Tequila-Cane Shrimp

Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.

Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.

Heat Scale
Submit Recipe

Ingredients:

1-2 Tbsp. chopped drained canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup cane or maple syrup
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 3/4 pound)

Instructions:

Prepare the grill.

Place the chipotle chiles in a zip-top plastic bag. Add the tequila and the next 5 ingredients (tequila through minced garlic) to the bag, and stir well. Add the shrimp; seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the bag, reserving the marinade. Place the reserved marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Thread the shrimp onto 4 (6″) skewers. Place the shrimp on a grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are done. Serve with the sauce.

Yields 4 appetizer servings.

Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, June 2001.