Tequila isn’t really a relaxing drink. It isn’t something you pour yourself a glass of once the kids are in bed, unless your children have been particularly nightmarish that day. As such, there is quite possibly a bottle of tequila in one of your cupboards somewhere, a quarter drunk, covered in dust, resigned to spending the rest of its life obscured by the ouzo you brought back from a Rhodes package holiday in 2006.

But wait! What if you used that tequila for cooking instead? Yes, that is a very good idea. Here are 10 of the best recipes.

Tequila and lime chicken

Before we start, a word of advice. If you’re planning on cooking with tequila, then go out and get your hands on as many limes as you can carry. The two ingredients will for ever be married, fused by a tradition of needlessly theatrical bar stunts, and so many of these recipes will also call for the addition of lime. Nigella Lawson’s tequila and lime chicken is a perfect example. The lime arguably does a lot more work than the tequila here which, as Lawson says, “doesn’t exactly convey flavour”. Nevertheless, the latter seems necessary.

Tequila roast beef

Simply Beef and Lamb’s recipe for tequila roast beef follows roughly the same formula as Nigella’s chicken. It requires a marinade made with tequila and lime, along with orange juice, tarragon, garlic and chilli, which help to give the dish a lively, fruity taste. This is also one to try if you have plenty of leftover tequila, because it uses an awful lot of it.

Limed queen scallops flambéed in tequila

Moving away from the chunkier cuts of meat, let’s take a quick look at what a brilliant pairing seafood is with tequila. The Hairy Bikers’ recipe for limed queen scallops flambéed in tequila might be another lime requirer, but it’s also a near-perfect dish. The harshness of the tequila gets burned off during the flambé process, and what remains does justice to the delicacy of the scallops.

Tequila-spiked shrimp ceviche

So, that’s two marinades and a flambé so far. What about a main meal that just has tequila poured over it? That’s where Cookin’ Canuck’s tequila-spiked shrimp ceviche comes in. It isn’t a true ceviche because, rather than letting the lime juice do all the cooking, the shrimp are boiled in water very quickly. But then they have tequila tipped over them, so who cares?

Habanero jam

Tequila is also a very good addition to snacks. You’ll find an array of tequila tostadas online, for example, but more intriguing than that is the Epicurious recipe for habanero jam. Basically a ton of chopped chillies soaked in tequila and then boiled in orange juice, this makes a great accompaniment to all sorts of dishes. Plus, Epicurious says that it “looks like a perfectly innocent bowl of apricot jam”, but “burns like a bright and fruity pepper jelly”, which adds a happy air of Beadle’s About.

Tequila lime flaming cheese dip

Next up, the Cookie Rookie’s recipe for tequila lime flaming cheese dip. The good news is that, compared to some of the dishes here, this only needs a small amount of tequila. The bad news is that the rest of it is basically chilli peppers and melted cheese, so it isn’t exactly a health food. Still, if you’re going to make a dip, you might as well go all out.

Tequila-spiked chocolate pots

This article will now temporarily pause to become a piece of Thomasina Miers fanmail. The Guardian doesn’t have many archived recipes that require tequila as an ingredient. The ones that do are mainly written by her and, fortunately, they’re excellent. My favourite is last year’s recipe for tequila-spiked chocolate pots, which offer small, intense hits of rich, gently spiced chocolate. Better yet, they don’t require any limes.

Tequila peaches

Just as good, if not quite as indulgent, are Miers’ tequila peaches, which are roasted in butter and cream and served with homemade cornbread and vanilla ice-cream. Miers recommends roasting the peaches on the embers of a dying barbecue, but it’s cold and everyone has got used to staying indoors, so an oven is also fine.

Tequila-lime cremes

There are also Curtis Stone’s tequila-lime cremes to contend with. I don’t want to oversimplify this, but we’re basically talking a fruit-loaded Angel Delight here. It only takes a few minutes to put together, although it then needs several hours to cool and set, and it’d be easy enough to swap the tropical toppings for something a bit more seasonal and prosaic.

Tequila-soaked watermelon wedges

This final suggestion isn’t so much a recipe as a way to eat yourself drunk, with The Bitten Word’s tequila-soaked watermelon wedges. They are watermelon wedges that have had tequila poured on them. You are welcome.