British Isles | Beer-Battered Prawns

Posted on January 10, 2013

I made Breaded Scampi Bites a few weeks ago and since that recipe used a dry coating on the shrimp, I wanted to try a recipe with a wet coating. The author of this recipe wrote that you will need a deep-fat fryer in order to achieve the desired crispiness of batter. That's what I used and the shrimp turned out perfect. Regarding the part of the recipe where it says to drop prawns in one at a time, I found it worked better to hold on to them for a second or two (using metal tongs!) to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the basket. These were crispy and tasty.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

PRAWNS

1 1/2 pounds prawns, peeled, deveined and tails left on

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 cups lager beer

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 large lemon, cut into wedges

salt and ground white pepper to taste

 

COCKTAIL SAUCE

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup prepared horseradish

juice of 1 lemon

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco Sauce to taste

 

Method

PRAWNS

Heat fryer to 375° F. In a large bowl, using a whisk, combine 1/2 of the flour with beer and most of the parsley. Season to taste. Set aside.

Season prawns with salt and pepper and toss in remaining 1 cup of flour. Shake off excess flour and drop prawns into the batter. Discard flour. Lower the fry basket into oil and carefully drop prawns in one by one. Keep prawns separate for the first minute, until batter has begun to crisp up. This will prevent prawns from sticking together. Depending on the size of your fryer it may be necessary to cook prawns in batches.

Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until batter is golden brown. Remove from oil and drain well on paper towels. Place on a serving platter, sprinkle with remaining parsley and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve immediately with cocktail sauce on the side.

COCKTAIL SAUCE

Combine all ingredients, mix well together and refrigerate until needed.

 

(Ref. "Beer-Battered Prawns with Cocktail Sauce" recipe, Irish Pub Cooking, page 24.)