Jerk Shrimp Tacos

The easiest and quickest taco night option you can do. 

A spicy and sweet mix of flavors to get this weeknight option quickly to the table. 

These delicious jerk shrimp tacos are the easiest things to make and has a nice Caribbean twist.

In no time you and your family would be able to have the most perfect taco party with these spicy shrimp tacos.

What I love about these is that you can make them to your personal taste. Just make sure there are many topping options that everyone can indulge in. 

These Caribbean jerk shrimp tacos are a crowd pleaser.

You are going to need a few things for these tacos. The main things are:

- Fresh shrimp: I much rather use raw large shrimp with the shell off. You can also use frozen shrimp. But I would avoid already cooked.

- Jerk marinade: What we need to give the shrimp the heat we want

- Taco shells: I prefer soft, flour tortillas. You can also use corn tortillas if you like those.

- Slaw: I love a good fresh slaw with this. A red, green, and orange cabbage mix. Gives a great crunch texture

- Mango cubes: This is the sweetness you need to combat the heat of the jerk shrimp.

- Avocado: The creaminess you want to mesh the crunchy slaw with everything else

- Fried ripe plantains: (optional) but it added a great additional texture and flavor to the tacos

Getting the shrimp prepared is very easy.

You can use either store bought jerk marinade or make your own using my recipe. The good thing with making it at home, is that you are able to control the heat levels to your preference.

Place the meat in the marinade and leave for at least 30 mins. You can also leave this overnight. The flavors will become more intense over time.

I do this on the stove top, but the shrimp can also be grilled or even baked. The stove top is the fastest and less effort.

I like to butterfly the shrimp prior to making it marinate, for some extra plumpness

If you are like me and don't like too much heat, use mild. If I'm buying and using the bottled version. I like walkerswood brand.

Get your oil to a medium heat and add your marinated shrimp and let them cook for about 2 minutes a side.

After they have cooked, remove and squeeze some fresh lime juice over the shrimp.

Stay away from stringy mangoes. And also make sure that the mangoes are ripe. It's the sweetness from the mango that meshes great with the heat from the shrimp.

I prefer to use the hass avocados, as they are a little sweeter than the bigger ones. I cube them up so they fit better in the shells.

Additional topping for tacos

Pineapple -  another good replacement for mango if you can't find any. And you can also try my chutney version
Sour cream or greek yogurt
Jalapenos - if you want more heat from a separate source other than the shrimp
Sprinkles of parsley or shado beni
Salsa

Pineapple salsa

Storage

What about leftovers right?

Whatever wasn't used of the shrimp I store in the fridge as quickly as possible in an airtight container.

To reheat I place the shrimp in on the stop. I heat my pan up with some oil and then layer the shrimp and move them around for a little. Not too long at all so that it doesn't get rubbery.

I reheat shrimp once. I am not taking any chances with food safety after that.



And now that you have these amazing tacos what else do you eat with it?

For a variety for dinner, I like to add some of my turmeric rice to the plate with my tacos. It's a nice side to balance out the heat.

You will also need to have some refreshing drinks with it. Try these "great with tacos" refreshers like the Caribbean punch, mango passion fruit juice or ginger pineapple lemonade.

Love jerk seasoned food? Check out these other spicy dishes

Spicy BBQ chicken
Pulled Jerk chicken sandwiches
Sticky Jerk chicken
Jerk chicken wings