Immerse yourself in a tropical culinary experience with Chef Tom's Coconut Shrimp recipe! Breaded in smoked coconut and fried to perfection, these succulent shrimp are served alongside a homemade honey mango chile sauce for your all-in-one delicious dinner.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Smoking the coconut before breading: Toasting the coconut flakes over pecan smoke for 30-45 minutes builds a deeper, nuttier flavor into the breading itself, instead of relying on plain sweetened coconut straight from the bag.
- A double-dip breading process: Going flour → egg wash → flour → egg wash → coconut/panko builds a thicker, more adherent crust than a single dip would, so the breading holds up better in the fryer.
- Beer in the egg wash: Whisking Pilsner into the eggs adds a light carbonation and yeasty flavor that helps the batter fry up airier and crisper.
- A three-ingredient sauce that only needs 5 minutes: Simmering hot sauce, honey, and butter together for just five minutes turns three pantry staples into a glossy dipping sauce with almost no active effort.
Coconut Shrimp with Honey Mango Chile Sauce
Tom Jackson
Rated 4.0 stars by 2 users
Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
Servings
4
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Calories
365
Chef Tom fires up the Napoleon Phantom 500 for Coconut Shrimp! Breaded in smoked coconut, then fried on the side burner, these coconut shrimp are served along side a scratch-made honey mango chile sauce for dipping.
Ingredients
-
8 oz jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
-
2 tbsp Lane’s BBQ Chili Lime Seasoning
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp Pilsner beer
- 1 cup (3-4 oz) sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
-
1/2 cup Heat Maverick’s Where Did the Mango Man-Eater Hot Sauce
-
1/2 cup Reida Farm Wildflower Honey
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 4 tsp garlic, grated on microplane
- 2 tsp ginger, grated on microplane
For breading:
For the Honey Mango Chile Sauce:
Directions
- Place a wood chip smoker box on the deflector plate of the Napoleon P500RSIB-3, and fill pecan wood chips. Turn the burner on high.
- Place 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes on a small sheet pan and place the pan on the grill, opposite the smoker box. Smoke/toast for about 30-45 minutes, until slightly browned and slightly dried out. Remove from the grill.
- Meanwhile, combine the Honey Mango Chile Sauce ingredients in a 8” skillet. Place on the side burner of the Napoleon. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove and cool at room temperature.
- Set up for the three stage breading process.
- Combine the flour, cornstarch and Lane’s BBQ Chile Lime Seasoning in a medium sized bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Combine the eggs and beer in a second bowl. Whisk well to combine.
- Combine the smoked coconut flake and panko in a third bowl. Mix well.
- Dredge your shrimp in the flour/cornstarch mixture, then dip in the egg wash. dredge in the flour mixture once again, then back to the egg wash. Transfer to the coconut/panko and press to coat the shrimp on all sides. Transfer to a sheet pan. Repeat until all shrimp are breaded.
Fill a Finex Dutch oven about half full of vegetable oil and preheat on the side burner. Stabilize the oil temperature at 350ºF (check with an instant read digital thermometer).
- Fry the shrimp, working in batches of about 5-6 shrimp, for about 90 seconds, until golden brown and over 135ºF. Immediately after removing from the oil, transfer to a cooling rack and season with salt.
- Serve the coconut shrimp with the Honey Mango Chile Sauce for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why smoke the coconut flakes before using them in the breading?
Toasting the coconut over pecan smoke for 30-45 minutes dries it out slightly and builds a deeper, nuttier flavor than plain sweetened coconut would bring straight from the bag.
Why dip the shrimp in flour and egg wash twice instead of once?
The double-dip (flour → egg → flour → egg → coconut/panko) builds a thicker base layer for the coconut to cling to, so the breading holds together better in the fryer instead of shedding into the oil.
Why add beer to the egg wash?
The carbonation and yeast in the Pilsner help the batter fry up lighter and crisper than an egg wash made with water or milk alone.
What internal temperature should the shrimp actually reach?
This recipe says to fry until "golden brown and over 135ºF," but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for shrimp and other shellfish is 145°F. Cook to at least 145°F to make sure the shrimp are fully safe before serving.
Why cool the Honey Mango Chile Sauce before serving instead of using it hot?
Letting the sauce cool to room temperature allows it to thicken slightly as the butter re-solidifies a bit, giving it better body for dipping instead of running off the shrimp.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — the sauce and frying can both be done on a stovetop; the grill's smoker box is only used to add smoke flavor to the coconut, which you could skip or approximate with a stovetop smoking setup.
Recipe Highlights
Smoked coconut breading: Toasting the coconut over pecan smoke adds depth a plain bag of coconut can't.
Double-dip breading: Two passes through flour and egg wash build a sturdier crust for frying.
Beer in the batter: Adds lightness and crispness to the fried coating.
A fast three-ingredient sauce: Hot sauce, honey, and butter simmer into a glossy dip in just five minutes.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 5.84 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 365
- Carbs
- 49 grams
- Protein
- 15 grams
- Fat
- 10 grams
- Sodium
- 766 milligrams
