Shrimp, Pineapple & Vegetable Skewers

Summertime is a great day for grilling. The warm weather makes grilling an ideal day to grill a variety of skewers on the grill. Different fruits and vegetables are in season during the summer. This makes adding fresh fruits and veggies to skewers an excellent quick outdoor grill dish to enjoy. 

Fresh Produce for Grilling  

Fresh produce is always the best when grilling food on the grill. Frozen produce is a great alternative. It is a good idea to defrost the produce prior to grilling. This will allow a more even cooking temperature. Canned produce can also be used for grilling. For this grill day, I bought fresh produce from the supermarket and used what was available at the time from the garden. 

Grilling Equipment: Small concrete grill, charcoal, grill grate, and wood skewers.  

Skewers: Shrimp, fresh pineapple, cactus pads, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers.

Skewer Ingredients

Shrimp  

Seafood is often considered great for grilling. Various types of fish, such as salmon and tuna, do well on the grill. Other types of seafood, including crab, lobster, and jumbo shrimp, can be great to add to the grill. Shrimp skewers are a popular way of cooking shrimp on the grill. This also makes it simpler to flip the shrimp skewers and helps to prevent smaller shrimp sizes from slipping into the grill.   

I bought the Great Value frozen, cooked, peeled, and deveined medium-size shrimp from the supermarket. The large-size shrimp are best for grilling. Medium-size shrimp can work as well. It is also best to defrost the shrimp prior to cooking. Shrimp can be refrigerated overnight prior to grilling. This will allow the shrimp to thaw steadily. 

Pineapple  

Various types of fruits can be added to the grill. Fruits such as peaches, apples, and pears are common options for grilling fruit. Grilling pineapple is a popular method of cooking fresh pineapple. Pineapple can be cut into rings, thick slices, or placed on skewers for grilling. 

Fresh pineapple is a nice option for grilling. Frozen pineapple can also be used if fresh is not available. I used fresh frozen pineapple. I peeled and cut a fresh pineapple and then froze the pineapple. I defrosted the pineapple overnight for this grill day. 

Many types of vegetables can be added directly to the grill or can be placed on skewers. Smaller vegetables can be great to add to skewers. This makes handling and cooking vegetable skewers on the grill simple. In addition, the skewers help in preventing food from sliding through the grill. Various types of vegetables on skewers also create a nice presentation and be more visually appealing on a grilled dish.   

Cactus Pads, Mushrooms, and Zucchini  

Vegetables are excellent to add to the grill. There are different types of seasonal and year-round vegetables that are great for grilling. Various vegetables, such as bell peppers, onions, and carrots, are popular grilling vegetables.  

Cactus pads, also known as nopales, are delicious and simple to grill. Grilled cactus pads pair well with numerous dishes. They can be served as a side dish or added to a variety of dishes such as salads or tacos. Mushrooms are also another food item for grilling. Different mushroom sizes can be used for grilling. Small and medium-sized mushrooms are great for skewers. Zucchini is also another great option for grilling. These vegetables can be added directly to the grill or on skewers. 

The mushrooms and zucchini were bought from the supermarket. I bought a package of mushrooms, then sliced each one in half and smaller pieces. For zucchini, I bought fresh, loose zucchini and cut them into round slices. The slices were about 1/4-inch-thick slices. The cactus pads came from my garden; I picked a few of the smaller ones. I used a knife to remove the spines and cut around the edges of the cactus pads.  

Bell Peppers  

Fresh bell peppers are excellent for grilling. Any type of bell pepper, such as green, orange, red, or yellow, can be used for grilling. Sweet bell peppers are considered the best for grilling. The sweet, charred flavor of grilled bell peppers makes a delicious side grill dish or is great to add as a topping to sandwiches or salads. 

I bought a combination of fresh green, red, and yellow bell peppers. Bell pepper taste ranges from grassy to a slightly sweet taste. This is a great combination of flavors to add to the skewers for the grill. I cut each bell pepper into large pieces so they could fit on the skewers. 

Shrimp, Pineapple, & Vegetable Skewers  

After the pineapple and vegetables were cut, I added them to wood skewers. I added an assortment of vegetable pieces, shrimp, and pineapple pieces to the skewers. A few of the skewers only had peppers and zucchini pieces. After all the skewer ingredients were added to the skewers, I covered a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then added the shrimp, pineapple, and vegetable skewers. All the skewers were ready for grilling. 

Grill  

For this grill day, I used charcoal instead of wood fire. At times, charcoal can be more convenient than wood. When the grill was heated, I added a few of the skewers at a time because the grill was too small to add all the skewers. I cooked each skewer until it browned. Once a few of the skewers were cooked, I set aside the cooked skewers and added new ones. When all the skewers were browned and cooked, a pinch of salt was added. Any other seasoning or sauce can be added to skewers. 

Thoughts   

Grill day is a nice time to cook out during the summertime. There are numerous types of food that can be added to the grill. For this grill day, it was a simple day of adding a few shrimps, pineapple pieces, and vegetable skewers to a homemade grill. Some grill days can be simple and casual without having to plan and marinate the food. Simply defrosting some food or cutting up some fresh produce and then adding it to the grill can make a quick and tasty meal on a grill day.