# Smoked Spicy Shrimp Fajitas - Healthy Eats -   ++ Q-View



## thoseguys26 (May 4, 2012)

This is one of my summer favorites. It goes great with an ice cold brew. It's super healthy with a few 'super foods' included and you can omit the cheese if you'd like and it won't make much a difference at all in flavor. I'm just a sucker for melted cheese...

Feel free to copy it to the YAWYE forum. 

The beauty of this recipe is you can easily tweak it to make your taste buds happy.

I don't measure anything when making Guacamole unless I use my eye so it's all up to the chef.

*We got smoked shrimp, guacamole, southwest veg mix, cilantro, corn tortillas & cheese.*

*Guacamole*

(I never measure my guac so I can't help in that dept but here's some ingredients and pics below)

This is not my normal Guac. The guac I make for this recipe is special. Special as in I like to put at least three colorful peppers in it to make it extra nutritious and crunchy. It's more of an avocado salsa in a way but still plenty creamy. 

4 Fresno Peppers

1 Anaheim Pepper

1 Habanero Pepper

1-2 TB chopped Red Onion

1/2 TB lime juice (I like to go light on the lime but that's a personal pref)

2-3 Roma Tomatoes

2 Garlic Cloves

S & P to taste

Pinch of Cumin

Avocado's get sliced N-S & E-W. Place the chunks in a semi flat bowl and add chopped garlic. Mash with a potato masher. I like to mash my garlic and avocado's together. 

Chop everything else to your preferred consistency and add to avocado/garlic. Add Salt & Pepper to taste (start small, you can always add more salt) and add pinch of cumin (if preferred, I love Cumin but the shrimp get some too so it's not necessary). 

*Smoked Spicy Shrimp*

It's also pretty hard to mess up smoked shrimp. Grab a handful of your favorite spices(3-5) and toss them with the cleaned, wet shrimp in a bowl and smoke them at 275° for 30-40 minutes. I basically just keep an eye on them after 25 min to see how much they shrunk and if they look like they're drying out. I will cut one in half with a knife first to see if it's cooked and then judge how much more time they need. 

Shrimp can absorb smoke pretty well so depending on your taste I'd be careful as to how much you expose your shrimp to smoke.

I smoked mine for 25 min and cooked without smoke for another 15-20 but I'm at 5,000 elevation so my cooking time is longer then if you're closer to sea level. 

*Veggies & Cheese*

I have a great cheat for this part. I bought Birds Eye brand "the ultimate southwest blend" veggie mix. It's perfect for this meal, and it's in the freezer section. By all means, make your own mix but this is quick, easy and tastes great. Just microwave it for a couple minutes. 

Cheese - Make sure to buy some local corn tortillas if you can and sprinkle a little Cotija cheese or sharp cheddar cheese on your tortilla and toss it under your broiler on high and on the highest rack in your oven. Takes a 2-4 minutes tops and it's best to keep a close eye on it.

*Fajitas!*

Top some Cilantro on your melted cheesy corn tortillas, topped with guac, shrimp & southwest mix. *ENJOY*

Always buy Raw Shrimp. Thaw them in cold water, replace the water a few times until thawed. 








I'm quite pleased with this corner cutting bag of veggies!







Cold water. Pinch tails off first, then grab shell on the middle top back (with thumb and pointer finger) and slide/pinch down to the legs and pull the whole shell off easily. Make sure to tie the shells up in a plastic bag or two or your garbage will smell very bad. 







Pretty big Habanero!  I didn't use all of that red onion, FYI, just a small bit. The Anaheim used was about 2/3. 



















You can see how much Anaheim I used in this pic below, as well as red onion. 







Very colorful and healthy. 







Silky Spicy Goodness......







Shrimp seasoning. Use your own favorite spices. 3-5 is plenty. Chili powder already has cumin in it but as I said, I'm a cumin junky. S & P & chili powder makes a great smoked/grilled shrimp rub. Try it. 



















I wrapped my top level rack with some aluminum foil and put my AMZNS cherry dust on the bottom. 







The foil helps retain the little moisture each shrimp has, and keep it moist throughout the smoke/cook process. 







Assembly Time!   I chop the shrimp up roughly into halves or thirds.. no science. Same with cilantro. 

I usually put my cilantro, chopped, with my guac but with this amount I knew there would be leftovers so I chopped the cilantro separately knowing that one less thing spoiling tomorrow the better. Any broken/chopped veggie will expedite your spoilage rate so sometimes you can accommodate. 







Torts out and crispy







You're welcome I paused my drooling for the next three pictures!!!!!!!!!!! Cheers SMF!



















OH, this is my best method to keep guac fresh for days. Plastic baggies, squeezed air tight. I've had success with putting a good slice of onion with it because the onion has the right acidity to keep the avo from spoiling.


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## shoneyboy (May 4, 2012)

Looks tasty and some great recipes...Thanks for the post ShoneyBoy


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## chef jimmyj (May 4, 2012)

That was awesome...Great photos...JJ


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## thoseguys26 (May 5, 2012)

Shoneyboy said:


> Looks tasty and some great recipes...Thanks for the post ShoneyBoy


You're welcome! 


Chef JimmyJ said:


> That was awesome...Great photos...JJ


Thanks. This was the first time I smoked the shrimp and it was the perfect little hint of smoke in each bite. It's really a great healthy recipe.

There's something about the shrimp & guac + beans & corn..mixture... just wonderful.


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## harleysmoker (May 10, 2012)

Wow that looks great!


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## driedstick (May 10, 2012)

Very nice I wish my smoker would go higher now 220 tops for me but that is what the BBQ is for right??


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## slownlow (May 12, 2012)

Wow nice job!!!   Thanks for sharing!


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## thin blue smoke (May 12, 2012)

Great job.

I had forgotten how easy and good these are.

And--now I know what I am having for Sunday dinner!


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## thoseguys26 (May 12, 2012)

HarleySmoker said:


> Wow that looks great!


Thanks!


driedstick said:


> Very nice I wish my smoker would go higher now 220 tops for me but that is what the BBQ is for right??


Just try these cedar paper wraps on the grill. They work great for foods that can absorb smoke quickly, like shrimp. This is how I've cooked shrimp forever. THey are awesome!









slownlow said:


> Wow nice job!!!   Thanks for sharing!


No prob, thanks!


Thin Blue Smoke said:


> Great job.
> 
> I had forgotten how easy and good these are.
> 
> And--now I know what I am having for Sunday dinner!


Healthy too and very satisfying. I'm glad I could spark a recipe memory, imagine all of recipes we forget!


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## thoseguys26 (Jun 5, 2012)

Curious if anyone tried this recipe? We just made it again and I thought of this old post. If so, did you do anything different?


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## smokinhusker (Jun 6, 2012)

Just found it and I must say it looks delicious. Don't ya love that southwestern veggie blend!


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## thoseguys26 (Jun 7, 2012)

It's a great easy blend. The black beans aren't as hearty as canned but it's just super convenient.


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## bryce (Jul 23, 2012)

Those guys, wow, what a recipe!  My wife and i are sold and are planing on having this on Saturday. One question, how long did the shrimp take? Also, what temp did you smoke at 225? How do you know when shrimp is done?

Looks awesome!


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## bakerman (Jul 25, 2012)

Looks incredible! I will be having this soon.

Thanks

Bman


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2012)

Bryce said:


> Those guys, wow, what a recipe!  My wife and i are sold and are planing on having this on Saturday. One question, how long did the shrimp take? Also, what temp did you smoke at 225? How do you know when shrimp is done?
> 
> Looks awesome!


You gotta let me know how it goes. We love this one and I don't know what it is but the flavor of shrimp and creamy guac is to die for.

I replied to your shrimp question in your other post but if you read above I talk about temp & time.


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2012)

Bakerman said:


> Looks incredible! I will be having this soon.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Bman


Thanks Bman! This meal comes back to our kitchen frequently. :)


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## bryce (Jul 25, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> You gotta let me know how it goes. We love this one and I don't know what it is but the flavor of shrimp and creamy guac is to die for.
> 
> I replied to your shrimp question in your other post but if you read above I talk about temp & time.


I read the other post, thanks again for the information. Just checked with my wife and we're definitely still on for Saturday. I'll check back in over here with an update on how it went for us. Even with out the shrimp this recipe looks awesome. We're so looking foward to that guac.


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 26, 2012)

Are you not adding shrimp? I'm sure steak or chicken would be great too but if you like shrimp, you're in for a treat!  Don't forget to invite the camera to the feast!


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## bryce (Jul 26, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> Are you not adding shrimp? I'm sure steak or chicken would be great too but if you like shrimp, you're in for a treat!  Don't forget to invite the camera to the feast!


Oh sorry, heck yeah we're adding shrimp! I was mostly just saying your  recipe looks so good it's probably great even without the shrimp (however i'll probably never try it that way.)

I did think chicken might be pretty darn good in there as well.

Will try to remember the camera.

Two more days.........


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 27, 2012)

I might have to make this again now that I'm thinking about it too much... :)


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## bryce (Jul 28, 2012)

Ok, we're giving this a shot today.  We couldn't wait to try Thoseguys recipe so we went out this morning and picked up our ingredients. Looking for our first part (the frozen southwest veggie mix) and guess what, nothing southwest at Fred Meyer! Ugh. So we simply decided to make our own southwest mix using the ingredients on the package. Here's our homemade mix.













SW Mix.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






Guac Mix (this is the stuff man)













Guac.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






 Ready for the smoker













Shrimp 1.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012


















Shrimp 2.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






Smokin













Shrimp 3.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






We're going corn and flour













Shells.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






Finished













Final.jpg



__ bryce
__ Jul 28, 2012






These tacos were well worth the prep work and shopping trip. The shrimp added just the right amount of smokiness. The star of the meal is the guac mix though, it's simply the best. I also added some watercress to a couple and they were fab as well.

Errors: added too much red pepper flakes, chili powder and pepper

We will be having these again for sure. Even my kids (well 2 of the 3) ate one. I had 3 and my wife had 2. We have just enough left over for 2 more.

Thanks Thoseguys for posting this. It's a winner for sure!


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 31, 2012)

Nice Job Bryce! Making your own sw veggie mix was probably a lot better then the frozen even though I am pleasantly surprised with that brand & mix.

Glad everything turned out, looks really good!


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## hickory larry (Jul 31, 2012)

Man Outstanding job !! I love fajitas and am always looking for new ideas,just came upon this post as well.You look like you got it figured out. By the way leaving a pit or 2 in the gaucomole helps keep it green. I will try the onion idea as well though .thank you for posting ,good job


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 31, 2012)

Hickory larry said:


> Man Outstanding job !! I love fajitas and am always looking for new ideas,just came upon this post as well.You look like you got it figured out. By the way leaving a pit or 2 in the gaucomole helps keep it green. I will try the onion idea as well though .thank you for posting ,good job


Thanks Larry, it's a keeper. I've heard of the pit tip before as well as squeezing a little lime juice on it and a big slice of onion but honestly it's a rare occasion that we have leftover guac! Especially more than one day. The ziplock baggy sealed with as little air as possible has been the way I do it these days.


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## bryce (Jul 31, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> Nice Job Bryce! Making your own sw veggie mix was probably a lot better then the frozen even though I am pleasantly surprised with that brand & mix.
> 
> Glad everything turned out, looks really good!


Thanks TG. They were really good and will be prepared again soon.

Bryce


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## scarbelly (Aug 1, 2012)

Nice job to both of you - awesome recipe and delivery by both of you.  Have you ever tried leaving the avocado a little chunky to match the texture of the other ingredients? Give it a shot one time, I think you will be surprised at the difference in texture and taste. It is a trick I learned from the avocado growers here


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## bryce (Aug 1, 2012)

Ah, nice idea and good thought Scarbelly. Sounds like that might enhance the recipe overall.

Bryce


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 1, 2012)

Scarbelly said:


> Nice job to both of you - awesome recipe and delivery by both of you.  Have you ever tried leaving the avocado a little chunky to match the texture of the other ingredients? Give it a shot one time, I think you will be surprised at the difference in texture and taste. It is a trick I learned from the avocado growers here


Oh yeah Scarbelly! If we have extra Avocado's we will just roughly dice them and top our fajitas with them. Avocado's are one of our favorite foods period. A friend of mine brought us some avocado's from CA that she freshly picked and drove here to CO.. I couldn't believe the amazing difference in quality. I didn't even want to do anything with it besides eat it like an apple.. I bet you enjoy having a resource like that close by you.


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## scarbelly (Aug 1, 2012)

We do guacamole by putting avocado halves into a bowl then taking a butter knife to do the cutting thru the meat of the fruit . We keep the texture rough and we think it makes a more flavorful guac.


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## thoseguys26 (Dec 31, 2012)

Scarbelly said:


> We do guacamole by putting avocado halves into a bowl then taking a butter knife to do the cutting thru the meat of the fruit . *We keep the texture rough and we think it makes a more flavorful guac.  YES!*


I've been doing a chunky guac ever since you mentioned that. I tried the knife technique and it was awesome but to speed it up I use a fork now but rotate it 90° and use it like a knife most of the time but still mush them a bit.

I gotta try to cold smoke a few for guac sometime..


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