Cornbread Shrimp

I saw a recipe like this and decided to try it. But all they did was dredge the shrimp in the cornmeal to fry it, and not much cornmeal stuck to the shrimp. At times like that, you wonder if they even tried the recipe before writing it.

Well anyhow, it was easy to fix, and I wound up with a crunchy, flavorful fried shrimp that I’m sure you’ll like. In the photo, I’ve served it with Aioli Cayenne Sauce, French fries, and a simple salad, made with lettuce, tomato, Kalamata olives, sliced pepperocini, and a ranch dressing.

I’ve discovered that not all stores sell frozen, tail-on, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp. CostCo does, but many supermarkets don’t. They have “Easy Peel” shrimp but I haven’t tried them. Or of course you can use fresh shrimp. In any case, you need to wind up with raw, peeled and deveined, tail-on shrimp.

To make the cornmeal stick, I decided to use a little egg batter. Of course that also adds good flavor, so I figured I couldn’t lose. But you also need to make the egg stick, so that calls for a little flour. All this learned from frying fish!

So here’s what to do: Coat the shrimp with a little flour, then dip in egg that you have beaten with a little water, and then coat with the corn meal. Fry in a skillet or deep fryer for a few minutes; maybe one minute per side in the skillet or two minutes in a 375 degree deep fryer. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with a cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, the aioli cayenne sauce, or other sauce (or just squeezed lemon). I’m sure you will enjoy the crunchy goodness of the cornbread with the delicate flavor of the shrimp.