Shrimp Tacos

cookiedog's Note:

These are beer battered shrimp tacos that will knock your socks off! The recipe includes directions for making an avocado sauce and a Mayonnesa Secret Sauce.Make sure you have all the sauces and condiments prepared before you start frying up your shrimp. All you need to do now is grab an ice cold beer and get cookin and you'll be in Baja with your first bite!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 24 tacos

• 2 lbs best-quarity large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 lime

Batter

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rice flour (available at Latin or Asian Markets)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon dried whole Mexican oregano, rubbed to a powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (12 ounce) bottle cold beer, plus more
• beer, to thin the batter if necessary

to fry

• vegetable oil

Avocado Sauce

• 1/4 ripe avocado, peeled
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 3 drops of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 -2 tablespoon water or 1 -2 tablespoon milk
• 2 fresh fresh cilantro stems, stemmed and chopped (optional)

Mayonesa Secret Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise or 1/2 cup lime mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water or 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

to serve

• fresh corn tortilla, warmed
• salsa, de chiles de arbol or bottled hot sauce
• shredded iceberg lettuce or green cabbage
• pico de gallo
• diced red onion, mixed with chopped
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• lime wedge

Directions:

1. Cut each shrimp into two or three pieces, Spritz a little lime over the shrimp to moisten- don't overdo it - and refrigerate.
2. Make the batter: Combine the flour and seasonings in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Add the beer all at once, whishk until smooth, and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Pour the oil into a deep, wide pan to a depth of 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to 365 degrees.
4. Check the batter; it should be a thick coating consistency. If it seems too thick, add beer, water, or milk, 1 teaspoons at a time, until the right consistency is achieved. It's better to be slightly too thick than too thin!
5. Pat the shrimp dry and add to the batter. Fish out a ew pieces at a time and fry until golden brown. Drain the shrimp on paper towels.
6. To prepare hold a tortilla in your hand and add a spoonful of avocado sauce (directions for sauce are in the following step). Add the shrimp, a squeeze of secret sauce (recipe follows), and a healthy shot of hot salsa. Top with lettuce, pico de gallo, and onion and cilantro. Squeeze lime over the whole thing.
7. Avocado Sauce: Place the avocado, salt, and lime juice ina blender or small food processor. Add 1 tablespoon water and pulse. Add more liquid as necessary to make a sauce the consistency of thick cream. Add the cilantro and pulse again just to blend. Taste for seasoning; it should be a little bland.
8. Mayonesa Secret Sauce: Place the mayonnaise in a bowl and use a fork to slowly stir in vinegar to taste. Add water to loosen to the consistency of thick cream.

Reviews

[jojo0676]

Awesome! I would suggset making more avocado sauce, this doesn't make very much. Otherwise a wonderful recipe, I will definitely make this again.

[876599]

AWESOME! Thank you so much for the recipe. We LOVE these baja shrimp taco's. You could fry the shrimp in this batter just for fried shrimp and the avocado dip is good with a little red pepper by itself. Thank you for sharing!

[EAT IN PSG]

Great batter!! We've only delved into 'beer batter' (which is what I would call this, essentially) in our house a few times, and maybe twice successfully. The recipe I used then calls for pancake mix and since I've quit buying that, I'm glad to stumble upon a replacement recipe without a bunch of trial and error. I agree with a previous post that said they thought this could be a great basic batter without having to be exclusive to tacos. I didn't have any rice flour in the pantry, but the final result was fine. DH wished they would've been a touch crunchier... wonder if the rice flour would've contributed to crunch factor? We're die-hard flour/egg/panko fry-ers.... so it takes alot to convince us of any other way!! =)
I had enough batter for over two dozen large spot prawns, about a pound of halibut I decided to pull out at the last minute as well as a few sections of king crab meat (probably equivalent of 3 or four legs). I didn't make the avocado sauce, as the only salvageable avocado I had went into the slaw mixture I created.