1.08.2004

Shrimp go swimming . . . in hot oil

If I waited any longer to eat these, I'd have named them.

Deep frying gets an undeserved bad rap. I love deep frying and do so almost once a week. We've grown kind of fond of a small side of fried seafood with out pasta. NO ONE fries fish like my mother. Maybe it's the source of fish (Boston you know) or that special frypan she uses but I can only hope to make fish as good as hers.

But, we must eat fish. My weapon of choice: the Frybaby, loaded with vegetable oil. This thing has nice high sides, keeps the splattering in and gets the oil to a perfect 365F (or so) and holds it. Lately, my favorite sacrificial crustacean has been the shrimp. We found some pretty good quality frozen guys recently and subjected them to a quick dip in egg and coating in very fine breadcrumbs (seasoned with salt, pepper and parsley) and tossed 'em in for a spell. About 2 minutes. The bobbed to the top crispy and brown and barely produced a spot when we blotted them on paper towels. These shrimp were heavenly and not in the least, oily. Give 'em a try.