I am about to blow your mind. Yes I am. Nothing I am about to tell you is going to make any sense. You will think I am crazy, but once you taste these you are going to FLIP OUT!
I have been making these enchiladas for company ever since I went to grad school in Southwest Texas and a restaurant out there called The Reata served these. They aren’t on the menu any more and I have no idea why. I never got the recipe but played around with what I thought was in them. Here is what I came up with.
I always get such amazing feedback from this dish and I almost feel guilty because it is so easy to make. Seriously, it takes just a couple of minutes to put together. You will look like a hero. Once baked it is very difficult to figure out what you are actually eating. The sauce has such a smoky sweet flavor and paired with the shrimp it is out of this world.
Ok, here are the players. See? Shrimp, BBQ sauce, cream, Greek seasoning, and Honey? What? There is no way this can work.
First take your Shrimp 1 lb (You can either buy already cooked ones or fresh. Really it doesn’t matter). For this I used fresh because they were wild caught and they looked nice.
Sprinkle them with Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning (find it in the spice section at the grocery. For some reason it is always towards the bottom).
Let the shrimp hang out while you make the sauce.
Add 1 1/3 cups of cream to a bowl. Mix in a cup of BBQ sauce (any kind will do. I prefer a tangy one, not too sweet since you are adding honey). Then about ½ cup of honey and ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. The sauce will be a nice salmon color. Go ahead and taste it. See? It is so strangely good. Add more pepper if you want to make it extra sassy.
Pour a little bit of sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish. You want the bottom the enchiladas to get some love too.
Now if you are using raw shrimp go ahead and give them a quick sauté until they are just turning pink. You don’t want little hockey pucks in there.
Take your tortillas (warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds so they are easier to roll and don’t rip). Put about 6 or so shrimp in there and top with a decent sprinkling of any Mexican cheese. I just happened to have this amazing queso cheese from a Mexican party I threw a few weeks ago. (If you haven’t been to an International grocery store GO, way more exciting than the ones on every corner here in Charlotte).
Roll them up and place in in the casserole dish. I usually make six enchiladas when I use a 9x 13 dish.
Disclaimer: THESE ARE NOT DIET FRIENDLY (but you are making them for your friends so who cares?). Sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants.
Top with the remainder of the sauce and a tiny amount of cheese and some fresh cilantro. Look how pretty they look without even baking them first.
Pop them in a 350-degree oven covered with foil for 30 min. When the timer goes off take the foil off and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Your house is going to smell so wonderful.
I like mine a little spicy so when they come out of the oven I drizzle a little adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo). It is spicy and smoky. Not too much though. It is liquid fire.
Serve with some sliced avocado and Pico de Gallo. Beautiful.
When I am serving a large amount of people I will make Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas also just because I know not every one likes shrimp. The shrimp ones always get devoured.
BBQ Shrimp Enchiladas Recipe:
1 lb shrimp (fresh or cooked tails removed)
2 cups Mexican melting cheese (Monterrey Jack)
1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup BBQ sauce
½ cup Honey
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
6 flour Tortillas
1-tablespoon fresh cilantro
Preheat oven to 350.
1. Sprinkle shrimp with Greek seasoning. And set aside
2. Combine cream, bbq sauce, honey and cayenne in a bowl. Pour ½ cup in bottom of a 9×13 baking dish
3. If using raw shrimp cook
4. Place 1/6 th of the shrimp with some cheese in a warmed tortilla and place in the baking dish.
5. Repeat with remaining tortillas and top with rest of the sauce and cheese. Top with cilantro and cover with foil
6. Bake for 30 min
7. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove and be blown away. YUM.
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2 comments
Looks so delish. I can’t wait to try it!
I lived in Alpine when the Reata first opened, and loved their barbecue shrimp enchiladas! I was very disappointed when these went off the menu. I have looking for years for a similar recipe. This is the first I have come across. I will be trying this out for sure!