Mexican Garlic Lime Shrimp

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Garlic shrimp is for shrimp and garlic lovers. Or should that be the other way around? This Mexican version with lime always brings me back to happy days on Mexican beaches. I hope it does the same for you!

Garlic Shrimp, Mexican style with lime, a standby recipe in our home contains most of the staples I always have on hand. I keep shrimp in the freezer, garlic and lime always in the fridge and of course, there is no lack of butter or oil in our home. Cilantro or parsley is always available as are chilies in every form.  What I am sharing with you today is my daughter’s most requested recipe. She has called me from London just to get this recipe. She has called me from other places, too but now I am preserving it in written form so she will now have to call me for something else. But thank goodness I have a daughter that calls a lot, so I am not worried.

A few notes about this dish. You must love garlic. You must love lime. And you must love spice in the form of chili flakes. You also must like a quick, easy to fix recipe that doesn’t require a lot of time in the kitchen. I had been searching for this dish for years as it reminds me of the lobsters I always order in Mexico that were slathered and drenched in garlic butter. Now this is not lobster, nor am I in Mexico, and I also don’t have a waiter serving me-but despite all of that-this is a favorite go to recipe. And if you don’t eat shrimp you could try it with chunks of tuna, swordfish, or of course lobster, instead of shrimp. You might also try it with cubes of chicken, but truthfully I have never made it past shrimp.

I get to use two of my favorite tools in making it, but these are not required. I love my Milagro Tequila (https://www.milagrotequila.com/) lime press which was the best gift that I have ever received from a tequila distributor. Not that I have received any other gifts from tequila distributors. Truly it is a great lime squeezer and my husband informs me that the tequila is very good, too. I also still use my Grandma Fanny’s garlic press which always makes me think of my Grandma Fanny and how I wish she could have lasted as long as her garlic press has; though she probably wouldn’t have used it for a recipe like this.

What should you know about choosing shrimp:

1. I always choose IQF’s which means that each shrimp is individually frozen. I also try to look for sustainably farmed or fished shrimp which generally means they are freshwater shrimp.

2. The size of the shrimp can vary from small to colossal so the number of shrimp per pound determines the size. If I tell you  to get 25’s this means they are jumbo shrimp and you get about 16-25 per pound. Whatever you are making should determine the size of shrimp for that dish. You may not want giant shrimp on a shrimp salad sandwich or teeny shrimp in your favorite pasta dish.

3. How do you tell if a shrimp is fresh? Well, I think this is obvious, but please never buy a shrimp that smells like ammonia or that is slimy and limp. And keep in mind most shrimp are frozen so if you are buying from the seafood case those shrimp are probably just thawed. Watch out for freezer burn. Shrimp that have been refrozen or poorly handled may show white spots that are freezer burn. Stay away from those!

4. I thaw my shrimp by putting them in a strainer or colander and run cold water over them. Easy peasy and fast! Dry them on paper towels.

5. Preferably buy shrimp with shells on and split. Shells help protect the shrimp when frozen and the shells can be used in stock if you choose.

6. It’s easy to peel a shrimp, especially those that are split. Just hold onto the legs and then unwrap the shrimp from its shell. Pinch off the tail last. There are a million ways to peel shrimp on You Tube but this has always worked for me.

7. No. I do not buy cooked shrimp. It is just so easy to cook your own.

8. Do you devein your shrimp? That is up to you but I recommend it since that is the digestive tract of the shrimp. Generally though, most shrimp now are already deveined.

9. What color shrimp should you buy? I like white shrimp which tend to be found in the Atlantic, Asia and Latin America. They are sweeter than brown shrimp and I prefer their texture.