The #1 Tip for Making Juicy, Crispy Southern Fried Shrimp, According to a Former NOLA Chef

Fried shrimp has been my favorite special occasion meal for as long as I can remember. I grew up in North Carolina but my mom is from South Louisiana, and the highlight of every trip to visit my grandparents in Louisiana was to eat crispy, tender, perfectly cooked shrimp. Mom has always avoided shrimp from anywhere but the Gulf—known for its sweet, nutty-tasting, plump shrimp—so I’ve only really eaten fried shrimp in South Louisiana, where you can The best shrimp can be found and where the cooks use it. Quite heavy handed with spice in their batsmen.

My rule of thumb was for fried shrimp only in Louisiana while I was on site in Alabama where our Birmingham-based colleagues. Craig Ruff Was making this recipe for Southern Fried Shrimp. A recipe developer specializing in Southern cuisine, Craig also has experience cooking in restaurants in New Orleans and Mississippi, so he knows a thing or two about frying shrimp. Craig Fried’s first batch was really good, but he continued to fry batch after batch until he perfected his recipe for what are the best fried shrimp I’ve ever eaten—those bold. And there was a juicy, light and crispy coating with just the right kick from the Creole seasoning. With Craig’s recipe, I can have the best Southern fried shrimp even when I’m nowhere near the Gulf Coast — and so can you.

Best crab selection

If you really want the best fry-up, the first thing to do is get your hands on the best quality shrimp. “Although gulf shrimp are best suited for southern fried shrimp, you can use whatever you have available,” says Craig. “If you live in a coastal area, get local and fresh, but otherwise I lean toward frozen at grocery stores.” He points out that the shrimp in most of the grocery store refrigerator cases were previously frozen and thawed at the store. If you buy frozen shrimp, transfer it to the refrigerator to thaw 12 to 24 hours before you plan to cook it.

Whether you buy fresh or frozen shrimp, Craig recommends choosing shrimp that are free of STPP (sodium tripolyphosphate), which is used to prevent moisture loss, because cooked shrimp are rubbery and less chewy. May cause palatability. “This moisture retention results in heavier (more expensive for their size) shrimp that cook differently, have different textures, and most importantly, less flavor,” says Craig. is.” “I usually look for unpeeled, individually quick-frozen (IQF) shrimp, and I always check the ingredient list. The only ingredient should be ‘shrimp.'”

The perfect batter for fried shrimp

When you’re ready to prepare your shrimp, you’ll stir together a dry mixture of self-rising flour, cornmeal, cornmeal, and Creole seasoning, and a wet mixture of buttermilk and eggs. Some will contribute. flour mixture. Self-rising flour is a mixture of all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder (if you don’t have a bag of it on hand, you can simply stir it with these ingredients). Baking powder is a liner that reacts in the presence of water and an acid—in this case, buttermilk—and creates gas bubbles that aerate the batter and help create a coating that’s slightly lighter in texture. .

Cornmeal is a very finely ground flour made from whole kernels of corn, while cornmeal is coarser—using both gives the coating a complex, sweet, nutty, and savory flavor and texture. It has some dimension but is not so thick that it overpowers the crab. Another important ingredient in the breading is Creole seasoning, which blooms when fried and complements the sweet shrimp. Craig and I are both fans of Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning, which includes chili peppers, paprika, red pepper, garlic, onion, salt and sugar, but feel free to use your favorite brand here.

In testing, Craig tried dry-wet-dry dredge, but found that the process made for very thick coatings. Instead, he got down to mixing a bit of the flour mixture with the batter. “Adding some of the dry mixture to the buttermilk mixture creates a loose batter that results in breading that actually sticks to the shrimp,” he explains.

After dredging, you will refrigerate the shrimp for about half an hour. “Don’t let the drained shrimp rest in the refrigerator,” warns Craig. “The dry mixture hydrates a bit and really sticks to the shrimp. Not resting creates a coating that flakes and separates from the shrimp.” Trust him—he’s tested unrested batches and knows what he’s talking about: rest. Without, “the coating didn’t set at all.” He also tested batches with a 15-minute rest, and they worked better than the batches with no rest but not as well as those with a 30-minute rest. .

Fry the shrimp so they are crispy, not soggy.

Once the shrimp are battered and properly rested, it’s time to fry them. Here are some keys to success. The first is to fry the oil in batches to the correct temperature (365ºF) to avoid overcrowding and allow the oil to return to the correct temperature between batches. The second is not to overcook the shrimp. His answer to ‘Why is my shrimp rubbery?’ It’s almost always overcooked,” says Craig. “Roasting is one of my favorite ways to cook shrimp, but it’s easily overcooked this way. You don’t want to fry the shrimp for more than a few minutes – stop frying once the breading is golden. The harder you fry the shrimp, the tougher the meat proteins are, squeezing out all the juiciness.”

How to Serve Fried Shrimp

I like to dip my fried shrimp in rémoulade sauce, but they are also good plain or with other dipping sauces, like cocktail sauce. French fries are a classic side, but I also love fried shrimp with salad — the cool crisp vegetables and creamy dressing really complement the crispy fried shrimp. Whatever you serve on the side, once your shrimp are out of the fryer, serve them as quickly as you can without burning your fingers—fried shrimp don’t last well, but if your family is like mine. If so, someone will take care of it. They are eating the last shrimp.

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