Spicy Barbecued Shrimp with Cheddar Polenta

Another attempt at a restaurant re-creation! This time from the waterfront Elliot's Oyster House in 

downtown Seattle. Their BBQ shrimp with cheddar polenta is so good. Sweet and spicy shrimp and cool creamy polenta are sure please anyone with taste buds. Polenta is basically cornmeal. Well I used cornmeal because real polenta is hard to come by, and it works just as well. It is quick and easy to cook, and a great alternative for people who are sensitive to gluten! You can cook your shrimp anyway you like...but isn't everything better on the barbecue?

Spicy Barbecued Shrimp with Cheddar Polenta

1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal

4 cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

20-24 shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek ground chili paste

1 cup barbecue sauce

Turn on your grill to medium high heat. 

Begin by threading your shrimp onto metal skewers. Be sure to get the shrimp is 2 places so they dont fall off. Lay flat on a cutting board and drizzle with olive oil. Then crack sea salt and black pepper over top.

Place shrimp on grill and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip over and brush with barbecue sauce, cooking another 2 minutes. Flip again and brush with barbecue sauce. The point here is to cook the shrimp, then coat with barbecue sauce and cook some more. They taste so good once you have a nice sticky coating with a little char as well.

After your shrimp have cooked you can place in the oven at a low temperature to keep warm while you cook the polenta. 

Your ideal barbecue goal :)

To make polenta:

1.)In a medium pot, boil 4 cups of water. 

2.)When water is boiling add cornmeal and butter, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10- 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

3.)Once cooked, add your cheddar cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk quickly to combine until cheese is melted and immediately serve. Polenta turns from creamy goodness to sticky mess really quick, so the sooner the better!!

To plate, add around 1 cup of polenta to your dish. Top with 1 skewer of shrimp and drizzle with a spicy barbecue sauce. 

I use 1 teaspoon on chili paste (super spicy) combined with 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, to make my spicy sauce. I made a ton of the sauce from an earlier recipe, below, and just used it for the entire recipe!

 Barbecue Sauce from BBQ Pulled Chicken