Paula's Fried Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot sauce
2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup self-rising cornmeal
2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
3 tablespoons salt
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on
Peanut oil, for frying

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oil to 375 degrees 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.
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REVIEWS:

This was outstanding, but needed to be modified- especially the salt, as others had said. I listened to another reviewer, and used 1/2 of dry and wet ingredients and each batter was plenty. I had 2 lbs of ex lg shrimp. I used 1 TBLSP salt, but will half that again the next time. Hot sauce is very high in salt, so that probably added to the saltiness. I didn't have peanut oil or a thermometer. Used grapeseed oil in a small fry pan, about 2 cups. Fried 6 shrimp at a time. A dozen pp, with yellow rice was plenty for dinner, along with a bowl of clam chowder. I fried about 3 minutes- since my shrimp were larger. Very tasty, light-delicious. .

I love this recipe!

I agree with previous poster. FABULOUS!!! (But I omitted 1 tablespoon of salt - I used 2 instead of 3!)

Way better then i imagined. Try it. Your whole family will love it, just like mine does!

Fabulous... Thanks Paula.

Me again...I use the reviews to help me get it JUST RIGHT.
I read what ev1 had2say and I went with half both the milks, flour, cornmeal, & HITsauce (which didnt make it hot, but gave it a nice lil twang/zing. Using half the ingredients made it perfect for 2lbs of shrimp, so I didnt have any batter leftover. (technically, I had a lil over
2&1/2lbs. The hot sauce made it a huge HIT for us!!! I think the 3tbsp of salt might be a typo though. Maybe it was meant2b 3Tsp's. IDK??? I used 1tbsp. I did change the pepper to taste. The batter was PERFECTO!!! It made them like...light, crispy, and oh so tasty. The shrimp was the perfect texture and actually sorta light/juicy. This is not at all the kind of batter that u want to peel some off to cut the thickness of the breading so u can taste the shrimp (or whatever. Sry for the looooong review, but when its a HIT, its a HIT!!! FANTASTIC RECIPE! Definitely a keeper!!!

Everyone LOVED the shrimp! I didn't add a whole lot of hot sauce (personal preference but it still came out great!

This made some of the best shrimp we have ever had - the coating is crunchy while the shrimp are still moist and tender.

Definitely restaurant quality. One of the best I've tried. The hot sauce makes it. The batter is light and very crisp. A keeper.

So good, so easy...loved this recipe!

I took the advice of other reviewers and halved the salt in the recipe. The results were delicious- the batter was nice and crispy and adhered to the shrimp really well.

Someone recommended this recipe to me and I loved it except--I had to make this twice. The first time I made it I automatically decreased the salt 1 T. as I could see that it had an insane amount of salt to begin with; still too much and I increased the hot sauce 1/4 cup. Also there was waaay too much left over batter and flour mixture (I hate to waste. The second time I made it I only used 1 tsp. of salt and cut everything in half except the hot sauce and the shrimp. I used 3/4 cup of the hot sauce(according to our taste. Also I used half canola oil and half peanut oil (peanut oil is very expensive around here. I found no extreme difference in the taste. It came out much better. I hope FN test cooks will review this recipe and revise it as food ain't cheap these days and most people can't afford to throw it away. Thanks for "listening"

This shrimp is amazing! I have made it 3 or 4 times! The salt should be cut in half. I would avise to cut your dry ingredients in half so it all doesn't get wet at once! The results are well worth the mess! I sprinkle flour on a platter and stage the battered pieces there until I fill it up. It gives the batter time to set up a bit before frying. I think it improves the results. I use the same method for chicken wings. The batter sticks better.

I agree with everyone who has reviewed this dish. Great recipe but too much salt...I always tell myself I will read the reviews before making the recipe but always get excited and don't read them until after I am done. Love the spin with the hot sauce. Will have to cut the salt in half if not more... Can't wait to try it again

The shrimp were awesome and will make them again, but have to adjust the salt amount. They were too salty for me....I think next time I will just salt them once I am done cooking them....otherwise YUMMERS!!!

This is the very best shrimp recipe I have ever had. The seasoning is perfect and the shrimp comes out golden brown. My entire family loved it.

The recipe was easy to make. However, I found that 3 tablespoons of salt was way too much. I could only stand to eat a few because they were just too salty. (I hate to waste food & money. I used Crystal hot sauce which contains salt, so perhaps that added to the problem. Also Crystal was not hot enough. If you like it spicy, I would add some cayenne or use a hotter hot sauce. I would definitely make again with slight modifications.

Oh, this is a great recipe! As warned, I cut way back on the salt. The shrimp were not greasy, just perfect. The only thing missing is some kind of dipping sauce. I tried tartar sauce, but it just didn't fit the bill. I'm thinking maybe a tomato based sauce, or a sweet and sour chili??

Just sat on the couch feeling nice and full -- yummy shrimp. I didn't use a cup of hot sauce as I knew my hubby would put it on before eatting. Shrimp was perfectly crunchy. Will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks Paula!

Great spin on the fried shrimp recipe that I have used for years. I have to agree with everyone else on the salt. I think that has to be a typo. The hot sauce is a nice touch. I never thought about adding that, but it was nice to have the shrimp a little spicy on the poboy bread.

This recipe would be great if the salt wasn't so much ..
When I was putting the salt in I thought it was too much and sure enough when I tasted it .. it was too much. Nonetheless it was delicious. Just do 3 teaspoons instead of the 3 tablespoons (thats what I plan on doing next time.

I make this shrimp recipe for my family ALL of the time and everyone loves it. I did half the portions of milk, buttermilk, and hot sauce and I used 1 T of salt instead of 3 and it is always a hit. Great!

I recently remade this recipe with maybe 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Much better than the original recipe. Very good with less salt.