It's easy to make THE BEST grilled shrimp marinade with lime juice, soy sauce and garlic. Marinate the shrimp for just 15 minutes for incredible flavor!
Whisk the garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili powder, lime juice, red pepper flakes and olive oil together in a large mixing bowl.
Add the shrimp to the marinade and toss to coat.
Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
Grill the shrimp for 3 minutes per side.
Grilling the shrimp
Heat a grill over medium-high heat, approximately 450°F.
Use tongs to remove the shrimp from the marinade and place the shrimp directly on the grill.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp starts to turn opaque white with some pink highlights.
Cooking the shrimp on the stove
Place a grill pan, or cast iron skillet, on the stove top over medium high heat.
When the pan or skillet is hot, use tongs to remove the shrimp from the marinade and place it in the skillet, making sure not to crowd the skillet.
Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side, adding or removing 1-2 minutes if the shrimp are smaller or larger in size.
Notes
If your shrimp are extra large and labeled 16-20, which means there are 16-20 shrimp per pound (as seen in this post), you can place the shrimp directly on the grill without worrying about the shrimp falling through the grill grates.
If your shrimp are medium or small in size, labeled 31-40 or below, I recommend placing them on grill-safe foil, or a flat grill basket, so that you don’t risk them falling through the grates. You can also skewer the shrimp, onto wooden or metal skewers, if they’re smaller in size and place the skewers directly on the grill.
Do not rinse the marinade off the shrimp before cooking.
You should marinate the shrimp for at least 15 minutes, but no more than 2 hours, or it will begin to "cook" in the citrus marinade and your shrimp will end up tough and chewy.
You can use this marinade on other seafood, like scallops, tilapia, swordfish, cod or halibut. Just like shrimp, you never want to marinade any seafood in a citrus marinade for more than 2 hours. I recommend 15-30 minutes.