Lowcountry Fried Shrimp Recipes

LOWCOUNTRY PERLOO

Steps:

• Peel all the shrimp and put the shells, and heads if you have them, into a pot with the bay leaves, onion, celery and carrot. Cover with 7 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 30 minutes while you chop everything else for the perloo.
• As the stock is simmering, slowly fry the bacon in a large, heavy pot. When it is crispy, remove the bacon (eat a slice) and chop roughly. Set the bacon aside.
• Saute the 2 cups chopped onion, 2 cups chopped celery and the diced yellow bell pepper in the bacon fat until soft but not browned. Add the garlic and rice and cook, stirring often for 3 minutes, until the rice turns translucent.
• Add the white wine, tomatoes and chile pepper to the pot and stir well.
• Set up a fine-meshed strainer with a paper towel in it. Ladle two or three ladles of the shrimp stock through this strainer into the rice pot. Stir well. Cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat this process until the rice is tender.
• Add one more ladle of shrimp stock to the pot, along with the shrimp and the parsley. Mix to combine, cover the pot and turn the heat to its lowest setting. Cover for 5 minutes to let the shrimp cook, then mix in the bacon and black pepper and serve.

FRIED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Preheat oil to 375 °F.
• Line a baking tray with paper towels and set aside. In a shallow baking dish, whisk together milk, buttermilk and hot sauce. In a separate shallow baking dish, 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. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towel lined baking tray. Serve warm.

LOWCOUNTRY FRIED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Pour 3 inches of oil into a stockpot or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Beat the eggs with the milk and salt and pour over the shrimp in a bowl, making sure they're well coated. Drain the shrimp in a sieve, shaking well to remove excess. Place the cracker meal on a plate.
• When the oil reaches 365°, roll the shrimp in cracker meal, then place in a dry sieve. Shake off the excess meal over the plate, then fry the shrimp in small batches in the hot oil until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Larger shrimp will take longer to cook, about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the shrimp from the oil with a wire mesh strainer and shake off all excess oil or drain on paper towels briefly. Serve hot.

LOWCOUNTRY SHRIMP PERLOO

Steps:

• Using a large stockpot (with lid) or Dutch oven, add bacon and place pot over medium heat; cook until bacon is crispy. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and pat dry. Reserve 2 Tbsp of bacon grease in pot.
• Add onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until onions are translucent but not browned.
• Add crushed tomatoes, rice, corn, stock and Cajun seasoning. Stir and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes (not stirring), or until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is fully cooked. (Note: If liquid is entirely absorbed at this point, just add another ¼ cup of water to prevent rice from burning while shrimp steams in the next step.)
• Add shrimp to top of rice. Cover pot and cook over medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and fully cooked.
• Prior to serving, garnish with reserved bacon, freshly chopped parsley and green onions. Add salt to taste. (Note: Cajun seasonings vary greatly, so adjust salt as needed based on the Cajun seasoning you use.)