Beef or Chicken. Ho-hum. Why Not Shrimp in Your Next Batch of Tacos?

Tacos are awesome! They can be hard shell or soft shell. You can choose between spicy or not spicy. Shells can be filled with either beef and chicken. Now it’s time to try something different. I’ve made tacos from pulled pork, grilled veggies, and even chopped up smoked sausage. My all-time alternative taco filling, when stepping away from beef or chicken, is seafood especially shrimp!

This recipe comes from my research when working on both the 2020 release of my Florida Hometown Cookbook and my last book which was The Little Gulf Coast Seafood Cookbook. The background story about this recipe is pretty amazing. The only road leading off Cape San Blas washed out during a storm and we were stuck a few extra days and forced to make meals with whatever we had in the fridge… which was not much since we were leaving the next day.

So, the ground beef needed for Tacos was replaced with some fresh shrimp we purchased and had iced down for the drive home. And, we still had charcoal left over… everything came together! Now, the recipe has come full circle as it’s a regular summer grilling meal. Here’s the simple recipe which you can modify and make your own. The picture shows the same recipe made with shrimp and Cod fillets.

Grilled Shrimp Soft Tacos

• 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups lemon yogurt
• 1 pack taco seasoning
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Clean and de-vein the shrimp and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine the yogurt, coconut milk, lemon juice, honey, brown sugar, cilantro, one-fourth of the taco seasoning, and ketchup.
3. Divide in half. Place one half in a bowl or re-sealable bag and refrigerate for your sauce.
4. Add shrimp to the remaining marinade as well as some remaining taco seasoning and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Remove shrimp from marinade.
6. Grill shrimp over medium-high heat using the BBQ Dragon Rolling Grilling basket. Roll as needed to evenly cook.
7. Serve up your shrimp with all of your favorite taco toppings on hard or soft shells.