“The smell of shrimp is comforting.” - Lennon Parham
Growing up in the south, fried shrimp has always had a special place in my heart. I absolutely love shrimp any type of way - fried, steamed, or grilled. Frozen shrimp is something that I always keep on hand in my house, and enjoy pairing it with many dishes.
Recently, we had a get together at our home, and were left quite a few cans of beer, so my husband and I had a grand idea to make beer battered fried shrimp.
After much research, I finally came up with the most delicious, perfect, and quick recipe. Today, I’m sharing my simple recipe for beer battered fried shrimp, and a spicy garlic dipping sauce!
Golden fried beer battered shrimp.
What You’ll Need:
The Sauce
1 large jalapeno
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
4 peeled cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of cracked black peppercorn
A pinch of sea salt
Step 1: Combine all of your ingredients into a food processor, and puree all of the items until the sauce is creamy and smooth.
Pro Tip: If you like a lot of heat, add chilli pepper flakes or another jalapeno to the sauce! If spice is not your thing, then swap out the jalapeno in in exchange for a few more garlic cloves!
The Shrimp:
1 pound of large shrimp
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of beer
1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon of Lemon Pepper seasoning
A pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of cracked black peppercorn
Cooking oil of your choice - Canola, Peanut, or Vegetable
Step 1: Ensure your shrimp is thawed out if it is frozen, rinse them, and begin to line up each piece of shrimp on a stack of paper towels. You’ll want to drain any excess water out of the shrimp before dipping them into the batter and frying.
Pro Tip: The batter will not stick to wet shrimp, so make sure they are very dry.
Step 2: While your shrimp is drying, begin to make your batter. Combine your flour and beer, and ensure it is a nice creamy texture - similar to pancake batter! Once the batter is nice and smooth, combine all seasonings: Old Bay, Lemon Pepper, salt, and pepper and stir to ensure they are distributed evenly throughout.
Pro Tip: If your batter is a little too thick, and a little bit more beer to batter to ensure it isn’t clumpy.
Step 3: Get your oil nice and hot! While you are waiting, begin to dip each shrimp into the batter, not going past the tail, and begin placing them into the pan/pot. It will take about 3-5 minutes for the shrimp to get nice and brown - keep your eye on them while they fry.
Pro Tip: Do not overcrowd the vessel, as the shrimp will not cook evenly, and the battered shrimp will stick together.
Step 4: As the shrimp are reaching their golden brown color, remove them from the oil, and place them on a stack of paper towels so they can drain any excess oil.
Step 5: Serve and enjoy!
Beer battered shrimp + spicy garlic dipping sauce.
XO, Analise