Crispy Orange-Basil Prawns with Zesty Dipping Sauce

A crowd-pleasing fried shrimp dish featuring a light beer batter, crispy basil and orange slices, served with a tangy tartar sauce and a drizzle of hot honey. For a beach-shack feel, add homemade or store-bought salt-and-vinegar chips. The tartar sauce is optional—hot honey and lemon wedges work too. If you're heat-averse, reduce the hot honey or skip it. You can also swap shrimp for skinless fish wedges. Make extra; it tends to vanish quickly.

Info

• Cook time: 35 minutes
• Total time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

Tartar Sauce

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons capers, chopped, plus 1 tablespoon brine
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon, finely chopped (stems and all)
• 1 medium dill pickle, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon brine
• Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Batter

• One 8-ounce beer, like Dutch pale lager beer
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra if needed
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup sparkling water, plus extra if needed

Fried Mixture

• 2 pounds “16/20” shrimp (about 36 pieces), peeled and deveined
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt
• 4 cups frying oil
• 4 sprigs fresh basil, stemmed
• 1 small orange/tangerine, cut into VERY thin rounds
• 2 to 3 tablespoons hot honey

Instructions

1. For the tartar sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, mustard, capers and brine, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tarragon, pickle plus brine, lemon zest and juice. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
2. For the batter: Pour the beer into a medium bowl and slowly whisk in the flour, smoked paprika and sparkling water. The batter should be fairly thick (to coat the shrimp before frying) but also easy to stir. If it’s too thick, add more sparkling water. If it’s too thin, add more flour. Set aside in a warm place.
3. For the fried mixture: Sprinkle the shrimp lightly with the cayenne and salt. Set aside.
4. Pour the oil into a heavy-bottomed pot (or, alternatively, a deep-fryer). Heat the oil slowly to 350 degrees F. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature. You need a slotted spoon and 2 baking sheets lined with kitchen towels to drain the herbs, lemon and shrimp once cooked. Prepare a large serving platter with the tartar sauce in a small bowl in the center.
5. Drop a basil leaf in the oil to test the heat level. It should rise to the surface and fry quickly, 1 minute. Fry the basil leaves and spread on the first tray. Season with salt. Fry the orange slices until crispy, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and arrange on the tray with basil. Dip the shrimp in the batter and drop, in small batches, into the oil. Fry until crispy, turning on both sides with a slotted metal spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain them on the lined baking sheet. Season immediately with salt.
6. Arrange the shrimp on the serving platter and drizzle with the hot honey. Intersperse the basil and orange slices around and on top.