Coconut Shrimp

This is my last post from my thanksgiving feast :)  About a month ago, my parents made this recipe and recommended it to me so I decided it would be a good thanksgiving appetizer to make.  This recipe is from The Neely's, and it's really good!  The dipping sauce really makes this recipe so definitely make it along with the shrimp.  My grocery store had colossal shrimp on sale this week, and I think this recipe works best with the really big shrimp so that you don't have to do the breading process on way too many shrimp since it can be a little time consuming.  I will only be using this recipe from now on whenever I make coconut shrimp.

Ingredients:

Shrimp-

Peanut oil, for frying

1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
4 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic powder

Zesty Dipping Sauce-
1 (6-ounce) jar orange marmalade
1/4 cup sweet Asian chili sauce
1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Make your dipping sauce just by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to eat.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F (I decided to just pan-fry these so I heated a little oil in a large skillet over medium high heat).

Butterfly shrimp and set aside.

In medium bowl mix together panko and coconut (I first put the coconut in the food processor and pulsed a few times to get the flakes a little smaller so that they would stick better to the shrimp). In another medium bowl beat eggs and dash of salt and pepper. In a third bowl mix flour, onion and garlic powder together. Dredge shrimp in flour, then eggs, then the bread crumbs.

Place in preheated deep-fryer (or in my case, a large skillet) and fry, in batches, until crisp and golden brown; 2 to 3 minutes (my shrimp were huge so they needed 3-5 minutes, but be careful not to overcook the shrimp). Drain on a paper towel-lined sheet tray. Serve hot with Zesty Dipping Sauce on the side.