Spicy Fried Shrimp

I have to admit, that I have never made my own fried shrimp. But, boy do I love fried shrimp! I love ANYTHING fried! I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own fried shrimp, since I do always keep shrimp in my freezer. Let me tell you, these were so good! Of course my quest for a recipe for fried shrimp was ultimately for the shrimp po-boy tacos I was trying to recreate, but I know we will make these again to have by themselves. I don't have a deep fryer, which I'm sure makes everything easier, but  it wasn't too hard with a frying pan and an inch of oil either. My problem with dry and wet batter is that I make a mess and that my fingers get caked with gooey flour and I have to clean them every few minutes. This usually requires me to add some flour back into the flour mixture, because I run out. You may have to do the same thing. The wet batter does include some hot sauce. If you don't like overly spicy, use a smaller amount. I always use Louisiana Hot Sauce, which I have been told is hotter than others, but I don't know. Again, these are great! I will add that I made my boys shrimp without the hot sauce, since I wasn't sure if they would like it. I only used the milk and buttermilk mixture.

Spicy Fried Shrimp
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk (make your own here)
1/4-1/2 cup hot sauce
1 cups self-rising flour (substitute here)
1/8 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on or off, depending on your recipe
Oil, for frying

Directions:

Preheat oil to 375 degrees F. I don't have a deep fryer and I don't have a thermometer for this, so I heated about an inch of oil on medium high heat, then lowered it down to medium after cooking a couple of batches. I used a skillet.

Line a baking tray or plate with paper towels and set aside. In a shallow bowl, whisk together milk, buttermilk and hot sauce. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, pepper and salt. Make sure your shrimp are dry and dredge in the dry mixture first, then wet mixture and finally the dry mixture again. Shake off excess between each dredging.

Deep-fry in batches, but do not overload the fryer. Fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown. If you're using a skillet instead of a deep fryer like me, you may want to flip the shrimp halfway through to make sure both sides get golden brown. Remove shrimp from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towel lined baking tray. Serve warm.


This recipe is linked to It's A Keeper Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Beauty and Bedlam, Fat Camp Friday, Potluck Sunday