Greek Shrimp Skewers – Camarão a Grega

So, if you saw my last post on Greek Rice, you know that these Greek Shrimp Skewers (camarão a grega in Portuguese) were a childhood favorite.  And like the rice, I really have no idea whether they are truly Greek or not.  But I can assure you, in no uncertain terms, that they are absolutely delicious.

Just think of the genius here.  Marinated shrimp, layered on skewers between cubes of melty mozzarella cheese, breaded and fried to crispy perfection.  Seriously?  It should be illegal!  And of course, it is even more delicious served with the Greek rice.

Therefore, without wasting any time, let’s get to them!

Let’s see what goes into Greek Shrimp Skewers

Not much, huh?  So simple to make and so explosive in flavor.  I’ve never met anyone who did not love these Greek shrimp skewers.

The secret is in the marinade.  Even though it is nothing more than lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic, the marinade gives this dish its signature flavor.

By the way, make sure to use low moisture mozzarella.  The shrimp skewers will be fried in hot oil, and the less moisture the better.  We all know what happens when moisture meets hot oil…big kitchen cleanups.

Let’s look at the steps to make these Greek Shrimp skewers

Start by marinating the shrimp.  You’ll want them to sit for about thirty minutes in the happy juice.

In a bowl, add the garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper to the shrimp, stir, and set aside.

You’ll want to use good-sized shrimp so they are not dwarfed by the mozzarella cubes.

Next, cut the mozzarella into 1 inch cubes.  Be sure not to make them smaller or they will break when sliding down the skewer.

Then drain the shrimp in a strainer (that whole hot oil and moisture thing) and assemble your skewers.

Start and end with a shrimp, with a mozzarella cube in between.

Here are a couple of tips:

1. Measure your skewers against the dishes you will use to dredge the flour, add the egg wash, and coat the bread crumbs.  If the skewers are too long, cut them down.  I cut 12 inch skewers to just under 10 inches.
2. I would not use more than three shrimp (therefore 2 cheese cubes) to each skewer or the individual portions start to feel too filling.

Then scramble the eggs and add to a long dish for the egg wash, and add flour and bread crumbs to their dishes for dredging and coating, respectively.

Start by dredging the skewers on all sides with flour.  Don’t leave any naked spots.

I like to coat ALL the skewers in flour in this step, then do the egg wash and bread crumbs individually.

Tap the skewer to shake off excess flour and then lay the skewer in the egg wash.

Like the flour, make sure you cover all surfaces with egg wash.  I use a brush to get all of the nooks and crannies.

Take the skewers straight out of the egg wash and into the bread crumbs.  Use your hands to tightly pack the bread crumbs ALL OVER!

Here’s the deal, mozzarella melts.  And when it does, it spreads.  And you don’t want that to happen in the hot oil.  Therefore, if you cover each skewer thoroughly in flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs, you will end up with beautiful little Greek shrimp skewers. 

Finally, heat just enough oil in a heavy pan over medium heat to go half way up the skewers. Test the oil to make sure it is hot enough before adding the skewers.  It needs to begin browning as soon as you put it in the oil.

I find it easier to cook one at a time.  Also, I use tongs to grab the end of the skewer to flip it to the other side.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!  The shrimp cooks VERY quickly, so don’t worry about it being raw.  Cook these a minute or less on each side, then remove from the heat.  The breaded coating should hold so that the cheese does not leak out.  If you cook it too long, you will lose your cheese.

Transfer to a paper-lined pan to drain.

When all of the skewers have been browned, transfer the pan to a pre-heated keep-warm oven until they are ready to serve.

You should end up with something that looks like this.  And this looks really good to me.  Like, I wish I looked this good, that’s how good this looks to me.

And with the Greek rice? Yum, yum!

Squeeze a little lime juice over the skewer and enjoy!