This taco is now the signature item at Fearing’s Restaurant in Dallas. After serving it at the BubbleQ in 2006, I knew it would be a hit because of the three main ingredients that really say “Texas”—barbecue, lime, and cilantro. To me, anything wrapped in a flour tortilla is absolutely delicious.
SERVES 4
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup small-diced peeled and deveined shrimp
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup diced onion
1 cup barbecue sauce
½ cup grated jalapeño Jack cheese
4 6-inch flour tortillas, cooked and kept warm
Mango-Pickled Red Onion Salad (recipe follows)
⅓ cup grated Cotija or Mexican farmer’s cheese
⅓ cup toasted and coarsely ground Mexican pumpkin seeds
4 fresh serrano chiles
4 sprigs fresh cilantro
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the shrimp to the hot pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute, or until the shrimp turns red. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, or until translucent. Stir in the barbecue sauce. Bring to a boil and quickly remove the pan from the heat. Add the Jack cheese and stir until the cheese has melted into the mixture.
Place a warm tortilla in the middle of each warm serving plate. Spoon equal portions of the shrimp mixture into the middle of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla into a cylinder with the seam side down. Spoon a small portion of Mango-Pickled Red Onion Salad on top of each taco. Sprinkle with the Cotija cheese and pumpkin seeds, and garnish with the chiles (to be eaten like a pickle by the adventurous) and cilantro.
