chipotle shrimp kabobs

By throwing a Kabobs from Around the World party on Saturday night as part of June's Foodbuzz 24x24, I found a new go-to summer meal. I love anything I can throw on the grill, it makes life so much easier. These chipotle shrimp kabobs were my favorite from the party, the sweet mango and onion cuts some of the spiciness of the chipotle pepper. I decided to try brining the shrimp before marinating it because I read in Cook's Illustrated (best food magazine ever) that it improves the taste and texture of the shrimp. I used salt and sugar in the brine because the salt helps improve the texture and the sugar adds flavor and as Cook's Illustrated puts it "promotes better browning." I'm not sure the brining made a huge difference but the shrimp did turn out great so I'll give partial credit to the brining and partial credit to the delicious marinade.

Chipotle Shrimp Kabobs
makes 20-30 small kabobs, depending on size of shrimp


for the brine: 
1 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen but fresh works too)
1 cup of water
2 cups of ice
1/4 c. kosher salt
1/4 c. brown sugar

for the marinade:
1/8 cup packed brown sugar 
1 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped plus 1/8 cup adobo sauce 
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 tablespoons water 
1 tablespoons lime juice 
1/2 tablespoon olive oil 
1/8 teaspoon salt 

1 small sweet onion, cut into chunks
1  mango, cut into cubes 
skewers (soak in water for at least 30 minutes before assembling kabobs) 

 To make the brine:
Place thawed shrimp in water, sugar, salt mixture and refrigerate for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from brine and set aside.

To make the marinade:
In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, garlic, water, lime juice, olive oil and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool completely. 


Transfer cooled marinade mixture to a large resealable plastic bag. Add the shrimp; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

To make the skewers:
Layer mango cube, onion chunk and shrimp on skewers. Repeat until you have about two inches free on each end of the skewer.Grill for 6 minutes, turning them once time or when the shrimp turn light pink. 


Recipe from: Taste of Home