I recently came across a bunch of tequila shrimp recipes and bought some tequila. This recipe from allrecipes.com was selected because it looked simple to prepare, relatively quick, and didn't call for a ton of ingredients.
There were a couple of non-five-star reviews, one saying that the recipe didn't yield enough sauce (good for me, since I don't like ultra-saucy food) and others remarked that the sauce didn't reduce. The only thing I changed was to increase the shrimp quantity from 1.5 to 2 pounds (since a half pound of shrimp in my freezer would just float around for too long) and I think I doubled the garlic (I tend to just dump it in).
Across the Border Tequila Shrimp
1/4 cup butter
3-6 tsp garlic, minced 2 lbs medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
4 tbsp tequila
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges, an optional garnish I omitted
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the garlic; cook and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add shrimp; cook until they start to turn pink, about 3 minutes.
Pour in the tequila and lime juice and season with salt and chili powder.
Simmer until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 more minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in cilantro.
Pour shrimps on a plate and garnish with lime wedges.
The tequila-lime mixture did not reduce in three minutes. I stopped it there anyway to prevent the shrimp from getting rubbery, which is something I was really sweating. Two pounds of shrimp ain't cheap and rubbery shrimp just sucks! In the future, I'll add the tequila, lime and spices right when the shrimp goes in. Flavor would be added, the possibility of overcooking the shrimp would be eliminated and there might be time for the juices to reduce. Win, win, win!
As for flavor, the shrimp tasted ok. The tequila flavor wasn't distinct, but that may have been due to the brand/type I purchased. I can't help but think that it had something to do with the juices/sauce not reducing. Not a juicy/saucy fan; I didn't pour the juice all over my shrimp when I plated and thus all the tequila was still sitting in the skillet. The thought of adding cornstarch to thicken the juices didn't fare well with me (as some allrecipe.com reviewers suggested).
Yep, next time, everything goes in with the shrimp. I think that would be fabulous. Don't get me wrong, the shrimp tasted ok, very much like a shrimp scampi -- most certainly edible and none will go to waste. It just didn't have the kapow! I was expecting.
Cost:
- butter: $0.28
- shrimp: $6.99
- tequila: $1.31
- lime for juice: $0.37
- cilantro: $0.30
I just tallied it and our meal as we had it was less than $4 a serving. I'm lovin' it!
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