HELP! I need deep fat frying advice!

[Laury]

Hi All,

I've never done much deep frying so am a newbie at it. I am trying to replicate a recipe for beer battered shrimp with honey chipotle dipping sauce that I had at a wonderful restaurant in Sayulita, Mexico. (A shout out here to my dear friend MexicoKaren in nearby Bucerias. Hola Amiga!) I found a recipe online and just made my second batch since I first had the dish. I heated the oil until a drop of the batter rose quickly to the top, per instructions. I fried the shrimp until it was a lovely light golden color. So far so good. The shrimp looked perfect. But after it cooled I tried some and it was awfully greasy. The ones I had at the restaurant weren't at all greasy.

What did I do wrong? How can I fix this for my next batch?

The dipping sauce came out pretty close to the restaurants only a lot hotter. I know how to fix that. When I have this recipe perfected I'll share it with all of you. Any help for the greasiness would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Andy M.]

Chances are the oil was not hot enough and/or the shrimp was overcooked.

When the oil is the right temp, the moisture in the shrimp and batter turns to steam and pushes outward to escape. The outward push of the steam keeps the oil out of the food. If the oil is not hot enough to sustain this action, oil will soak into the food.

Also, if the shrimp is cooked too long, there is not enough moisture left in the food to vaporize and keep the oil from soaking in.

 

[Laury]

Thanks for the quick response. Actually, I think the shrimp was undercooked. They don't look and taste as firm as I think they should be. Not quite as firm and opaque. Is it important to have an actual thermometer to judge the heat of the oil? The drop of batter to test seemed to work. Should I have been more precise at getting the oil to 350??

 

[Andy M.]

Another factor to consider is how much shrimp you put into the oil at one time and how much oil you used.

If the oil was the correct temp and you put a large quantity of shrimp into the oil, its temperature would drop, causing the problem I mentioned earlier as well as under cooking the shrimp.

Using more oil or cooking the shrimp in smaller batches will enable you to keep the oil in the proper temp zone during cooking.

 

[Uncle Bob]

What did I do wrong? How can I fix this for my next batch?

After reading both of your post... IMO the oil was not hot enough to fry. I routinely deep fry in the 375* Range...Never less than 360*--- A deep fry thermometer is a handy tool.

Next time try lightly coating the shrimp in flour or cornstarch...then dip in your batter...then deep fry between 360*/375*...Fry in small batches so your oil temperature doesn't drop to low. Watch them closely as they only need a few short minutes...

Good Luck & Have Fun!!

 

[appleyard14]

if you using a beer batter make sure not to just drop the shrimp in. Hold by the tail and drop in oil one by one waving back and forth slowly into the oil to get a ncie fluffy beer batter as well. As far as your grease problem, your oil is not hot enough if you are really against going to get a thermometer. Just keep messing with the oil and frying one by one until you get the oil calibrated to your liking.

 

[attie]

Totally agree with the temp. thoughts.

"But after it cooled I tried some and it was awfully greasy." How cool is cool?? I have never been a beer batter fan because it tends to be greasy, the beer makes the air pockets in the batter which makes the batter crisp but some of those air pockets fill with the cooking oil.

For the many years I have been frying shrimp I have used just a SR flour and water mix. Sometimes adding bicarb soda, depending on the gluten content of the flour. The problem with this is that flours vary in quality so you have to be aware of that, my batter mix probably wouldn't work with your flour

 

[Constance]

After reading both of your post... IMO the oil was not hot enough to fry. I routinely deep fry in the 375* Range...Never less than 360*--- A deep fry thermometer is a handy tool.

That's exactly what Kim said, and his fried food is never greasy, whether it's pan-fried or deep fried.

I almost burned up my kitchen with hot grease once, and I'm scared to death of it unless I use my electric skillet, which I know won't overheat.
I can make some mighty fine fried chicken in that skillet. I'd put it up against anyone's.