Shrimp Cakes

A crunchy exterior and distinctive flavor of the shrimp and spices shine making these Shrimp Cakes a very gratifying and delightful dinner.

The last time I made these shrimp cakes was back in 2012. I decided to make them yesterday for dinner and take new photographs and revamp the post if they were as good as I remembered. They were indeed even better than I or my husband remembered.

For us we get two meals out of a two pound bag of shrimp which makes it ideal for us. One of these delicious shrimp cakes was plenty for me. Not only are they delicious, but filling as well. They do not take a long time to prepare and take about 20 minutes or so to cook, which makes this a great dinner for any night of the week.

• 1 lb. shrimp
• 2 tbsp. finely minced sweet onion
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Louisiana Hot Sauce - to taste
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 2 - 3 pinches cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 pinch of table salt
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup approximately olive oil
• 2 handfuls dry plain breadcrumbs (approximately 4 tablespoons)
• 1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg beaten
• all purpose flour - approximately 1/2 cup for dredging

1. Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Wash thoroughly and dry the shrimp.
2. In a food processor, add the shrimp in and pulse until the shrimp are in tiny pieces. Do in smaller batches as necessary. Transfer to a bowl.
3. To the shrimp add in the minced onion, Worcestershire sauce, granulated garlic, parsley flakes, salt and cayenne pepper and four good shakes of hot sauce.
4. Add in 2 handfuls of a dry bread crumb and mix all of the ingredients with a spoon or use your hands.
5. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes while you set up a breading station.
6. Whisk an egg in one bowl, place the flour in another bowl and then the panko bread crumbs in the 3rd bowl.
7. Take the shrimp out and form five balls. Flatten them and roll in the flour, then in the egg and lastly the panko crumbs. Allow the shrimp to rest and come more to room temperature.
8. In a deep skillet over medium to medium low heat add in the olive oil and the butter.
9. When the butter starts to sizzle, add in the shrimp cakes and turn the heat down to low.
10. You want to slowly cook the cakes so that the shrimp will cook through and you do not burn the crust. This takes about 10 minutes per side, a touch longer if you make your cakes thick.

Approximately one pound of shrimp made five nice portions as you can see by the photo above. Buying the shrimp on sale nets each shrimp cake at $2.25 per person. Adding in the other ingredients used in the recipe (all items I generally have on hand) and even with a side of baked potato and a salad, this meal comes in at approximately $3.65 per person based on four people. (Figure the two cakes for the man of the house.)

You will love this recipe ~simple, easy with everyday pantry ingredients and they are so darn tasty! Better than crab cakes in my estimation.