Grilled Texas Shrimp

Margarita logic applied to shrimp: tequila, lime and ground red chile build the marinade, and nothing is wasted - after the shrimp hit the skewers, the marinade is boiled with its chopped red pepper into a warm dipping sauce. Big flavor, two or three minutes a side.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Mexican lime juice
• 1 Tbsp ground red chiles
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 24 large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined, tails left on

Method

1. Mix all ingredients except the shrimp in a shallow glass or plastic dish.
2. Stir in the shrimp, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Thread 4 shrimp on each of six 8-inch metal skewers.
4. Grill over medium coals, turning once, until pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
5. Heat the reserved marinade to boiling in a nonreactive saucepan; reduce heat and simmer uncovered until the bell pepper is tender, about 5 minutes. Serve the sauce with the shrimp.

Notes from the Grill

One hour in the marinade is plenty - the lime and vinegar will toughen shrimp left longer. 'Pink and opaque' is the doneness test; shrimp are the fastest thing on this site and the easiest to overcook. The boiled-marinade sauce is the recipe's quiet genius: a full rolling boil makes it safe and concentrates it into something you'll want bread for.

Serving Ideas

Warm tortillas, the pepper sauce, and a squeeze of lime turn these into instant tacos; over rice, the sauce becomes the dressing. The remaining tequila has an obvious destiny - margaritas for the cooks - which is presumably how the recipe was invented.

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