These Spanish Trench Coat Shrimp, known in Spain as Gambas a la Gabardina, are one of Spain´s most Iconic tapas dishes. Like seriously, you will find this dish at almost every tapas bar. It´s easy to make, packs a ton of flavor and it´s all done in about 30 minutes.
The reason for the funny name ¨Trench Coat¨ Shrimp, is because the shrimp are coated in a delicious batter before being cooked. The role of the batter is to protect the shrimp, that way they´re perfectly cooked.
You can serve these shrimp as a tapas appetizer like they do here in Spain. But they also work great as a main course. Serve them next to some classic Spanish potatoes and a salad for an incredible meal. Either way, I always serve these shrimp next to some Garlic Aioli.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: What flavors the batter is the beer and the saffron. If beer is not your thing, you can substitute it for club soda. I used shrimp I bought frozen and thawed out. Just to make things easier. The secret? Make sure to pat them completely dry with paper towels. This removes any excess moisture and gives the shrimp a better flavor & texture.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY SWISS DIAMON FRYING PANS
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SAFFRON THREADS
SPANISH SEA SALT
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Watch the Video Below on How to Make Spanish Trench Coat Shrimp
Spanish Trench Coat Shrimp | Gambas a la Gabardina Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 raw jumbo shrimp peeled & deveined
- sea salt & black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 118 ml
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125 grams
- 1 tsp baking powder 4 grams
- 1/4 tsp sea salt 2 grams
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup beer at room temperature 177 ml
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads .17 grams
Instructions
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Grab 3/4 cup (177 ml) beer at room temperature and pinch in 1/4 tsp (.17 grams) saffron threads, set aside
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Add 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour into a large bowl, along with 1 tsp (4 grams) baking powder and 1/4 tsp (2 grams) sea salt, mix the dry ingredients together, then make a well in the bowl, crack in 1 large egg and pour in the saffron beer mixture, mix together until you end up with a creamy batter with no lumps
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Pat down 15 raw jumbo shrimp (peeled & deveined) with paper towels, season with sea salt & black pepper
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Heat a medium to large fry pan with a medium heat and add in 1/2 cup (118 ml) extra virgin olive oil
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While the oil is heating, add the shrimp into the bowl with the batter and make sure they´re well coated
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After heating the olive oil for 5 minutes, it should be nice and hot but not smoking, start adding the shrimp into the pan, making sure to shake off as much of the batter as possible and that they´re all in a single layer spaced out from each other, cook in batches
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After 2 1/2 to 3 minutes flip the shrimp to fry the other side, after a total cooking time of 5 to 6 minutes, remove the shrimp from the pan and into a plate with paper towels, continue to cook in batches until done (I cook 5 shrimp at a time so it´s all done in 3 batches)
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Transfer the cooked shrimp into a serving dish and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley, serve at once, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Get the Saffron Threads I used to make this dish
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baltisraul
27 . Sep . 2024I substituted turmeric for the saffron. Ran out of $$ lol
joseph
15 . Aug . 2024beer is out ???sub with ???
Spain on a Fork
Club soda or sparkling water 🙂 Much love
18 . Aug . 2024Coco B
02 . May . 2024yum
Spain on a Fork
Thank you! Much love 🙂
03 . May . 2024Melinda
Can you make these ahead of time?
20 . Dec . 2023Spain on a Fork
You can make the batter ahead of time, it will hold for up to 2 to 3 days in the fridge 🙂 Much love
21 . Dec . 2023Carole beckstein
Where can I get recipe for dipping sauce?
07 . Mar . 2021Spain on a Fork
Link is in the blog post, here it is again:
https://spainonafork.wpengine.com/homemade-aioli/
Much love 🙂
08 . Mar . 2021Ramya
will be making this soon with few subs will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
05 . Mar . 2021Spain on a Fork
Sounds great Ramya! much love 🙂
05 . Mar . 2021