Baked Coconut Shrimp

Every year for New Year's Eve,  it's tradition to have some sort of shrimp dish.  This year I decided to try baked coconut shrimp from Tastebook.

via

The Orange rum dipping sauce was amazing, but the cooking times for the shrimp was way, way off.

First, we used a much smaller shrimp than the 16-20 count that the recipe called for.  I think it was 24-36 count.  You would think, as the shrimp were smaller and therefore, not as thick, you could bake them for a lot less time, right?  Apparently not.  The recipe says to bake them for 10 minutes.  It was more like 15 min on each side.  I also think that the cooking temp of 375F was incorrect as well.  We wound up cranking the oven up to 400F after the first 10 min.  Even after baking at 400F for an additional 20 min, the coconut was barely golden brown.

The leftovers were much better the next day.  I reheated them in a skillet with no oil. This finally allowed the breading to crisp up, and the coconut to become a darker brown.

While this recipe wound up tasting ok eventually, I wouldn't make it again.  Try it at your own risk.


Coconut Shrimp from tastebook (edited to add my suggested bake times)
1 pound 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined, leave tail on
1/3 c cornstarch
1 t salt
1 T  cumin
pinch of cayenne
1 c flaked sweetened coconut
1/2-3/4 C Panko bread crumbs
3 egg whites, beaten until foamy

Orange Rum Sauce
1/2 C orange marmalade
1 T whole grain Dijon mustard
1 T coconut rum (Malibu)

Preheat oven to 375 F (or 400F). Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or use a silicon baking mat. Rinse and dry shrimp with paper towels. Mix cornstarch, salt, and spices in a shallow bow; pour coconut flakes and Panko in a separate shallow bowl. Dredge one shrimp at a time in the cornstarch mixture, then dip it in the egg white, and roll in coconut, making sure to coat shrimp well. Place on prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining shrimp. Bake shrimp til they are bright pink on the outside and the meat is no longer transparent in the center and the coconut is browned, about 8-10 minutes (10-15 min on each side). Serve with Orange Rum Sauce.

Orange Rum Sauce
Mix marmalade, 1 T mustard and rum. Mix well.  (Tastes best after chills for a few hours in the fridge so the flavors can combine.)