How to recreate a St. Augustine staple in Springfield

Whenever we travel back to the area where I grew up in Florida, it is a must to stop in St. Augustine for fried shrimp with extra pink sauce. If you find yourself on the east coast of Florida, make some time to soak up the history and food St. Augustine has to offer.

St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Spaniards and is now known as the oldest city in the nation, since it has been a continually inhabited city in the states. This has given the city a rich culture. It is fun to imagine what the city looked like as it was being built. As you walk down old Saint George Street past the old houses, schools and businesses that are now gift shops, ice cream shops, museums and restaurants, you can really see the layers of history in St. Augustine.

As you cross the Bridge of Lions, you will also find businesses that have made history themselves, such as O’steen’s Restaurant. O’steens has been operating for more than 50 years, with many of those years owned by the same person. They are famous for their lightly breaded fried shrimp and famous pink sauce. Many restaurants try to copy their recipes, and many come close; but there is something special about this crispy treat.

One ingredient that stands out is that they use cracker meal to leave the shrimp crispy while still being light. Lastly, they use an old southern staple in fried cooking, peanut oil. You cannot forget the pink sauce! This sauce is even harder to figure out the secret recipe for. It is not your average cocktail-dipping sauce. The best way to describe the flavor is a combination of cocktail and Thousand Island dressing. Even this does not do it justice.

The one ingredient we do not readily have here in the Midwest and that grows primarily in St. Augustine is datil pepper. No one knows for sure how it came to grow in St. Augustine, but we do know it has a great flavor. This little yellow pepper has an almost fruit-like sweetness, but do not let that fool you, as it comes in just under a habanero on the Scoville scale ranging from 100,000-300,000 SHU.

My family has spent many holiday dinners trying to recreate this mouthwatering meal. We like to think we are pretty close to their secret recipe, but we might need to give it another try the next time we get together just to be sure.

St. Augustine's Famous Fried Shrimp

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 2 dozen extra-large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on, butterfly along the back going from top to tail. This will allow for quick and more even cooking.
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1.5 cups cracker meal
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp. white pepper
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• Peanut oil for frying

1. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Set aside.
2. Mix together the eggs and the water in a shallow dish. Set aside.
3. Mix together the cracker meal, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper and cayenne, and set aside. You can purchase cracker meal or make your own. The taste of the dish will vary with the type of cracker used. Saltines will give a salty and mild flavor. Ritz-type crackers will have a slightly buttery, salty taste. The fineness of the cracker crumbs will affect the final texture of the shrimp, so make sure to grind them up fine for the ideal texture.
4. Heat 2” of oil in a deep skillet to 350°.
5. Dip each shrimp in the flour. Then shake off the excess. Next dip it in the egg wash and then in the cracker mixture. Be sure to evenly coat the shrimp in the cracker mixture.
6. Cook the shrimp in small batches. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Pink Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayo
• 4-5 Tbsp. ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. pickle juice
• 3 Tbsp. horseradish
• 1 Tbsp. spicy brown mustard
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• A pinch of cayenne or dried datil pepper

Mix all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust as you like. Enjoy!

Channing Fullaway-Johnson is the culinary coordinator at Lincoln Land Community College.

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Baking/Pastry, and Value-Added Local Food, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.