I do not remember seeing this discussed before.

Not living at the coast and not having access to shrimp off of a boat, I am mostly forced to buy frozen shrimp at the grocery store. HEB/Kroger/Safeway carry a variety of product: peeled and deveined, EZ peel, head on, head off, not peeled at all and from a variety of places: farm raised, gulf caught, imported from who knows were, Sea of Cortez, etc, etc. Depending on the time of year some of these are not available.

I see Key West pink around some times. Tiger shrimp sometimes. Brown shrimp sometimes.

Now last weekend in Kema, I saw a boat selling "EZ peel Gulf shrimp". The guy claimed he had no idea where they came from other than his ice chest.

My question on EZ peel - assuming those are gulf shrimp, were are they processed?

I always look for TX Gulf shrimp because I have always thought those were the best tasting shrimp - that is the taste I grew up on and still prefer it.

Am I wrong to assume those are the best tasting shrimp around and are there other areas of the world that are harvested and taste just like these I need to be aware of? I just love that sweet, salty taste.

Gig 'em Aggies!

You seem really into shrimp.

We buy the largest size frozen shrimp at Kroger and have never been disappointed.

A few details that you should be aware of:

First of all, unless you buy them off of a boat while it's still underway and dragging a trawl, ANY AND ALL shrimp are frozen at one time or another.

Second, most of the prepackaged shrimp sold in the freezer section of your local grocer is grown in farms in Asia. Honestly, they're not too bad for some uses like a shrimp boil, but not the best.

I have found a local specialty grocer that carries Texas browns (Frozen in bulk, thawed and sold by the pound at the meat counter). They really are the best. I pay a little more for them, but it's worth it. Of course, I kind of freaked the high school kid working the counter when I asked for 30 pounds for my last shrimp boil. funny.

85 - All current HACCP programs require the temperature of fresh caught shrimp to be low enough that freezing serves them very well. I have no issue with that as it does improve the product over what was done up until the 70's.

My college room mate's family had a fleet of boats out of Rockport so we had wonderfully fresh shrimp and that was where I developed the taste that has been the grail since. Imagine college freshmen eating fried shrimp dinners (all you could eat) every week! I can get back to that flavor there about 75% of the time.

Here is the challenge. We have all been taught by the grocery industry there are not seasons on things anymore. If you ant a water melon for New Year's Eve, you probably can find one.

If I want 15-18 count Gulf shrimp, there are many time they are not available to me, unless I have already bought them when I saw them and kept them in the freezer. I do not mind that, but in my mind over three months at home in the freezer is the limit of good food. I like the smaller 30 - 36 count for gumbo and Creole dishes. I have tried a variety of all the frozen shrimp at many local retailers as well as seafood specialty shops. Those already have some time on them so I do not like to keep them indefinitely.

I am always on the lookout for domestic, wild caught product, preferably Gulf of Mexico. My buddy at Sea Island here in town knows were and when to get what he needs so he always has the proper size and flavor on hand. So does the guy at Paesano's. They can look at them an tell you how far out and at what depth they grew up. Restaurants need the same thing over a period of 40 years and that is really hard to do - those guys do it well.

All that stuff from Asia really is not even good enough for boil, in my view. Mostly tasteless and tough. Tiger shrimp look lovely and large, but also have no taste.

An operator like Kroger or Safeway will have the same looking bag all across the nation, but the same thing is not in all those bags, particularly if you want domestic product. HEB tries harder to keep Gulf shrimp in their stores even if frozen. Surprisingly, the Hill Country Fare P&D are pretty consistent, but they are packed at one time and when they are sold out, they are out until the next harvest. Sometimes it takes trips to two or three different stores to find them.

If I see bulk brown Gulf shrimp in a store, most likely they can in to them in 2# or 5# bags or boxes. I will buy them that way, un-thawed and defrost as I need them.

I love to make Shrimp Po Boys and we had bunches of them at various Spurs watching parties during the playoffs. I want that consistency on an ongoing basis.

That is why I am looking for opinions on alternative brands or packaging one sees in the grocery stores.

Still was surprised to be able to get EZ peel off a boat.

Gig 'em Aggies!

The place where I buy my shrimp carries Gulf Coast shrimp in 5# boxes. The boxes are marked 5#, but they're usually closer to 6#. For their counter sales, they just allow them to defrost a box at a time.

You're right. There's really nothing comparable to fresh caught shrimp. Does anyone know if the Pollyanna (sp?) still works out of PA or Rockport? Last time I was down there, I brought home a big cooler full.

OK, it's shrimp for dinner!!

Yes, the Pollyanna still operates and had good product when she gets back in.

Gig 'em Aggies!

Port A

Fresh off the boat us best. If you can't do that, frozen from a reliable dealer of US shrimp is the next best alternative.
When I lived in Mississippi, there was a seafood shop in Picayune that got them fresh from the boat on Saturday mornings. They were awesome.

FWIW the College Station HEB is advertising 16-20ct fresh white gulf shrimp for $8.97lb.

The North Bryan HEB has frozen brown 50-70ct for $5.97lb.

[This message has been edited by Max06 (edited 6/26/2013 3:49p).]

There is nothing wrong with frozen shrimp. I have a freezer full of shrimp from my December purchase at Deanie's seafood in NOLA.

They were fresh when I bought them (off the boat). They are frozen now. They will taste fresh when thawed. Buy from the seafood department at your local grocer. Don't buy a plastic bag of shrimp from the freezer section of the grocery.

quote:

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When I lived in Mississippi, there was a seafood shop in Picayune that got them fresh from the boat on Saturday mornings.

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Htown, my parents live in Picayune. Specifically, Hide-a-Way lake. I'm sure we could swap some stories!

I lived in Poplarville for about 6 months. 45 minutes from Hattiesburg, Gulfport, and New Orleans. Fun times.

Max - we will see what the Neighborhood Market in Bryan comes up with when they open Friday!



Gig 'em Aggies!