Hush Puppy Fried Shrimp - Come with Me to North Carolina's Camp Lejune!

Hello, foodies…

I hope you all saw my special Mother’s Day post yesterday and have a sweet treat baking for mom or grandma. I can’t be with my mom on mother’s day, so I’d like to give a GREAT big shout out to her now…Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! You are my biggest cheerleader. You’ve always told me that through hard work and determination I can achieve anything. I love you with all my heart!

We’re honoring LOTS of important people this Sunday on In the Kitchen with David foodies…moms and all of our veterans! Our virtual road trip continues as we head to our next military base…Camp Lejune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Our girl Mary kindly blogged about the Marine base and its history for us…be sure to check out her post.

And we’d like to thank Ann from Jacksonville for her entry!

Ann has lived in Jacksonville all her life and her husband is a Vietnam vet. (Thank you for your service!) In her entry, foodies, Ann wrote that Camp Lejune is really important to the economy of Jacksonville and the surrounding towns. “The locals and military families really work together and depend on each other. We are a very patriotic community and try to emotionally support our military families,” she says.

Ann also told us that the seafood in Jacksonville is some of the VERY best. (I’ll go even further and say the seafood in the entire state of North Carolina is some of the best.) So to all our friends in North Carolina and at Camp Lejune, we’d like to honor you with some Hush Puppy Fried Shrimp!

Hush Puppy Fried Shrimp
Serves 4–6

Ingredients:

• 2–3 quarts oil
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp + a dash hot sauce
• 2-1/2 tsp honey
• 1-3/4 tsp salt, divided
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/8 cup grated onion
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup beer
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 egg beaten
• 1-1/2 pounds small shrimp, peeled, tail removed and deveined

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a 375°F deep fryer or large saucepan.
2. To prepare the dipping sauce, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, ketchup, 1 Tbsp hot sauce, honey, 3/4 tsp salt, and the black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
3. Combine the cornmeal, flour, 1 tsp salt, sugar, and paprika in a large bowl. Combine the grated onion, buttermilk, beer, milk, egg, and dash of hot sauce in another small bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
4. In batches of 8–10, dip the shrimp into the batter to coat, letting any excess batter drip back in the bowl. Carefully drop the shrimp into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove and drain the shrimp on paper towels. Serve with the dipping sauce.

This recipe is prepared using the Emeril by T-Fal Stainless Steel Deep Fryer with Oil Filtration (K40057).

Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.

Foodies, I’ll see you Sunday at Noon ET. Mother of three Marlene Koch is back with her latest cookbook, Eat What You Love Everyday. If you’re thinking about trying a healthier-eating lifestyle, or you’re looking for a terrific gift idea, consider Marlene’s book. For your blog question today tell me something about your mom, grandma, or motherly figure in your life. Does she make the best chocolate cake on earth? Does she always know exactly what to say? Is she the greatest listener you’ve ever known?

Keep it flavorful!
—David