Today I made Martha’s Tequila Grilled Shrimp from page 293 of the Southwest. But in reality, I merely made Tequila Shrimp because I didn’t grill them.
Florida is known as The Sunshine State. There are good reasons for that name, ’cause it sure is sunny here much of the time. But during the summer months I have another nickname for Florida: The Sudden Thunderstorm State! Now that doesn’t have as catchy a ring to it, but it’s accurate. It’s hard to plan an outdoor dinner here because the skies can go from bright and sunshiny to dark and cloudy and then BOOM! in a matter of minutes. And just like that you have torrential rain with the kind of thunder that actually shakes my little house and scares my little kitten (and little old me, if I’m being totally honest). The sudden stormy weather put the kibosh on my grilling plans tonight.
Fortunately, this recipe translated just fine for an indoor dish. First you marinate the shrimp in tequila, orange and lime juice. This is similar to making ceviche, only you don’t keep it in the marinate for several hours, just 20 – 30 minutes. The acidic marinate will leave the shrimp slightly opaque, so you need to cook them quickly because they’re already getting “cooked” just from sitting in the juices for a short amount of time. I put them on a hot pan with olive oil for about 1 minute on each side. Shrimp can overcook very easily, a good way to judge your shrimp is to watch for them to go into a C shape with a little space between both sides and then pull them. Once the ends are touching and the shape looks more like and O they’re probably overdone and will be a little tough and chewy.
The flavor of these shrimp was something else! You could really taste the tangy citrus and tequila flavors. I did a homemade spicy lime and avocado dressing that was the perfect compliment to the shrimp.
This would be a fantastic appetizer to serve at a girls night in while you keep the margaritas flowing. Martha’s tequila shrimp goes great with high spirited fun!
