Spicy King Crab Tacos with Green Grape Salsa
A refreshing fruit salsa combines with spicy seafood to create a flavor explosion in this Spicy King Crab Tacos with Green Grape Salsa. Feel free to substitute shrimp or any other seafood for the King crab.
Ingredients
King Crab (or Shrimp) Tacos
- 1 pound King Crab or Shrimp or seafood of choice prepped and cut into bite-sized pieces if necessary
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin, divided
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1½ tablespoons tequila optional
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic or dried granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper or use 1 T adobo sauce in can of chipotle peppers
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika or ancho chile powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grape Salsa
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 2 serrano chiles finely diced, more or less to taste
- 1/2 English cucumber seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest optional
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground mace optional - can sub a pinch of nutmeg
- 2 cups green grapes can use red, green or combination, chopped small
- 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
Toppings
- avocado slices
- cilantro leaves
Instructions
Taco Filling
- Peel, prep and very roughly chop King Crab and/or Shrimp. Place in a medium bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and remaining taco ingredients (lime juice through black pepper) and mix till everything is combine and seafood is completely coated. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
- While seafood is marinating, prepare the grape salsa and prep your tortillas (see note below) and toppings.
- Once Grape Salsa is made, heat the remaining 1 T olive oil in a saute pan until hot, drain any extra liquid from the crab/shrimp and add them to the hot pan. Cook 1-2 minutes without stirring, then flip and cook 1 minute more (or until opaque). If using pre-cooked crab, cook 1-2 minutes only or until hot and sizzling.
- Remove crab/shrimp from heat and create your tacos by spooning crab/shrimp combo onto your tortillas, top with grape salsa, extra cilantro leaves and avocado slices. Enjoy!
Grape Salsa
- Combine onion, chiles and cucumber with lime juice and zest, vinegar, honey, garlic powder, salt and mace. Stir well and let sit at least 10 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients (grapes and cilantro) and toss to combine. Set aside until served.
Notes
To prepare tortillas: You can prep your tortillas several different ways.
- Steam your tortillas by wrapping them in a lint-free towel and placing them in a steamer basket over simmering water for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let them stay warm until ready to serve.
- Steam in the microwave by wrapping them in a lint-free towel and cooking them on high for 2 minutes. This method should only be done at the last minute right before serving or the tortillas can get dried out or even rubbery.
- My preferred way is to cook the tortillas on a very hot skillet (I prefer cast-iron) for a minute or so per side and then wrap them, to keep warm, in a lint-free towel until ready to serve.
- 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 ounces tequila, (blanco or silver)
- 1 ounce Triple Sec (or orange liqueur)
- Honey or simple syrup, optional
- Lime wedge and salt for rim, if desired