Rosie Makes Coconut Shrimp.

 As you know,

the Hawthornes love their shrimp.

Every August-September,

we're buying shrimp 5-10 pounds at a time,

depending on size,

stocking up for the winter.

Mr. Hawthorne gets nervous 

if we have less than 50 pounds of shrimp in the freezer.

The shrimp are big now,

so we're hoarding them,

hoping they'll get even bigger

and hoping that a hurricane won't blow through,

driving the shrimp out to sea and

 ending this season's shrimp harvest.

Today, I'm making beer batter fried coconut shrimp

with a pineapple salsa.

Pineapple Salsa

6 slices of pineapple, finely chopped

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 TB horseradish

1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, minced

zest of one lime

Add it all together and taste test.

If you want more of something,

add it.

Choppie, choppie.

Roasted red pepper.

Orange marmalade.

Chopped red onions.

Jalapeno.

Horseradish.

Lime zest.

 Pretty.
 

 While I was making the salsa,
 Mr. Hawthorne prepared the shrimp.

He pulled the heads and shells off, leaving the tail.

Then he de-veined the shrimp.

Actually, de-veining is a misnomer

since no vein is involved.

What you're removing is the digestive tract 

which runs along the back.

Next I butterflied the shrimp.
I work on paper towels.
Helps to stabilize the shrimpie
and you can easily wipe shrimp parts off your knife.

Turn the shrimp on its back

and run a knife down the middle where that line is,

cutting through the shrimp.

That's not a vein either.

It's a nerve.

I use a paper towel to pull that slippery thingie out.

Butterflied shrimp.

Next I prepared the batter and coating mixture.

Beer Batter

2 cups flour

1 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp freshly ground sea salt

1tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp cayenne powder

12 ounces beer

 pineapple juice

Combine dry ingredients.

Whisk in beer until you get a smooth batter.

If batter is too thick,

add in a little pineapple juice to thin it.

You want a thin pancake batter consistency.

Coating Mixture
equal parts coconut and panko breadcrumbs

Holding the shrimp by the tail,

dip two at a time in the Beer Batter,

sliding the shrimp up the side of the bowl 

to get excess batter off.

Next dredge the shrimp in a mixture

of one part sweetened coconut flakes

and one part panko bread crumbs.

Heat at least 2 inches peanut oil to 350°.

Fry 6 shrimp at a time until golden.

About 75 - 90 seconds.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve with pineapple salsa.

My assembly line is ready.

Butterflied shrimp on left,

beer batter,

panko/coconut mixture,

hot oil,

paper towel lined rack.

And there are 4 pints in the background
of Mr. Hawthorne's Salsa Ranchera that he canned the other day.

I enlisted Mr. Hawthorne's help

so we could go faster.

I battered and coated 6 at a time and ...

...  he fried them.

By the time I had the next 6 shrimp ready,

he was done frying the last batch.

Serve with pineapple salsa and a few sprigs of cilantro.

This is one of my absolute favorite dishes.