACP Image Awards nomination.

Born in Nashville, Carla grew up surrounded by soul food. When the time came for her to select her career path, she first opted for a business route – she graduated from Howard University's Business School and worked as an accountant for two years – before deciding to switch gears to work as a runway model. It was during that time, as she traveled (and ate) her way through Europe for a few years, that she truly realized her deep-rooted passion for food could be her career path.

Today, she is a trained chef who has worked in several professional restaurant kitchens in and around the Washington, D.C. area and is an accomplished television personality and author. In addition to being featured in numerous cookbook collections including The Chew series of cookbooks, she authored Carla's Comfort Food: Favorite Dishes from Around the World and Cooking with Love: Comfort Food That Hugs You.

Carla is very active with a number of charities and not-for-profit organizations that reflect her passion for causes close to her heart. She is on the board of trustees for Helen Keller International, Pajama Program, GenYouth, and 4H. The thread which runs through all of these things is advocating for the physical and mental well-being of children.

Carla lives in D.C. with her husband, Matthew Lyons.

Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines
Updated on August 3, 2023
Tested by
Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time.
Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Barbecued Shrimp Recipe
Photo:

Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne

Active Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Servings:
8 servings (as an appetizer)

Carla Hall’s barbecued shrimp recipe is the secret to easy summer hosting. Make the sauce and stash it in the refrigerator up to two weeks. Then, all you have to do is grill the shrimp and dunk or toss them in the sauce and eat. It’s the best kind of summer eating — easy and full of flavor.

Ingredients

Barbecue Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 3/4 cup chopped onion

  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  • 1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped 

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon molasses

  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

Make the Barbecue Sauce

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low. Add onion, garlic, chile, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in cumin, coriander, and black pepper. Add vinegar and bring to a boil. Add ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and 3/4 cup of water. Return to a boil, then reduce to heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors have melded, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt; you will have 2 cups of sauce.

Make the Shrimp

  1. Preheat a grill to high heat. Add oil, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl. Add shrimp and 3 tablespoons of barbecue sauce; toss to coat. Transfer 3 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce to a small bowl. Thread shrimp on skewers and place on grill; cover a cook 3 minutes. Turn shrimp over and brush with reserved 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Grill until lightly charred and opaque in centers, about 2 minutes more. Transfer shrimp to a serving platter with a fresh bowl of barbecue sauce for dipping.

To make ahead

Barbecue sauce can be made 2 weeks ahead. Transfer to a jar, cover, and keep refrigerated.)

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