keeping fried shrimp warm without overcooking

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I'm serving coconut shrimp as an entree to 5 big eaters. I know my husband would prefer them fried vs.baked. I'm trying to decide the best approach to have 5 hot but not overcooked servings ready at the same time. My tentative plan is to fry them just long enough to get them golden then put them in a warm oven to finish. According to several references I found online, the internal temp of shrimp should be 145F. The minimum setting on my oven is 170 but I can cycle it on and off. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 
my microwave is small, they would have to be piled on each other

 
But my proofing box is a little bigger.

It's highest temperature setting is 120F. I could get creative with stacking racks. Hmm.

 
You could heat your oven to 170, then turn it off before using for the shrimp.

Modern ovens won't go below 170 for safety reasons. How I miss the "warm" setting of old ovens! They trusted us not to leave food in there for hours on end.

Or, you could go informal and serve them in batches--fry 10 at a time and send plates of them to the table to be fought over. That's what I would do.

 
thanks for your input

I'm leaning towards the oven instead of the proofing box as I'm not sure 120F is hot enough.

I wouldn't mind staying in the kitchen and doing batches. I have a big pass-thru between the rooms so it's easy enough but my husband would be disappointed if I didn't sit at the table and eat with everyone else.

 
I've never seen anyone turn down a coconut shrimp because it got tepid

So whatever you do it will be appreciated and every bite will be eaten.

 
Maybe not a help at all but here is what I do with a group for coconut shrimp

I cook coconut beer batter shrimp in two woks at the same time, staggering the drop-in of the shrimp so that it does not all get scooped out at once. Then it goes on cookie sheets with paper towels and into the oven at 200. Since the shrimp cooks fast in the oil, I never worry about it overcooking while holding because it is not in the oven very long at all.

I did this for 14 people last month and it worked great.

 
reporting back

Temp wise the oven @ 170 was fine.

Tried Alton Brown's recipe. The coating was not as successful as the very simple one I used previously where the corn starch and egg white are mixed together. I saved that recipe in my hard drive in 2004 without the recording the source. It's not a Red Lobster copycat and I couldn't find it on recipe puppy. I've copied it below. If you happen to recognize the source, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

COCONUT SHRIMP
Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 large egg whites
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups flaked coconut
1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled with tails on

Heat 3 inches of oil in a large deep skillet or heavy pot to 325 degrees F.
In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, egg whites, salt, and pepper until foamy. Spread the coconut out in a pie dish. Dredge the shrimp with the cornstarch/egg white mixture and shake off any excess. Press the shrimp into the coconut flakes; turn shrimp over and press into coconut again to coat both sides.

Deep-fry the shrimp in batches until the coconut is golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp to paper towels to drain.

 
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