Well, as the temperature begins to rise and the seasons become more pleasurable, you’ll want to make food that reflects these things all the while being fresh and refreshing. And that’s why we’re making these Baja Shrimp Tacos. And we’re going to do them in the oven for all you people who don’t have time to be messing with a barbecue for a few shrimp.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 T. Garlic Salt
- 1 T. Lemon Pepper
- 2 t. Paprika
- 1 t. Chili Powder
- 1 t. Onion Flakes
- Vegetable Oil
- Lime or Lemon Juice
That’s just for baking the shrimp. So you’re going to need taco shells and taco fillings to make these tacos. But to make them baja-style you’ll need Chipotle Mayo…
And Tortillas!
Ideas for things to put out to put in your tacos…
- Shredded Cheese
- Shredded Lettuce
- Diced Tomato
- Sliced avocado
- Black Beans
- Rice
But let’s stick with focusing on the shrimp. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit and acquire a glass baking dish to put your shrimp in. Coat the bottom of the dish with vegetable oil and place the shrimp in the dish. Put all the garlic salt, lemon pepper, paprika, chili powder, and onion flakes in a bowl and mix them up. Lightly dust the shrimp with the mixture. When the oven has finished heating put the shrimp in for 5 minutes.
After the first five minutes pull the dish out with a hot pad and using a slotted spatula flip all the shrimp and coat them with more seasoning. Then put them back in the oven and cook for another 5 min.
Pull the shrimp out after 5 minutes and let cool for a bit. Put shrimp on tortillas and sprinkle with the citrus juice that you’ve been saving. Serve to your roommate who assumes the bright colors mean that it is poisoned.
Notes
One of my roommates is allergic to wheat products, not throat-closingly allergic but if he has wheat the house ends up smelling like a septic tank. So we use corn tortillas. They are not bad once you get used to them but you’ll only ever get used to them by frying them slightly in butter or oil before you use them. If you don’t you won’t.
You don’t need to use a lot of chipotle mayo on your tortilla but don’t be scared of it. The way it interacts with the cheese and shrimp almost nullifies the spiciness of the chipotle but leave the cool, smokey flavor.
Baking the shrimp has always yielded a more succulent moist shrimp. You should try it and I forgot when I made this to add quartered limes to the baking process but you could and it really does add a nice essence to the flavor.
Try your hand at making mojitos to go with this. This meal only took you 30min to prepare, 50min if you were taking pictures and notes. You’ve got no reason not to.