This recipe reminds me of a shack on a hot sandy beach in Mexico. Having fun, drinking a few cerveza and kicking back and relaxing. Mmmm, shrimp taco!

Makes 8

What You Need: Potato masher;Tequila + shot glasses; Three 8-inch (20 cm) bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for at minimum of 1 hour

Mango Salsa

  • 1 ripe mango
  • 1 fresh green serrano or a jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) red onion, finely diced
  • 1 green onion, minced
  • 1 lime
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Drizzle of avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro
  •  
  • 1½ lb (675 g) big shrimp (approx. 10–12 pieces per pound)
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) sea salt
  • Drizzle of tequila (100% agave)
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  •  
  • 1 juicy lime
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  •  
  • ½ cup (125 mL) seedless small cucumber, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup (60 mL) red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup (250 mL) cilantro leaves, picked from the stem
  • 2 cups (500 mL) iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 12 flour or corn tortillas, 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 cm) in diameter
  • Dash or two of hot sauce (optional)
  • ½ cup (125 mL) crumbled queso fresco
  • 8 wedges lime

To prepare the Mango Salsa, peel the mango. Cut the mango flesh from the pit and coarsely chop. Take a potato masher and mash the mango. This is to extract all the sweet flavor for the salsa. Add the Serrano chile, red onion and green onion. Squeeze over a little fresh lime juice and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Drizzle with a little avocado oil. Mix and set aside.

To prepare the shrimp, peel the shrimp by taking the entire shell off them and discard the shells or save them for stock. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and drain. Add sea salt and mix about to coat all of the shrimp. Let stand, refrigerated, for about 5 minutes. This will help increase the flavor of the shrimp, especially when using frozen shrimp

Rinse shrimp to remove excess salt and pat dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife, cut each shrimp in half lengthwise through the middle. Pick the black vein bits out from the flesh. Rinse under cold water, drain and pat dry with paper towels again. It is a lot easier to work with partially dry rather than sloppy wet shrimp — also safer when working with knives. Skewer the shrimp halves onto a couple of bamboo skewers, about 10 to 12 pieces per skewer. Don’t put the shrimp onto the skewer facing the same way. Change it up and put them any way you like. It looks pretty funky once the shrimp are grilled!

Place shrimp skewers in a dish large enough to hold them in an even layer. Drizzle them heavily with tequila and a little olive oil. Zest a lime and add to the dish, then juice the lime over the skewers. Season with a little black pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix it around and let it marinate, refrigerated, for about 20 minutes.

In a bowl combine, cucumber, red onion, cilantro and iceberg lettuce. Refrigerate until needed. Don’t make this too far ahead, as you want it to be crisp and green.

Fire up your grill to 450–550°F (230–290°C).

Remove the shrimp from the tequila lime marinade, reserving marinade for basting. Grill shrimp skewers for about 6–8 minutes, turning frequently and basting with marinade. Watch for flare-ups when basting as there is tequila in that marinade. Grill until the shrimp are just cooked through and opaque. On a hot grill, this will not take too long.

Warm the tortillas on the hot grill. Remove shrimp from grill and remove the skewers. Put hot shrimp into a large bowl. Add a dash or two of hot sauce (if using) and then sprinkle the queso fresco over the hot shrimp. Toss.

Cut a warm tortilla in your hand. Sprinkle in the lettuce and cucumber salad. Add a few grilled shrimp and a spoonful of Mango Salsa. Squeeze in some lime juice. Wrap and enjoy with a shot of tequila.