Who doesn't like tacos? I like mine in soft homemade flour tortillas, and I lean toward fish or shrimp tacos if you're taking notes for my birthday... Everyone I know has a favorite taco, but very few folks take the time to make great tacos at home. "Old El Paso Home Taco Kits" are still on grocery shelves, but I'm asking you today to consider putting it back, and walking over to the produce aisle... Make some tacos at home that would make your family, friends, and neighbors burst into tears, and sing praises to your name!
Let's turn the "Shrimp Taco" recipe up to ELEVEN! What if we cooked the shrimp in a spicy pan rendered Adobo sauce? What if we cooled the heat a bit by spiking some sour cream with Cilantro? What if we loaded the whole thing down with a fresh avocado salsa?? Let's get started!
You Will Need:
For the Shrimp Adobo:
Let's start with the Shrimp. Why did I start with a huge 3lb bag? Well, mostly because Sam's Club sells them that way! If you want to cut the recipe in half, feel free, but there's a significant amount of work involved here, and all of the ingredients keep in the fridge for awhile, so why not make a bunch? Thaw out your shrimp, peel them, clean, de-vein, and rinse them in cold water.
Gather together the rest of the ingredients from the "Shrimp Adobo" section. Do consider making your own chili powder... it makes an incredible difference, since chili powder loses it's "Punch" so quickly on the shelf. Grocery store chili powder is almost useless! Mix the oil, chili, garlic and onion, lime juice and cider in a bowl and mix mix mix! Use a fork or a ball-whisk and do your best to bring it together. It'll be thick! It might "mace" you if you get your nose too close... just keep stirring and pressing until it looks like the picture.
Scoop it out over the shrimp. It will look a bit like thick melted chocolate (it will NOT taste like chocolate)! Carefully and slowly stir and mix it with your shrimp. Use a big spoon or rubber spatula, but do NOT use your hands! You don't want this stuff under your fingernails or stuck under your wedding ring!
Scoop and stir until the Adobo sauce and the shrimp are well mixed. Your brain will tell you, "This is ridiculous, this will never work, I've messed this up completely!" NO! Don't think that way! All will be just fine... there's a secret weapon coming...
Dump all of the shrimp into a big plastic bag. Press as much air out as you can, and seal the bag. Park it in the fridge for at least an hour (24 hours is better).
Now, turn your attention to the salsa. This is super duper easy, just chop everything and slide it into a bowl. Stir it together and add salt and pepper to taste. Try it! If you're standing there thinking, "Holy Crap, this is good, why don't I make this all the time??" Then you built it correctly. Congratulations.
While you're in a good mood, chop some more cilantro and dump it into an 8oz tub of sour cream. Mix. You're welcome...
Ok, back to the Shrimp! Take out a big, heavy skillet (cast iron works very well, here). Lube the bottom with a bit of olive oil and crank it up to medium high. Wait until the oil is hot (it will have a nice sheen to it) and dump in the shrimp. Use some tongs to spread them around in an even layer around the pan. Don't stop stirring! Let them gather heat for about a minute. When they're are roughly 1/2 cooked, it will be time to deploy the secret weapon!
When the shrimp are good and hot and you can smell the chili sauce (it gives off an amazing aroma after the heat hits it), pour on about 1/4 cup of water and stir! Be careful, it will instantly boil and steam! The water (secret weapon) does all kinds of great things. First, it will boil and the steam will help finish cooking the shrimp. Second, it will bring the Adobo sauce together!
After 20 seconds or so, add another 1/4 cup of water. Stir! Repeat this until the sauce is to your liking. For me, I ended up using about 3/4 cup water in total, and cooked everything for about 4 minutes total. The whole process happens fairly quickly so stay on your toes!
Once the shrimp are done, you may need to sample one (or four). They should be tender, and gloriously spicy, without burning your face off! Ok, we're almost at the finish line; time to build the taco!
Start with your favorite vessel. If you prefer "Street" style, you'll need some small corn tortillas and while I'm not usually a soft corn tortilla fan, I find that they match really well with the Adobo sauce! In this case, I used my old home-cooked flour torts. Lay down a layer of sour cream, then line up some shrimp. Top with your Avocado salsa and BAM! You're kicking the neighborhood's ass with these tacos!
The spicy heat of the shrimp is tempered with the cool fats from the sour cream and the avocado. Onions and Cilantro bring a nice crunch to the party and the whole thing together is just dynamite!
Let's turn the "Shrimp Taco" recipe up to ELEVEN! What if we cooked the shrimp in a spicy pan rendered Adobo sauce? What if we cooled the heat a bit by spiking some sour cream with Cilantro? What if we loaded the whole thing down with a fresh avocado salsa?? Let's get started!
You Will Need:
For the Shrimp Adobo:
- 3lbs of #12 Shrimp, thawed and uncooked
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cup Chili Powder (Ancho or Chipotle homemade powder is best)
- 1/4 Cup Garlic Powder
- 1/4 Cup Onion Powder
- Juice of Two Limes
- 1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
- 2 Avocados (rough chopped)
- 2 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
- 2 Fresh Jalapenos (diced)
- 1 Small Red Onion (diced)
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 Cup Cilantro (chopped)
- 1 8oz tub of sour cream
- 4 Tbsp chopped Cilantro
The spicy heat of the shrimp is tempered with the cool fats from the sour cream and the avocado. Onions and Cilantro bring a nice crunch to the party and the whole thing together is just dynamite!
