Spicy Shrimp Tacos + Sour Cream Cilantro Sauce

Yeah, it’s official. I’m obsessed with tacos.  But I feel like there could be worse things, right? 

Last week, I took full advantage of Taco Tuesday. We stopped into this quaint little restaurant in Pinehurst for lunch, and the place was packed.  Apparently they have a pretty good Taco Tuesday special, so *duh* – I had to do it!  I ordered one mahi mahi taco, one carnitas taco, and one grilled shrimp taco. Of course I loved them all, but the shrimp tacos were particularly good.  Then I was like, dang.  I really need to make some shrimp tacos for my blog!

Spicy Shrimp Tacos + Sour Cream Cilantro Sauce 

Course 
Main Course

Cuisine 
American

Keyword 
Shrimp tacos

Prep Time 
1 hour

Cook Time 
10 minutes

Chill Sauce 
2 hours
 
Total Time 
1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 
4 tacos

Ingredients
for sour cream cilantro sauce :

• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 Tbsp. hot sauce your favorite one!
• 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 Tbsp. lime juice freshly squeezed
• 1 tiny pinch garlic salt
• 1 pinch cracked black pepper

for shrimp tacos :

• 20 shrimp peeled, deveined, and cleaned
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 4 small tortillas
• 1 chopped avocado, chopped tomato, red cabbage, cilantro for garnish

Instructions
for sour cream cilantro sauce :

• Combine all ingredients into a bowl, and stir to fully mix.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow the flavors to hang out and blend in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

for shrimp :

• Add shrimp, spices, and extra virgin olive oil to a large ziplock bag.  Toss to coat the shrimp evenly.  Place the bag in the refrigerator, and allow the shrimp to marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight.
• Cook bacon over medium-high heat in a grill pan.  Once bacon is crispy, turn the heat to medium.  Remove bacon, and transfer the bacon onto on a dish towel or paper towels to drain excess grease.
• In the same pan now on medium heat, cook the marinated shrimp in the remaining bacon fat, about two minutes per side until cooked through.  Remove shrimp from pan, and set aside under tented foil to keep warm.

for tacos :

• Chop the cooled bacon into small pieces, then repeat with the avocado and the tomato.  Set aside.  
• Warm your tortillas in the microwave, OR discard the excess bacon grease from the pan in which you cooked the shrimp. Return the pan to the stove over low heat, and gently warm your tortillas on the grill pan (about 20 seconds per side).
• Time to build tacos!  Add a spoonful each of chopped avocado and tomato onto each warmed tortilla.  Add five shrimp per taco, then drizzle the shrimp with sour cream cilantro sauce.  Top each taco with crumbled bacon, chopped red cabbage (optional) and cilantro (optional).  Dig in!