Making this Panko Butterfly Shrimp at home is an easy way to make shrimp look extra fancy. They're crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and so fun to dip into the shrimp sauces! It's one of my all time favorite seafood appetizers to fry up at home!
I LOVE shrimp. Like a LOT.
Which is why I always try to make a shrimp appetizer when entertaining like my Shrimp Sushi Donuts.
If you love crispy shrimp, you need to try my Dynamite Shrimp Tempura, crispy restaurant-style Calamari or my Air Fryer Shrimp with Buffalo Sauce.
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Ingredients
Now we can butterfly our shrimp and then choose a cooking method like saute, bake, grill or fry. For this recipe, I chose to keep it classic and decided to bread and fried them.
Frying shrimp is simple to do and requires a few staple ingredients.
- Breadcrumbs- For the exterior of your shrimp. You can use panko, regular, seasoned, wheat or even cornmeal. All wiill give a crunchy exterior.
- Flour- You can also use cornstarch. Flour sticks to the shrimp first allowing the egg to soak in and hold.
- Eggs- This allows your breadcrumbs to stick to the shrimp and holds them in place after they fry.
- Herbs- (Optional*) You can add fresh or dry herbs to your breadcrumb mixture if you want more flavor.
What size shrimp to use?
I recommend using large to extra large which is about 26/35 shrimp per pound.
How To Butterfly Your Shrimp
- First, make sure all your shrimp is peeled and deveined. You can leave the tail on if you wish. Take a small pairing knife and make a lengthwise incision alongside the back of the shrimp. Try to make the cut so the shrimp is symmetrical on both sides meaning.
- Use your fingers to gently pry open the shrimp then season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge the shrimp in the flour, egg wash and breadcrumb mixture.
- Heat oil to 350-375 degrees F in small batches until the exterior is golden brown. Let drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
Tail on or off?
This is a personal preference. Leaving the tail on allows people to use it as a "handle" for dipping like in my Stuffed Shrimp recipe. It also looks nicer but is tougher to keep intact while de-shelling and butterflying,
Why Do People "Butterfly" Shrimp Anyway?
Butterflying shrimp, means to slice the shrimp lengthwise along the back of the shrimp exposing more surface area. The shrimp then resembles the wings of a butterfly.
The main reason we butterfly shrimp is to allow the shrimp to cook faster and more evenly.
So ideally, chefs will butterfly shrimp if they have extra large or jumbo shrimp as opposed to smaller shrimp.
An added benefit or reason people butterfly shrimp is for aesthetics. It simply looks nicer while appearing larger. Kind of like a beautiful butterfly opening its wings to fly away. (kinda...) 😉
Don't Slice Too Deep!
The incision should not be too deep or you will slice your shrimp in half. Not what we want! Use your fingers to pry open the flesh more rather than slicing deeper. I prefer a slight flair as opposed to fully butterflied.
Deveining Your Shrimp
The outer side of the shrimp is where the digestive tract aka "poop chute" is. (I know, nasty...but we have to call it what it is.)
It's darker in color as opposed to the white vein underneath (which is actually okay to leave in)!
A lot of restaurants do not remove the digestive tract because it's a bit tedious however I always do when making shrimp at home.
To remove it, all you need to do is run a knife along the curver, over the vein. Then use the tip of the knife to pry it out. I like to do this under running water which helps to wash the vein away.
Fresh or Frozen?
All shrimp have been frozen at some point so the question is, should you purchase shrimp that is STILL frozen or that has already been thawed? If you are in a rush and need to make them right away, purchase them defrosted at the seafood counter.
If you can't find them or don't care about time, purchase them frozen. You will have more options to choose from like wild caught, farm raised, deveined, peeled, as well as the option to choose the SIZE of shrimp you want.
Expert Tips
- When butterflying shrimp, it is important to have a good pairing knife. Pairing knives are small but sharp allowing you to hold and manipulate the shrimp and knife easily.
- Choose shrimp that are not too small in size. Butterflying small shrimp is tougher to do and much more tedious. Aim for large to jumbo sized shrimp.
- Be careful not to slice all the way through the shrimp. A little slice is all you need.
- Don't overcook your shrimp or they will be rubbery.. They only need a few minutes.
- Clean your shrimp well so the tiny black line, or digestive tract, which is on the top, is removed. It's unappetizing and just nasty.
- To maintain a crispy texture, let your shrimp cool off on a wire rack or paper towels.
Shrimp Dipping Sauces
Although fresh lemon wedges are really all you need, there are many sauces to dip your butterfly shrimp into! Here are the most popular types of sauces:
- cocktail sauce- always a winner and can be made/purchased spicy or not
- tarter sauce- can easily be store-bought or made
- sweet and sour sauce- goes great with shrimp
- *remoulade sauce- like the one in this recipe
- *sweet chili sauce- like the one in this recipe
- ketchup- the kids love it
Remember that these butterflied panko shrimp are best when served FRESH! My tip is to fry them in advance and keep them warm in the oven OR fry them a few minutes short and then finish them off in the oven before guests arrive!
Other Shrimp Appetizers You'll Love!
Or check out my list of 37 Delicious Shrimp Appetizers!
Panko Butterflied Shrimp
Ingredients
Method
- Add approximate 3" of oil (canola or vegetable oil works) to a small saucepan or wok. Heat to 350-375°F using a thermometer. (Keep an eye on the oil while preparing your shrimp.)
- Mix up each of your sauces in a small bowl and set aside or chill until ready.
- Pat dry your shrimp. It will make them easier to work with. Take a pairing knife and slice about halfway, lengthwise, along the back of each shrimp. Use your fingers to pry open the flesh a bit so it opens resembling a butterfly. Do not slice too deep!*When all shrimp are butterflied, season with salt and pepper (or other preferred seasoning.)
- Add your flour and panko breadcrumbs to two separate dishes. Scramble your eggs in a bowl.
- Dredge each shrimp in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Make sure the egg fully coats the shrimp and you allow excess egg to drip off before moving to the breadcrumbs.
- Once all your shrimp is fully breaded, wash your hands and get ready to fry!
- When your oil has reached temperature, add 3-4 shrimp at a time. Fry for 1-2 minutes MAX or until the exterior is golden brown and the interior is about 120°F. Do not overcook!
- Drain on paper towels or a wire rack and serve hot with sauces on the side for dipping.
Nutrition
Notes
- This recipe is very versatile and can be seasoned multiple ways. Feel free to use seasoned breadcrumbs if you like Italian-style shrimp.
- If your oil temp. drops too much, your shrimp will be oily and not turn beautifully golden brown in color. After each batch, allow the oil to come back to temp. before adding more shrimp (wait about 30-60 seconds between batches!)
- If making these for a get-together, bread the shrimp ahead of time and make your sauces in advance. Then fry last minute.
- Reheat your shrimp in the oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes. (Too long and they will dry out.)
Stephanie Claymore
Right before the actual recipe, you have a link that says '73 shrimp appetizer ideas for your next party'. when I click on it, right at the top of the link it says 37. Should probably fix this, I love shrimp and was excited for 73 ideas, not 37
Aleka Shunk
thank you for letting me know!! I will! 🙂
Mike D
Great recipe!
Last time we made these we used 1/2 panko and1/2 regular bread crumbs and they were delicious
Aleka Shunk
Thanks so much for your review! I love the combo idea!