Weather looms - Cajun alternative

With my brother in law and his wife coming in town this coming weekend, the plan has been to smoke a brisket, ribs, sausage... the works.

But the forecast is for Friday to be stormy, Sunday to be rainy, and Saturday (the cook day) to have scattered t-storms. I have a canopy I can set up, but it just makes the whole thing kind of a hassle.

So.

I want these folks to eat real good at our house. My back-up idea is to make chicken and sausage gumbo. I have it really dialed in, comes out great. What I would like to do is kick things up a notch and fry some shrimp and hush puppies to add to the festivities. I haven't fried shrimp in years, and have never done hush puppies.

I have done some research and have picked out a recipe for each, but I'm wondering if any of you'ns have a really good go-to recipe/method for fried shrimp or hush puppies. I want to make this feast ridiculously good.

Any ideas/help I'd really appreciate!

Faissez les bon temps rouler!

Y'all recommended fried fish: just not into it, but thanks.

Nuco59: I get the "almost" too warm thing, but dang we haven't had gumbo in a long time so this may be the time! Friday evening is my go/no go time to decide on whether I do bbq or Cajunpalooza, so we'll just see.

cowgirl said:

My absolute favorite. Blackened fish topped with crawfish etouffee. :-D

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No doubt about it, that is an awesome dish.

chingador said:

... For fried shrimp, my mom's cracker crumb crust is awesome.

Take a box of saltines (4 sleeves) and pulse in a food processor until they are about the consistency of course bread crumbs. Season shrimp with salt and black pepper. I always find that simple seasoning works best because you don't want to overpower the great flavor of shrimp. Dredge in flour, then dunk into a milk egg wash (1 egg per 1 cup of milk, I do four of each in a large bowl), then into the cracker crumbs to finish the breading. Deep fry until golden brown....

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I may go that route for the schlemps, thanks boss!

Chingadoor is spot on: the food scene in Houston is very very diverse, and there are many delicious choices.

The weather will probably cooperate, but I left it up to my guests and asked them to make the call. Cajunpalooza it will be! I'll post up some pics.

Thanks everyone.

chingador said:

Updates?

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So, things got interesting.

First the gumbo: wasn't real happy with it. I think I just got the ratios out of whack. Delicious still, but not how I am used to making it.

Instead of hush puppies, I made a copycat version of Copeland's Bayou Broccoli Balls. Started as a disaster, but I made a quick mod and they turned out fantastic.

Now to the shrimp: I was going to do that saltine crust thing but couldn't get the processor to pulse down the crackers. So I scrambled, and used a combination of two different methods. After prepping the shrimp, I sprinkled them with salt, black pepper, and some Tony's. Not too much though. Then in a separate bowl I whisked one egg, poured in 2 cups whole milk, added 1 tablespoon yellow mustard and stirred it up then poured it over the shrimp. Let them sit for 30 minutes in fridge. For the dry ingredients, I combined self-rising flour and fine cornmeal in a 2-1 ratio (flour to cornmeal). Take shrimp, toss 6 into the dry stuff, get them coated pretty good, fry for about 2 minutes.

They were probably the best fried shrimp I have eaten anywhere!!! Light crust, not overpowering flavor profile, tender (have to be careful not to overcook), just fantastic. Had bowls of remoulade, tartar sauce and cocktail sauce for folks to use. It was just so darn good!