10 Mouthwatering Meals Made With Tequila

Oh, how we relish sipping tequila leisurely on its own, or in all those newfangled cocktail creations ambitious bar stars are dreaming up. The love affair with agave, however, doesn’t need to end with a glass. Cooking with the spirit adds depth and intrigue to even the most ho-hum fish dish. Here are 10 creative recipes—many from chefs around the country and even Mexico—that will inspire you to have a bottle of tequila at the ready the next time the stove beckons.

RELATED: Tasty Tequila Drinks That Aren't Margaritas

Rosa Mexicano

For his bright salmon preparation, Joe Quintana, Rosa Mexicano’s executive regional chef, says, “The tequila provides an added layer of complexity. The woodsy notes complement the natural flavors of the fresh fish, which is otherwise a fairly simple preparation with salt, pepper, and a touch of cilantro. Between the cilantro and the tequila, all you need is a margarita and you’ve got yourself a taste of Mexico.”

1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons white pepper
1/2 cup reposado tequila
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup dill, chopped
1 side of salmon (approximately 3 pounds), pin bones removed

Mix the salt, sugar, and white pepper in one bowl, and then add the tequila. In a separate bowl, mix the cilantro and dill. Combine the tequila mixture with the herb mixture. Place the salmon on two layers of plastic wrap. Spread the tequila-herb preparation over the entire flesh side of the salmon. Wrap up completely in the plastic wrap until it’s tight. Place in a baking pan and store in the refrigerator. Every 24 hours, drain all the excess juice out of the pan. After three days the salmon will be done. Slice the salmon thinly, and serve with black bread or warm tortillas.

El Rey, Philadelphia

At El Rey, the Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square (and part of Stephen Starr’s restaurant empire), chef Dionicio Jimenez makes shrimp with tequila, fried garlic, and lime. “Using tequila is common in Mexican cuisine,” he says. “Guests love the Camarones, a traditional Mexican dish, because it is a lighter menu option, and the flavor is distinct.”

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves diced garlic
½ ounce tequila
Salt for seasoning
Lime juice for seasoning
Butter to finish

Clean, remove shells, and devein one pound of shrimp. Put sauté pan on the stove at high heat, add vegetable oil and diced garlic, and wait 30 seconds. Carefully add shrimp, cooking 90 seconds on each side. Season with salt and lime juice, and flambé with tequila. Finish with the butter and add remaining lime juice and salt.

La Palapa, New York

From these duck chalupas to arrachera, chef Barbara Sibley loves cooking with tequila at her restaurant, La Palapa, in New York’s East Village.

Chalupas
1 generous cup corn masa harina
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
Vegetable oil, for frying

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the masa and salt. Slowly add the water and as you do, work the masa into dough with your hands. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes or until it is moist and smooth but not sticky. Divide the masa dough into 12 equal balls. Form each ball into a round disc about half-inch thick. Heat a griddle or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and cook each disc for about three minutes on each side or until a crust forms. Leave the chalupas in one place for the first three minutes. If the chalupas are moved before the crust forms they will stick to the pan and break when you try to lift them. As you remove the discs from the pan, pinch a rim all the way around it so that it’s about one-third-inch high and pinch the center about three times. Set the chalupas on a plate and when cool cover with plastic wrap until ready to use so that they do not dry out. In a medium skillet, heat about a half-inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough so that a small piece of masa dough sizzles when tossed in it, gently fry the chalupas for about two minutes on each side, or until crisp and lightly golden. Carefully lift from the oil and drain on paper towels.

Grilled Duck
3 8-ounce Peking or Muscovy duck breasts
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Rinse the duck breasts under cool tap water and pat dry with a paper towel. With a sharp knife remove half of the fatty duck skin from the breast. This should be done along the long side of the breast so that a long one-to-two-inch strip of skin is left on the breast. Score the skin so that it releases the fat when cooked. Salt and pepper each side of the breasts and then spread the thyme and olive oil on them. Allow to marinate up to three hours in the refrigerator. Using a grill pan on medium high heat sear the dick breasts skin side down for three minutes. Turn duck breasts over and sear for three minutes. Lower heat to medium and remove duck breasts when still medium rare. They will continue to cook as they rest. Allow to rest ten minutes before slicing into quarter-inch thin slices. Slice against the grain so that duck is easy to bite through on the chalupa Set aside.

Tequila Chipotle-Fig Sauce
Makes 2 cups
1 pound dried figs, such as mission figs, stems trimmed and cut in half
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup tequila
¾ cup hot water
2 chilies chipotles en adobo
Salt

Trim the stems off the figs and cut in half lengthwise. Place the figs and brown sugar in a non-reactive bowl and pour the tequila and hot water over the figs. Allow to soften for 10 minutes. Drain and transfer the figs to a blender or food processor. Reserve the tequila soaking liquid.

Add the chilies chipotles and pulse on high until to make a chunky, syrupy sauce. Use the soaking liquid to make the consistency more liquid if desired. Add salt to taste and set aside.

Assembly of Chalupas
3 tablespoons cilantro for garnish
3 tablespoons queso fresco for garnish

Crumble queso fresco and set aside for garnish. Wash and dry cilantro and remove leaves from stems. Chop leaves finely and set aside for garnish. On a baking sheet, assemble chalupas while ingredients are freshly cooked. Pile each chalupa with duck slices, drizzled with the chipotle-fig sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and queso fresco then transfer onto a serving platter.

Todos Santos at Rancho Pescadero, Baja California Sur, Mexico

At Rancho Pescadero, an oceanfront Mexican boutique hotel, guests take a break from the beach to dine at Todos Santos, where chef Rodrigo Bueno makes a seafood tumbasa rice enlivened with tequila and lime. “The tequila gives a smoky touch to the dish and at the end, if you add some lime drops, it powers the tequila flavor. My inspiration was drinking tequila with sangrita and limón,” he says.

3 jumbo shrimp
3 ounces white fish
4 clams in the shell
1 squid
2 ounces aged tequila
2 ounces cooked and diced octopus
1 ounce green peas
1 ounce diced carrots
2 ounces white rice

Broth
5 ounces Roma tomatoes
3 ounces white onions
2 ounces cilantro
2 ounces shrimp shell
3 Guajillo peppers

First, blend the broth ingredients, boil for 30 minutes, drain and add salt and pepper. Keep warm. In a pan, sauté the rice with chopped onion until it gets light brown, then add the garlic and then the broth. Add the carrot. Simmer until the rice is cooked. Add more broth until it’s like a thick soup. In a separate pan, sauté the shrimp with the rest of the seafood. Add the tequila and flambé. Put this mix into the rice soup. Mix together and serve with fresh cilantro on top and warm green beans.

La Hacienda by Richard Sandoval at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess

Chef de cuisine Forest Hamrick of La Hacienda by Richard Sandoval at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona, digs his restaurant’s tequila flights and tableside flaming coffees, and makes dishes like the Camarones al Chipotle pan-roasted shrimp in a tequila-chili chipotle sauce to complement them. “The natural sweetness of the agave lends to the sweetness of the shrimp,” he says. “After all, doesn’t tequila makes everything better?”

30 shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail on
1 cup tequila

Pico de Gallo
8 ounces small, diced, seedless Roma tomatoes
4 ounces small, diced yellow onion
1 ounce chopped cilantro
4 ounces small, diced Panela cheese
4 ounces small, diced cooked cactus
2 ounces lime juice
2 ounces Salsa Maggi
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients

Serrano Balsamic Reduction
1 quart balsamic vinegar
1 Serrano chili
1 cup sugar

Combine in saucepot and reduce until vinegar lightly coats the back of a spoon.

Chipotle Sauce
Canola oil
4 ounces chopped yellow onion
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 small can chipotle in adobo
1 can whole tomatoes
1 quart shrimp stock (chicken stock and/or water can substitute)
1 ounce chopped cilantro
1 ½ ounce Gouda cheese
1 ounce sherry vinegar
2 cups heavy cream
Salt to taste

In a large saucepan, sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, chipotle, and stock. Simmer for one hour. Add cream and simmer for another 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add rest of ingredients. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool, and mix in blender until smooth. In a large sauté pan, coat with canola oil and heat until begins to smoke. Add in shrimp and sauté until halfway cooked. Deglaze with tequila, making sure to remove pan from fire. Return pan back to flame and ignite to burn off tequila. Once flame has died, add in chipotle sauce, enough to cover shrimp and finish cooking. Once shrimp are done to your liking, serve atop vegetable-studded white rice. Top with pico de gallo and drizzle Serrano balsamic over top.

Tortilla Republic, West Hollywood

6 squash blossoms (with the squash attached)
½ cup Cotija Cheese
1 medium-size chopped jalapeno
1 bunch chopped cilantro
Pinch salt & black pepper as needed to taste
Zest of 1 lime
1 batch tequila tempura batter
1 ounce hibiscus reduction
3 ounces shredded red and green cabbage
Pinch micro cilantro

Tequila batter
1 whole egg
3 cups soda water
2 ounces blanco tequila
2 cups AP flour
1 cup cornstarch
¼ cup baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix all wet ingredients into another bowl. Then fold into each other but do not over mix. Let stand and refrigerate until needed. Take hibiscus juice (at least one cup) and pour into a saucepot and set over low to medium heat until it reduces by half. Cool, then set aside until needed. Take the Cotija Cheese, chopped jalapeno, chopped cilantro, and mix well in a small bowl. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Now take the squash blossom and slice in half, long ways, on the squash portion of it from the tip to about a quarter-inch from the base of the flower.

Take the cheese mix and stuff about 1-2 ounces of the mix into the flower portion of the squash blossom and twist closed at the end. Once all is stuffed, place into the batter and coat evenly but quickly. Then place in a deep fryer or pan with oil heated to 350 degrees. The squash will float, so after about 45 seconds to one minute you will need to turn over in the oil to ensure that it is cooked evenly. Once cooked (to a golden brown color), place on a paper towel to drain all extra grease. Take the cabbage mix and add about a half-ounce on to a plate. Place the cooked squash blossom on top. Take the reduction and drizzle across the plate over everything by using a spoon or squeeze bottle. Place micro cilantro on top and serve.

Hecho en Dumbo, New York

“We use tequila to cure venison for a couple of reasons,” says Danny Mena, chef of Hecho en Dumbo and Sembrado in New York, of his spin on the classic Yucatan dish Dzik de Venado. “Using aged tequila imparts a sweetness from the barrel aging that you can’t get just from adding sugar. The vanilla, cinnamon, clove, and all the flavors from the barrels are fantastic. Curing a dish in tequila serves a couple more purposes: the alcohol helps preserve the food, and the green herbal notes from the agave work very well with the gaminess of the venison and play to its grassy notes.”

1 venison tenderloin
2 cups tequila
10 pieces Jamaica flower
1 tablespoon juniper berry
1 tablespoon allspice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon oregano
1 bunch marjoram
4 cups water
1 cup salt
1 cup sugar
5 celery stalks

Blend celery well with four cups of water. Bring to a boil with all ingredients. Cool off and add tequila and venison loin and refrigerate for five days.

Radish Vinaigrette
4 pieces Habanero chili
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs mint
1 cup watermelon radish, sliced thin
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, picked
1 piece avocado, sliced thin

Blend all ingredients well and season with salt and pepper.

Spring Onion Soubise
1 cup spring onion tops
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup cream

Sauté onion and butter until soft over very low heat for 10 minutes. Then add cream and cook for 15 minutes. Blend well.

To assemble, remove venison loin from the brine. Chop venison into small cubes like making a tartar. Mix radish with the vinaigrette. Using a ring mold, place the spring onion soubise on the bottom, then add the chopped venison, top with radish and avocado, and put some cilantro leaves around the plate and serve. This dish works great with chips as well.

Ina Garten, best known as the Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa, dreamed up this recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken.

1/2 cup gold tequila
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight. Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about five minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for five minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

These tacos, courtesy of Self magazine and Epicurious.com, marry mahi-mahi with a zesty tequila-lime hybrid.

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
3 tablespoons tequila
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 pound mahi-mahi
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 3/4 teaspoons honey, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons two percent milk
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
8 corn tortillas (6 inches each)
1/2 firm-ripe avocado, thinly sliced
2 limes, quartered

In a re-sealable plastic bag, combine the lime juice, tequila, cilantro, garlic, and cumin. Add fish, seal bag, and turn to coat; refrigerate, turning once, for one hour. In a bowl, combine vinegar, oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Add cabbage; toss well. In another bowl, combine sour cream, milk, zest, lime juice, honey, and salt. Heat grill. Remove fish from marinade; season with remaining salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, until just cooked through and lightly charred, four minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board; coarsely chop. Stir remaining cilantro into slaw. Grill tortillas, turning once, 30 seconds per side. To assemble, spoon sour cream mixture in center of each tortilla. Divide fish, slaw, and avocado among tortillas. Garnish with lime wedges.

Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom lent this recipe for Tequila Sausage to the Cooking Channel.

2 pounds chicken or duck, cubed
1 ounce salt
1/4 ounce white pepper
1/4 ounce ground cumin
Pinch ground allspice
Pinch ground coriander
Pinch ground ginger
1/4 pound roasted corn kernels
1/4 ounce red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 ounce jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 ounce tequila
1/2-ounce lime juice
Pinch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 ounce roasted garlic
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
1 yard pork or lamb casings

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Put the meat mixture through a grinder and grind according to manufacturer’s instructions. Tie a knot in one end of a casing and begin filling the casings with the meat mixture, then tie off the other end of the casing once all the meat mixture has been used. Twist the casing into six sausage links. Bake for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat a grill. Remove sausage links from oven and place on grill. Grill until crispy and golden brown.