Crunchy Parmesan Shrimp

One of the perks of living in Wisconsin is the traditional Friday Night Fish Fry. This weekly special was something that my mom and I would take advantage of on many Fridays when I would come home from college. While most people get pan fish on Fridays, one of my favorite items to order was the deep fried shrimp. When faced between the choice of pan fish and shellfish, I would pick the shellfish every time. While I love deep fried shrimp, I try to avoid using the deep fryer most days. I still love a crunchy crust, but I prefer to make it slightly healthier by either oven frying or pan frying my meats. These techniques use way less grease than deep frying. For this recipe I chose to use the oven. If you love deep fried shrimp, but feel some guilt over the heavy amount of grease used in that cooking technique, this recipe is a great substitute!

Ingredients

18 Medium Shrimp 

¼ cup Flour

¼ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

¼ tsp Lemon Pepper

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

3 tbsp Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 Egg

1 tbsp Milk

Directions

Kitchen Tip: Before any shrimp recipe can be made, the shellfish has to be cleaned and deveined. To do this, it is best to buy a shrimp peeler deveiner. These are quite cheap and can be purchased on Amazon for only $7.00. 

1. There is a little hollow toward the upper middle part of each shrimp. Stick the deveiner into the hollow, and push it all the way through the shrimp, then pull upwards. This will rip the shell right off of it, and the little black vein should come free with it. If the vein doesn’t rip free during this process, it will at least be exposed to be easily picked out. Rinse the shrimp after cleaning, then pat them dry.

2. Set up the dredging stations by combining the egg and milk in one bowl, and mix the flour, panko, parmesan cheese, lemon pepper, and cayenne pepper in another bowl. 

3. Put all of the cleaned shrimp into the egg wash, then bury them one at a time in the flour bowl. 

4. Pour the garlic infused olive oil onto a tin foil lined pan, and spread the flour coated shrimp out over the top of the oil. 

5. Roll the shrimp around in the oil so every part of them is coated in the liquid. 

6. Bake at 425 degrees for 7 minutes. Flip the shrimp, and cook for another 3 minutes. 

7. To finalize this dish, and make the shrimp crunch, turn the oven up to a broil. Leave the pan in the oven for another 2 ½ minutes. Take the shrimp out and set on a paper towel lined plate before serving to get rid of any excess grease. 

This recipe is so delicious! The flavors seep through the shrimp, and they give the perfect amount of crunch without being deep fried and drenched in grease. To finish everything off with a perfect combination of flavors, I highly recommend dipping these in my Cajun Mayo. Enjoy!