It’s Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end of the summer holidays (though for some kids, school started a couple weeks ago!) We’ve been experimenting with grilled shrimp lately and I thought I’d share this festive shrimp taco for those of you still looking for ideas of what to grill this weekend.

We serve the grilled shrimp in tacos topped with a colorful mango and avocado salsa, which you can easily put together while the grill is heating up. Crazy good!

A few tips for perfect grilled shrimp. First, use large shrimp, they’ll hold their moisture better on the grill and won’t dry out in the time it takes to cook them on high heat.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa

If you are using frozen shrimp, defrost them in salty cold water. The water will help them defrost quickly, and the salt in the water will help keep the natural salt in the shrimp from leaching out.

Finally, use two skewers at a time to thread the shrimp. That way the shrimp won’t spin around when you go to turn them over on the grill, and they’ll be less likely to fall off while they cook. Here’s a very short (12 seconds) video of how to thread the shrimp onto skewers:

Have a great weekend!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Mango Avocado Salsa Recipe

  • Prep time: 25 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4

Large shrimp grill best (they are less likely to dry out). Look for 16/20 count shrimp (that’s 16-20 shrimp per pound). Don’t attempt to grill shrimp that are smaller than 26/30 count.

We suggest using peeled and deveined shrimp because of the convenience. But truly the best flavor will come from leaving the shell on while grilling. You can cut the back with sharp scissors and devein them before grilling if you want to leave the shells on. The shrimp will absorb flavor from the cooking shell, and it holds the moisture better.

We defrost shrimp in salty cold water because soaking in water is the fastest way to defrost shrimp, and if you soak the shrimp in plain water it will leach out the natural salt in the shrimp. The salty water helps the shrimp maintain their natural salt.

Ingredients

Grilled Shrimp:

  • 1 pound shrimp (16/20 count) peeled and deveined (frozen is fine)
  • 1 quart water (4 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup cubed ice
  • Olive oil
  • Skewers for grilling, if bamboo, soak in water for an hour

Mango Avocado Salsa:

  • 1 ripe but still firm mango, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • 1 ripe avocado, seeded, peeled, and cut into small cubes
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
  • 1/2 fresh jalapeño pepper (less or more to taste), minced
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Tortillas:

  • 10 to 12 corn or flour tortillas

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