Do you love Crispy Fried Shrimp? When it comes to cooking shrimp, frying will always be my favorite way to prepare those delicious little morsels. Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump was right when he called shrimp, the fruit of the sea.
One of my fondest memories of growing up was my father frying up a bunch of shrimp. My father had been stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana (where I was born). In Louisiana, he learned to love shrimp, which he passed on to me.
I remember my mother buying a five-pound box of shrimp for around 5 dollars. In the sixties that was a lot of money for food, so shrimp were still a luxury for us.
Shrimp have definitely come a long way and are readily available in most local supermarkets.
What type of shrimp should I buy?
I am a true believer when it comes to shrimp, and only buy Gulf or Pacific Shrimp produced by American or Mexican companies. As for size, 16-20 Jumbo Shrimp (count per pound) are my first choice. I also splurge on U-15 when they are priced right, and occasionally 26- 30 for shrimp salad. I don’t recommend buying anything smaller than 26-30 count shrimp.
You’ll find a lot of farmed shrimp in the market from Asian and Indian waters, and I have to tell you, I don’t trust them. Those waters are questionable and we have no idea how those shrimp are processed. So when you think you’re getting a bargain, you might want to rethink what your buying.
What ingredients do I need to make restaurant-style fried shrimp?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Restaurant Style Crispy Fried Shrimp. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Should I butterfly the Shrimp?
This is a matter of personal preference. In restaurants, shrimp are often butterflied to make them look bigger. The trade-off is that they cook faster and the time it takes to get them that perfect golden brown might just overcook the shrimp a little.
When you’re served shrimp that aren’t butterflied, you’ve found a restaurant that is more concerned with preserving the natural sweetness of the shrimp. And trust me, that’s a good thing.
How do I make Restaurant-Style Crispy Fried Shrimp?
The first step in making restaurant-style fried shrimp is dipping the peeled and cleaned shrimp in an egg wash.
How do I make an egg wash?
You can make an egg wash many different ways and there is no right way or wrong way as long as whatever you’re frying gets completely immersed in your choice of egg wash.
- eggs and buttermilk
- eggs and milk
- eggs and cream
- eggs and water
- just eggs
Use about 1 ounce of liquid for every egg used. A little extra liquid won’t hurt the mixture you just don’t want to water it down too much.
After the egg wash, place the shrimp in seasoned bread crumbs. You can use any type that you prefer for this step, including panko, just be sure to get a good coating on the outside, covering the entire shrimp.
Do I have to use seasoned breadcrumbs?
No, you do not. You can use any of these options for your fried shrimp or any food you’d like to fry.
- Plain bread crumbs. (you can add your own seasonings if you like)
- Panko bread crumbs (seasoned or unseasoned)
- Cracker meal
- Gluten-Free bread crumbs of any style
If you want to season your own bread crumbs, you can choose your favorite seasoning. I like to keep the seasoning on the mild side and let the sweetness of the shrimp shine through.
I breaded butterflied and just cleaned (round) shrimp to show you the difference.
Then it’s time to fry the shrimp to a beautiful golden brown. Here you can see that the butterflied shrimp look bigger.
Honestly, both types of my crispy fried shrimp were absolutely sweet and delicious, but the un-butterflied shrimp would still be my first choice.
Chef Dennis tip for home frying
When you fry foods the oils you use need to have a high smoking point. *Smoking point is the temperature it takes for the oil to start to break down and smoke.
The oils I recommend for frying foods are peanut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil or vegetable oil. My oil of choice is corn oil for home frying and canola in professional kitchens.
Make sure you have enough oil in the pot to fully submerge the food you are frying. Leave enough room for the food you’re frying with an extra few inches at the top for safety. The oil will bubble and you don’t want to get burned or have a mess to clean up.
Never add liquid to the fryer and keep a Kitchen fire extinguisher (rated for oil) nearby.
For most deep-fried recipes, you’ll want to heat your oil to 350 – 375 degrees F. Use a long stem thermometer to check the temperature of the oil. If you’re cooking in batches make sure to give the oil time to recover before adding more food.
Drain the fried food on baking racks over sheet pans (or baking sheets). Allowing fried food to drain removes much of the fat associated with deep-frying. Most of the fat will not penetrate the food, staying only on the outer layer (as long as the oil is hot enough)
This half sheet pan with a wire rack is perfect for draining fried foods.
You can reuse the oil if you filter it, cleaning out the residue that sinks to the bottom of the oil. Using big coffee filters in a stainless steel strainer will work. Just make sure the oil has cooled to a temperature you can safely handle it at.
If you’re serious about home frying I suggest the T-Fal Deep Fryer. It’s the one I use at home for any deep-fried foods.
But the best part of my Restaurant-Style Crispy Fried Shrimp is eating them! Serve them with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges. Then watch the smiles around your dinner table.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can. Layout your breaded shrimp on a sheet pan or flat pan and place it in the freezer. Once the breaded food has completely frozen, place it into ziplock bags until you’re ready to fry.
*When you do fry the shrimp, do not defrost them first. Fry while still completely frozen. They will take about 5 minutes to fully cook.
Yes, you can. The only problem you’ll run into is that while sitting, prebreaded foods begin to get wet as the moisture from the food releases.
To overcome this you would need to place the shrimp back in the breadcrumbs before frying.
If you do need to bread ahead of time, try not to let the breaded product sit for more than 4 hours.
Fry shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the size of shrimp. They should be golden brown and crispy on the outside and opaque in the center.
Bonnie
When do you use the butter milk?
Chef Dennis Littley
it mixes with the eggs to make the eggwash.
Melyo
I have fried shrimp a million times, and it always turns out just fine. I wanted to make them extra-good for a celebratory dinner so I decided to do some homework- stumbled upon this recipe. Before reading Dennis’ commentary on to butterfly or not to butterfly, I always butterflied. Well, this was apparently the critical information I needed because my shrimp got RAVE reviews tonight! I used half panko, half flour (seasoned well) and just a tough of cream in the egg wash. I used a timer when adding the shrimp to the peanut oil. Truly, this article/method/recipe has changed my fried-shrimp game. Thank you, Chef Dennis!
Lathiya
The fried shrimp looks so tempting and delicious. It is crispy and am sure it would be gone in minutes if served for a crowd.
Ramona
This recipe makes me so hungry now. These shrimps look perfection and I love how simple is to make too. Thank you so much for all the tips Dennis!
sapana
I love crispy fried food all time. Love the idea of using seasoned bread crumbs to coat thee shrimps. It must have brought the flavors to another level.
Jo
Anything fried is hard to resist especially fried shrimp! Those shrimps looks absolutely delicious and addictive!
Jamie
I love the idea of using seasoned bread crumbs for this! I turned out fabulous and the sauces were delicious too!
Sara
Dennis, your tips are so helpful! I love hearing your preferences on what shrimp to buy, and whether or not to butterfly the shrimp before frying it. And I’m very glad to know that I can freeze them if I make a large batch! Looking forward to enjoying this next week for dinner!
Gail Montero
I cannot believe that restaurant style-fried shrimp is quite easy to make thanks to this fantastic recipe! Love that you gave us many options for the breading, too! Thank you!
Debbie
I am a sucker for fried shrimp and your recipe is perfect. I had a pound of shrimp hiding in the freezer and had to try your recipe. The crust fried up perfectly , my family loved it !I made hush puppies and fries , it really was like a restaurant shrimp platter.
Sophie
I am so glad that I found your recipe. My fried shrimps never tasted so good. They were crispy, perfectly seasoned and tasted delicious!
Moop Brown
This shrimp looks so tasty and like the perfect texture and flavor. Can’t wait to try making this!
Sharon
This fried shrimp recipe has all the deliciousness of a restaurant-style meal made right at home.
Emily
This fried shrimp is even better than what I’ve tried at restaurants! So delicious and a fun way to cook shrimp!
Genevieve from @fittyfoodlicious
This restaurant style fried shrimp reminds me of a shrimp cocktail I use to order at local resteraunt in the bay area back when I was a kid. The shrimps were huge and I loved dipping them in cocktail sauce. I need to add this to my list, because your recipe takes me back to a lovely time in my childhood.
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
These are so good! I love how crispy they turned out and the flavor tastes just like eating out. Great recipe… will try again.
Wendy
Thank you for this restaurant style fried shrimp recipe. My husband really enjoyed the shrimp.
Jacqueline Debono
Fried shrimp is one of my favourite appetizers to serve to guests. Yours look super good. Going to save this recipe for the next time I have friends over for dinner!