90-second fried shrimp

I know what you’re thinking. Who could possibly need a recipe for something as simple as frying shrimp? Well, it turns out, more people than you think, including plenty of restaurants!

I love the taste of fresh shrimp, but what I don’t love is a big pile of shrimp that tastes more like breading than seafood. And that’s only one way that many people mess up one of the tastiest dishes in the ocean.

Another thing I don’ t like is shrimp that’s been cooked too long. That’s another way that far too many folks (and restaurants) destroy what could be one of the most delicious meals you’ll ever eat.

Just ask yourself, how many times have you walked into a seafood restaurant that gets raving reviews, only to be disappointed in the fried shrimp? It’s happened often enough to me.

But the good news is that it’s really quite simple to make fried shrimp at home, and the more simple you make it, the better it tastes.

So whether you’re catching the shrimp yourself, or buying it at the market, you have the key ingredient to cooking the best fried shrimp you’ve ever tasted. All you need besides the shrimp is oil, seasoning, and 90 seconds.

You can cook these up and make it into a full meal, as part of a salad, or as appetizers to get things started. Either way, just remember to keep it simple.

Fried shrimp

I’ve caught my share of shrimp over the years, and it’s tough to beat catching your own while at the coast, then frying it up that night. I grew up in South Carolina, where we have a shrimp baiting season, and where it’s also legal to catch shrimp without bait in what is commonly referred to as “deep hole shrimping.”

Catching them yourself is great, but buying them is much easier, and in the grand scheme of things, it’s also cheaper, despite what some DIYers may lead you to believe.

I love deep fried shrimp, but I don’t love the smell that lingers in the kitchen after doing it. So I do all my deep frying outside.

I really only use three ingredients for this recipe: shrimp, peanut oil, and breading. If I’m cooking for a big crowd, I’ll use canola oil just in case anyone has a peanut allergy, but if it’s just my wife and me eating, I go with peanut oil every time. The difference in taste is subtle, but it’s enough to be our preference.

For breading, we prefer House-Autry Seafood breader. It’s a light breading with just the right blend of corn meal, flour, and seasoning. And light breading is the key to good fried shrimp.

We don’t dredge the shrimp in milk or beer or anything fancy. We simply wet the shrimp, shake it dry, then coat it with House-Autry.

You can bread it by pouring some breading into a Ziploc bag, then placing the shrimp in the bag and shaking it. But we use the Cook’s Choice Better Breader, which makes it a little easier and less messy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fresh large shrimp

Peanut oil (use canola oil in case of peanut allergies)

Breading

Optional: lemon juice, salt, pepper, remoulade sauce

PREPARATION:

This may be a little controversial, but I don’t fry shrimp with the tails on. I peel the whole shrimp, tails and all, before frying. I want to be able to pop the whole thing in my mouth once it’s cooked.

Besides, when you serve shrimp with the tails on, all your guests have to worry about where to put the tails once they’re done eating. And although this may sound crazy, if one of your guests has never eaten shrimp, there’s a good chance they’ll eat the tails, and trust me, that’s going to cause them to think twice about coming back around. It sounds crazy, but it happens.

Before I peel the shrimp, I’ll devein them. Deveining shrimp removes the dark vein that runs along the back of the shrimp, which is actually the digestive tract.

I’ve eaten plenty of shrimp that weren’t deveined, but once my wife bought a Frogmore Shrimp Cleaner, I was hooked. This tool makes it super easy to devein them, and it only adds a minute or so to the process.

Once the shrimp are deveined and peeled, I lay them out on paper towels, then sprinkle some water on them.

I pour the House-Autry seasoning into the bottom portion of the Better Breader. With the upper grate of the Better Breader removed, I put the shrimp in place, give it a shake over the paper towels, then put the grate into the Better Breader and secure the top.

Now, I just shake the Better Breader, which allows the breading to coat the shrimp, with all the excess breading falling back into the bottom of the breader. This means the shrimp are covered with just the right amount of House-Autry.

I turn my fryer on before doing all this, so by the time the shrimp are ready to cook, the oil is ready at 350 degrees.

Now I drop my shrimp into the hot grease, and set my timer for 90 seconds. Don’t let anyone talk you into deep frying shrimp for 5 minutes, or even 3 minutes. Cook your shrimp for 90 seconds, then take them all out and place them onto paper towels. My deep fryer has a basket, so I just pour the basket of shrimp onto the paper towel.

Let the grease soak into the paper towels and let the shrimp cool for just a minute, and you’re ready to chow down.

It’s plenty tasty just like that, but you might enjoy a little lemon juice or salt and pepper. You may also like to have a little Egg Harbor remoulade sauce on hand to dip the shrimp in.