Camarones a la Diabla

On this hot July, we have decided to crank up the heat EVEN MORE with some Camarones a la Diabla!

This recipe we took from an old recipe book from my dad's home town of Tonaya, Jalisco, Mexico.

INGREDIENTS:

-12 chiles huajillo (dried)
-5 chiles de arbol (dried)
-4 lbs. of uncooked shrimp
-2 oranges
-bottle of ketchup (aka salsa catsup)
-1 stick of butter
-1 or 2 garlic cloves, according to your liking
-salt
-teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (aka salsa inglesa)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat up enough water to soak all the chiles in. Let the chiles sit in the heated water for about 2 hours. The chiles can be soaked a night ahead of time. The point is to get the chiles soft and the water red.

When the chiles are soft, you should begin washing/rinsing the shrimp. Leave the shells in tact! We'll explain why in the last step. After washing the shrimp, let them sit in fresh water while you move onto the next few steps...

We now open up the chiles and remove the seeds inside. My mom showed us how to do this part. She basically used her nails to open them up and then removed the seeds using the pot of water to help wash them off.

We added the chiles, along with about 2 cups of the water in the chile pot, and squeezed orange juice from 2 oranges into a blender. It wasn't hot enough, so we added a few more chiles and mom decided to crush them in the molcajete rather than putting it all back in the blender.

Now that the sauce is blended, you will heat up a deep pan over medium heat. Strain the sauce as you pour it in. While stirring the sauce, add a teaspoon or so of salt, a teaspoon of the Worcestershire sauce, and the bottle's worth of ketchup. Yes the whole bottle. This, along with the orange, will add an element of sweetness. My mom actually likes to skip the ketchup and orange and just adds more chile sauce because she likes to make them HOT. So, be aware that you can easily tailor this recipe.

Heat up a separate pan over medium heat and melt the stick of butter.
Remove the shrimp from the bowl of water and add them to the heated, buttery pan.

We used a garlic press to add some crushed garlic.

Stir the shrimp around as they cook.

We suggest you don't overcook the shrimp because they will taste dry.

When the shrimp is ready, pour them into the warm chile sauce.

Serve and enjoy with a cold michelada!