Caribbean Red Snapper is one of my favorite fish. Pan seared and topped with Gulf Shrimp and a lime margarita sauce and its darn near perfection!
When I look for fish to prepare at home or at work, the first questions I ask is what waters did it come from. Sourcing seafood and finding its origin, even down to the country fishing those waters can help you provide your family with safe, sustainable seafood. Everyone thinks because they’re serving seafood and eating healthier its a good thing, but if you’re not careful it can be a bad thing.
So when I found Caribbean Red Snapper at Costco (after a quick search on its source and safety) I bought a bag of IQF fillets to try at home.
The size of the fillets was perfect running around 7 ounces raw, which allowed me to add some shrimp to the dish as a topping.
This hadn’t been the plan when I started dinner originally but as I began to gather ingredients, I saw the limes in my produce drawer begging to be used along with a fresh bunch of cilantro.
The red snapper went really well with the margarita sauce and lime zest and cilantro added another layer of flavors.
If you enjoyed this recipe you’re going to love these fish recipes:
- Blackened Salmon with a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
- Pan Seared Halibut
- How to Poach Mahi-Mahi (or your favorite fish)
- Grilled Atlantic Rockfish
Pan Seared Red Snapper and Shrimp in a Lime Margarita Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 6-7 ounce Red Snapper Fillets
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- 6 jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined 16-20 count
- 12 in grape tomatoes - cut half long way
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro -chopped
- 2 ounces tequila
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- juice from one lime
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
Instructions
- Season Red Snapper with Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- in a large saute pan add olive oil and allow the pan to get hot before adding snapper
- Add Snapper to the pan and sear the top until nicely brown
- Place snapper in a baking dish with a little water and place in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking
- In the same pan add additional oil if needed, then saute tomatoes and shrimp till almost fully cooked and remove from heat.
- in a small saute pan, add 1 tbsp of butter and after it melts, add in brown sugar and blend well.
- add in lime juice and tequila, allow the alcohol in the tequila to burn off.
- add in the last tbsp of butter and allow the mixture to thicken and remove from heat
- When snapper is done, remove shrimp from saute pan adding to the lime sauce and gently reheat
- serve Red Snapper (removing bottom skin when taking out of the baking dish) and arrange tomatoes around the fish and top with shrimp and margarita sauce
- Top with lime zest and chopped cilantro
Nutrition
More recipes from my site
Pecan Encrusted Red Snapper with a Lime Margarita Sauce- How to make Red Snapper en Papillote – Restaurant Style Recipe
- Georgia Pecan Snapper with a Margarita Sauce
- How to make Cajun Style Florida Snapper with a Lime Margarita Sauce
- Lobster Fra Diavolo Bianco Recipe for your next Date Night Dinner
- Florida Pompano with a Meyer Lemon – Grapefruit Sauce
Estela says
Made this last night for dinner and so simple and delicious! Thank you Chef Dennis for sharing your delights!
Chef Dennis Littley says
you are very welcome Estela. Thanks for the comment and great review!
Frank Mosher says
This is an excellent recipe! Made it last evening, everyone loved it, and duly gave you credit for same .Thank you
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thanks Frank, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Frank Mosher says
Looking forward to trying this one for certain. Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley says
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Wendy says
I’m glad to hear you liked Costco’s fish. I’m always hesitant to buy from somewhere like that because I assume it’s not very fresh. The lime margarita sauce sounds very tasty!
Chef Dennis Littley says
its the only fish I found in the area that seems to be sourced well. Not everything they have is sourced from good waters so you have to read the label, but they do have some.
RavieNomNoms says
Chef this looks amazing!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you Raven, it was delicious!
Kath says
That just looks fabulous, Dennis! And I appreciate the tip about Costco’s IQF fillets. I’ll have to check it out.
Chef Dennis Littley says
you’re very welcome Kath, Costco has been surprising me with all their organic and Gluten Free products. I just wish it was closer
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
We ate a lot of dishes like this while in New Orleans. Looks fabulous, Dennis!
Chef Dennis Littley says
Thank you Brian! Thats one place on my must see list, especially since we’re living much closer now.