Sea Queen Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp

My family loves seafood, but who has the budget to eat at Red Lobster on a regular basis? Instead, my family eats a lot of shrimp and other goodies from Aldi’s frozen food aisle, including the Sea Queen Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp. These used to be a Special Buy, but I noticed recently they have been added to my local store as a Regular Buy.

These shrimp come in two varieties:

First, we have the regular Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp with the typical crunchy breaded coating. These are perfect for dipping in red cocktail sauce, which Aldi sells in the condiment section.

Second, there are Coconut Breaded Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp, which are coated with breading and coconut flakes. The coconut shrimp come with an orange marmalade sauce for dipping.

The boxes feature a seal denoting the shrimp are Best Aquaculture Practices Certified, and the back of each box states that the shrimp are “responsibly sourced” and that Sea Queen seeks to “preserve our natural resources.”

The shrimp can be oven-baked, pan-fried, or cooked in a deep fryer. We don’t own a deep fryer, so we bake our shrimp in the oven at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes. The plastic packet containing the orange marmalade sauce for the coconut shrimp sits unopened in a bowl of hot water while the shrimp bake, and when you’re ready to eat, you pour the sauce into a small serving bowl.

Both varieties of shrimp are excellent. They bake up crispy and make a great lunch or dinner, especially when served with a side salad. I usually prepare one box each of the regular and coconut breaded shrimp for my family so we can enjoy both. Two boxes make a good-sized dinner for my family of four, but if your family eats a lot or if you have kids who are teenagers, you might want to make three boxes.

As a side note, the orange marmalade dipping sauce for the coconut breaded shrimp is okay, but, oddly, my kids and I have discovered that the coconut breaded shrimp taste fantastic dipped in ranch dressing, so that’s what we do.

The Verdict:

If you don’t have the budget to eat at expensive seafood restaurants, Aldi’s Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp are the next best thing. Highly recommended. (And be sure to pick up some cocktail sauce for your shrimp in Aldi’s condiment section.)

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