Mac and Cheese with Shrimp

The Best Mac and Cheese has Shrimp

I love this Mac and Cheese recipe and I’m not one to ever order Macaroni and Cheese at any restaurant, either. Not because I don’t like it. I just don’t think that most restaurants, especially the major chains, make a quality dish. So I put together a Cheese Sauce that has a real nice balance of flavor and adding shrimp helps bring out a nice seafood stock kind of taste. Lobster would be a fantastic alternative, if you’d like to step it up, but you don’t have to add any seafood to this dish at all if you’re not into shell fish. The other ingredients, listed down below, make one of the best Mac ‘N Cheese sauces on the planet.

My Mac and Cheese Secret

Most Mac and Cheese recipes use Milk, Flour and Cheddar Cheese but I don’t use any of those and I’ll tell you why. Milk makes the sauce thin. That’s why the flour is needed and I think it makes the sauce taste bland and chalky. The Cheddar Cheese keeps it simple, whether you use sharp, medium or mild. Simple may be fine in some kitchens and if that’s all you’ve got, by all means, use it but keeping it simple means it tastes simple. I know that some recipes are great when they’re simple. But if you’re able to trick it up a bit by adding a variety of different cheese, why not control the outcome with perfect balance for your specific tastes. That’s why I use Colby Jack, Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese.

Mac and Cheese with Shrimp Ingredients:

8 oz Pasta, cooked
1 1/2 doz Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp butter
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 1/2 cup Half & Half
1 tsp Bouillon, Tomato/Chicken or Beef
1 tsp Oregano, dried
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 cup Colby Jack cheese
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients
1 Green Onion, chopped
2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
3 Bacon Strips, cooked

Watch and follow the Mac and Cheese with Shrimp Video Tutorial for specific directions about making this recipe.

Tempura Lobster Tails with Dipping Sauce

Awesome Lobster Tails

If you thought Shrimp Tempura was good, you’re going to go out of your mind with this Lobster Tails recipe. Especially if you your a fan of good Tempura because you’ve got the best of both worlds right here. As you may or may not know, Prawns and Lobsters are in the same crustacean family, only Lobster’s are generally much larger. So, from my perspective, bigger is better and I show you how to make Perfect Tempura Batter, in one of my older posts, and take you straight to one of the best appetizers ever invented.

What size Lobster Tails to use

I’ve been seeing 4 to 6 oz Lobster Tails on sale in just about every grocery store that has a seafood department for only about $5 bucks a piece, lately. So you really can’t go wrong with that kind of deal if you want to give this a try sometime. Really you can use just about any size you want. You’ll just have to adjust the cooking time if you get any thicker than what I’m recommending here for this Tempura recipe. Just be sure you buy enough Lobster Tails because these things are so delicious and they go down fast.

Check out my other Lobster recipes:
Stuffed Lobster, Steak House style Lobster Tail, Lobster Ravioli Sauce,
Lobster Bisque, Red Lobster Crab Cakes, Poor Man’s Lobster

Tempura Lobster Tails Ingredients:

2 Lobster tails, pealed and de-veined
Pinch of Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Tempura Batter
1 egg yoke
1 cup Tonic or Seltzer Water, Carbonated is the key
1 cup Flour

Dipping Sauce
1 teaspoon Hoisin Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Black Bean Sauce
1/4 cup Orange Chili Sauce

Cook and submerge your Tempura Lobsters in Oil for approximately 5 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fried Crab – Jonah, Dungeness or Blue Crabs

The Best Fried Crab

Fried Crab can be found all over the world. Traditionally, it’s usually soft shell crab, like blue crabs, that are fried but the truth is, you can fry just about anything. Most of my experience with Fried Crabs have been at buffets and Cajun restaurants in the south. It’s real popular to put the majority of the breading over the meat from the body of the crab. I think mostly because the meat is already exposed, once the cavity shell has been removed, and you just sink your teeth right in and get a bight.

Jonah Fried Crab Recipe

Normally, for this Fried Crab recipe, I would use soft shell crabs but they aren’t available to me right now, unfortunately. I did find some Jonah crabs, however, which are the East coasts answer to the West’s Dungeness Crab. They’re typically a little bit smaller than the Dungeness and therefore a little cheaper as well. I picked up these two bad boys for just under $7 bucks. So you really can’t go wrong picking up a half dozen or so for frying.

Also, if you’re interested, be sure to check out a few relatable recipes I think you’ll enjoy. My King Crab Legs tutorial is phenomenal because I teach you how to peal the legs so quickly that your mouth never stops chewing between bites. My Stuffed Lobster recipe is one of the most amazing dish’s you’ll ever lay your eyes on; also incredible. And my Thai Red Curry Shrimp Recipe is easy and it’s to die for.

Fried Crab Ingredients:

6 to 8 Whole Crabs
1 stick Melted Butter
1 Garlic Clove, chopped

Egg Wash
1 egg
2 tbs milk
2 tbs Hot Sauce

Dry Mix
1/2 cup Plain Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup Potato or Corn Starch
1 1/2 tsp Crab Boil Seasoning

Oil for frying

Cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for only 2 to 3 minutes and enjoy your Fried Crab.