Coconut Shrimp Beignets with Pepper Jelly Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• One 10-ounce jar red pepper jelly
• 1/4 cup Creole mustard or grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
• Vegetable oil
• for frying
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 scallions
• thinly sliced
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• One 12-ounce bottle amber beer
• 1 large egg
• lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp
• shelled and deveined
• tails left on

Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk the pepper jelly with the mustard and vinegar until smooth.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 1 1/2 inches of vegetable oil to 350.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour with the scallions, coconut, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper.
4. Whisk in the beer and egg to form a thick batter.
5. Working in batches, dip the shrimp in the batter (don't shake off the excess) and fry over moderate heat, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to paper towels to drain.
7. Serve with the pepper jelly sauce.