Shrimp are something that I absolutely love but aren’t in my normal rotation of protein. I just forget about it and I really don’t know why. In fact, the nights I am most apt to remember are those nights when I’ve forgotten to thaw chicken or some other protein. It’s great that you can thaw shrimp in just 20 to 30 minutes under trickling cool water. That’s exactly what happened to me when I created this recipe!
Grilled cilantro lime shrimp tacos with an agave-lime slaw and sriracha ranch. Besides the slaw the other ingredients are things I normally have on hand. I made the shrimp marinade while the shrimp was thawing. Then made the slaw and ranch while the shrimp was marinating and the grill was pre-heating. For a last minute, didn’t know what I was making for dinner when I left work, kind of night – I was pretty happy with being able to put such a fresh tasting and flavorful meal on the table in about 45 minutes.
Here’s what you need:
Plus corn tortillas, they’re camera shy.
Start off by making the shrimp marinade which is just a little chopped cilantro, a clove of grated garlic, lime juice, red pepper flakes, salt, oil, and a little agave.
Toss the shrimp with the marinade. It’s ok if you’ve procrastinated a little like me and the shrimp is a little icy still – it will thaw as it marinades. Marinate it for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
While the shrimp is chillin’ in the marinade go ahead and mix up the sriracha ranch. Now you could make the ranch from scratch but sometimes convenience if your friend especially on a work/week night and I’m not ashamed to take a little help. This has got to be the easiest sauce ever – literally sriracha and ranch. Mix it up to taste.
And then mix up the slaw. It’s very similar to the shrimp marinade, some apple cider vinegar, agave, lime juice, cilantro and a pinch of salt. Tossed with some angel hair cabbage.
By now your shrimp should be ready and your grill should be almost hot. Skewer the shrimp – if you use wooden skewers you should soak them first. Plan about 4 shrimp per taco.
Warm up the tortillas on the grill – make double the number of tacos you’re planning, I like to double up my corn tortillas. They can crack sometimes and this helps keep everything in the taco if you have a back-up layer . This will take about 20 to 30 seconds per side on a high grill. Char them as much as you want but you at least want to wait until they start to puff a little. Keep them warm – I love this tortilla warmer. (#EarnsCommission)
Now toss the shrimp on the grill. If you have a hot grill these guys will cook up in about 60 to 90 seconds per side. It doesn’t take long at all!
Now it’s taco building time. It starts with a little sriracha ranch, 4 shrimp per taco and then a little bit of slaw – and for good measure (and because you couldn’t see it in the picture on the bottom) a little more sriracha ranch on top.
Enjoy!
- 20 shrimp (31-40/lb size)
- Marinade:
- 1 T cilantro, minced
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 T lime juice
- ⅛ t red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- ½ T oil
- ½ T honey
- ¼ t kosher salt
- Sriracha Ranch:
- ½ c ranch, Hidden Valley Buttermilk preferred
- 1 T sriracha
- Slaw:
- 1 T apple cider vinegar
- 1 T agave
- ½ lime, juice of
- ¼ c cilantro, minced
- Pinch salt
- 1 ½ c shredded angel hair cabbage/coleslaw mix
- 10 corn tortillas
- 4 wooden skewers, soaked for at least 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients in shrimp marinade. Add shrimp and turn to coat. Allow to marinade for 30 minutes on the counter or up to 3 hours in the fridge.
- Mix together the ranch and sriracha.
- Whisk together the slaw dressing ingredients. Toss with cabbage.
- Preheat grill to high.
- Skewer the shrimp on wooden skewers.
- Warm the tortillas for about 20 seconds per side until they begin to puff and char to your own taste. Keep warm.
- Grill the shrimp for 60 to 90 seconds per side until cooked through. If you use larger shrimp than I have it might take a little bit longer. Remove shrimp from skewers.
- To assemble the tacos take 2 tortillas, a little sriracha ranch, shrimp and slaw.
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