New Belgium Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Pineapple Salsa

When Foodbuzz offered me the chance to participate in the New Belgium Tastemaker Program, how could I say no?  I love trying new beers and had heard a lot of great things about New Belgium's offerings, so I was ready to go.

I selected Fat Tire as my ale of choice.  I love the name - it's fun and doesn't take itself too seriously.  To me, that says a lot about the brewer.  You know something fun is in store when there's a clever name on the label.  I researched a bit on the website and the company's founder named it in honor of his bike trip through Belgium.  How cool is that?  I'll take a bike trip through Belgium, please, and throw a few waffles and chocolates in for the road :)

Of course I had to have a sip before I got started on my recipe ;)  I'm a new fan: the finish is smooth and crisp, and the flavor is a little sweet and mild.  This is a great drinking beer and would work with a lot of different food pairings since it's easy to drink.

When I think of good "beer food", my mind automatically goes to summer.  Summer means grilling and eating outside on a hot afternoon with an ice cold beer.  One of my favorite summer foods is shrimp, and I have fond memories of my college senior year beach trip to Florida where we downed fried seafood and pints of cheap light beer (ugh!).

One of my favorite ways to eat shrimp is in the deep-fried-in-coconut form.  Since I try to keep things healthy here at JITK, I thought baking the shrimp would be a great alternative, and substituted the beer for your typical egg wash in the process.  Fortunately, it's very simple, quick, and tasty!

Here's what you need.  You'll get an assembly line going for your shrimp.

Make sure the shrimp are patted dry first, so the coating sticks on better.  First dip them in the flour:

Then the beer...

Then the coconut and breadcrumb mixture.  Easy!

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping over halfway through to ensure they're evenly cooked.

Et voila!

I prepared a simple pineapple salsa for my topping: chopped fresh pineapple, cilantro, green onion, and a few healthy shakes of red pepper flakes.  This is great the next day too, once the flavors work together overnight.

Enjoy outside with a cold bottle of Fat Tire!  Yum :)

Happy shrimping!

New Belgium Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Pineapple Salsa

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the shrimp:

• 1 pound raw or defrosted shrimp, peeled and deveined (leave tails on)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut

For the salsa:

• 3/4 cup fresh pineapple, diced
• 4 green onions, sliced very small
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix breadcrumbs and coconut in a dish and set aside.
• Wash shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Dip shrimp in flour to coat, then beer, then breadcrumb/coconut mixture.  Repeat until all shrimp have been coated.
• Bake shrimp in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet for 10 minutes or until cooked through, turning over halfway.
• While the shrimp are baking, mix all the salsa ingredients together.  Add red pepper flakes as you wish based on how spicy you want it.
• Serve shrimp with pineapple salsa on top and a little Sriracha if you like :)

Disclaimer: Foodbuzz compensated me for purchasing New Belgium products and my ingredients.  The recipe is my own, as is my review of Fat Tire.  The end.