Jerk Shrimp with Orange Dipping Sauce

So I made this Jerk Shrimp with Orange Dipping Sauce sort of by accident, and it was fabulous!  I love when that happens!

I had some shrimp I needed to cook and I was eyeing the bottle of dried jerk seasoning in my cabinet.  I really like Jamaican jerk spiced meats, and  I also had a bag of tri-color slaw mix and a mango in my produce drawer.  I  was really leaning toward a shrimp version of Caribbean Pulled Pork with Mango Slaw, which sounded good to me, but then I had another thought.  What if I made roasted jerk shrimp and a nice creamy sauce to dip them in?

I remembered that The Barefoot Contessa’s shrimp salad had orange in it.  Some jerk marinades have orange in them, too.  So I whipped up a cool creamy orange yogurt sauce and it was a hit!  

(It all smelled so good that Finn kept getting in my way and performing the most beautiful sit you’ve ever seen.  He stared at me, insisting he was the most deserving dog in town.  He clearly was very, very, very deserving.  Finally I let him handle pre-wash duties because no way were we sharing the shrimp.)

The shrimp are super easy.  They’re just like my Roasted Cocktail Shrimp except they’re seasoned with a jerk dried seasoning blend instead of salt and pepper.  I can find jerk seasoning at my grocery store, but if you need a recipe I have one here.  I don’t recommend that you substitute commercial jerk seasoning paste.  I’ve used it before, and I was surprised by how salty it was.  By the time I could really taste the spice, it was too salty.

The sauce is easy, too.  I used plain Greek yogurt because I had some I needed to use up.  Mayonnaise will work too.  Use whatever you have on hand.

This shrimp makes a terrific dinner, and they would be excellent as finger food at a party.  Now, I’ve just got to figure out if I can turn this into a salad . . .

Print Recipe

Jerk Shrimp with Orange Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Shrimp:

• 1 lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1-2 T. dry jerk seasoning
• salt to taste* *Note that some dry jerk seasoning blends contain salt, and some don't. You'll want to read the label. Using a blend with salt may meantyou don't need any added salt at all.

Dipping Sauce:

• ¾ cup mayo or plain yogurt
• zest and juice of one orange
• 1 T. white wine vinegar
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• pinch of salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°. Put the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with the jerk seasoning. Toss the shrimp to distribute the seasoning. Spread the shrimp out in a single layer. Roast for 8 minutes.
• While the shrimp cooks, mix together the sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve with the jerk shrimp.