116 replies to this topic

[johnnyd]

Something else I can probably guarantee: The shrimp you buy from this gentleman is still swimming around the Gulf of Maine right now. Right now!

I would say that when the auction ends, he'll call his pal on the boat to tell him how many pounds he needs and then meet 'em at the dock that afternoon.

-----------------

edit to add:
I received a couple eMails from Garry in BoothBay who is willing to send trap-caught shrimp to anyone in the US and Canada (PM me for direct contact). He offered some insight into Maine Shrimp:

In the earlier part of the season, there was only dragged shrimp around. I prefer trapped, Dragged always seem to be smaller and the quality of shrimp is poor. Now the trappers have started seeing good catches. Very small amounts of veiners, and nice big healthy shrimp.  People need to have these in their hands to fully understand the value of this wonderful item. The fisherman need the help or we will lose the commodity. I have read your [eG] posts and you seem to have the same mindset.

So far everyone that has been receiving them have been extremely happy. The shrimp are still alive when I am putting them in a box. I have been packing and shipping seafoods for over 10 years, so I know how to handle the various products. This is why most of the supermarkets have poor quality. Some shrimp are on trucks for 3- 5 days, can be frozen and thawed multiple times before the coonsumer purchases it. I think this is why the Maine shrimp have a bad rap.

C'mon people get your bids in! Fresh Maine Shrimp delivered to your door! Woohooo!!!

Edited by johnnyd, 21 February 2007 - 10:31 AM.

[johnnyd]

An old pal sent me this pic of his Maine Mardis Gras dinner,

Nice shrimp!

[ghostrider]

This guy sounds like he's on the ball. Wish I had friends with whom I could divide a shipment.

[johnnyd]

Your right Mr. GR:
This dealio seems best for
1) A smallish restaurant with some good ideas
2) Two or three friends who can split up the bounty among them

I have a routine these days: I buy two pounds for $5, have a few ame-ebi style, cook off the rest, clean off heads if purchased whole, then I have a pile of peel n' eats for three days, after which I make a chowder with the shell/head stock and the rest of the shrimp, cleaned. Seems to be keeping me in shrimp five days a week.

Only six weeks left in the season.

[johnnyd]

I just got my mail and lo and behold Saveur issue #100 has SHRIMP on the cover

I dropped everything and tore through it. Indeed, Maine shrimp has a little section all to itself and are heralded throughout the article as distinctive in their sweetness. Fore Street's Sam Hayward weighs in with a great shrimp chowder recipe which beats the hell out of mine, but hey, he's Sam Hayward. Needless to say, I'm all over that next week.

Thank you folks from Saveur, you rock!

[shel]

I had dinner at a decent Portland restaurant recently and ordered a dish that screamed out "perfect for Maine shrimp". I didn't think to ask before i ordered, but when the chef himself delivered the plate, covered in tiny shrimp (not looking very Maine-like), i asked him if he used Maine shrimp and he said no - stating that they are too labour-intensive to peel, so he used "imported" shrimp.

Pity - the critters tasted more like, um, nothing, than the sweet flesh i've become (re)accustomed to this winter. Not that it was a bad dish, but it could have been So Much Better.

[johnnyd]

I had dinner at a decent Portland restaurant recently and ordered a dish that screamed out "perfect for Maine shrimp".  I didn't think to ask before i ordered, but when the chef himself delivered the plate, covered in tiny shrimp (not looking very Maine-like), i asked him if he used Maine shrimp and he said no - stating that they are too labour-intensive to peel, so he used "imported" shrimp. 

Pity - the critters tasted more like, um, nothing, than the sweet flesh i've become (re)accustomed to this winter.  Not that it was a bad dish, but it could have been So Much Better.

That's bogus, shel, damn. What about all the fresh, peeled shrimp I see for $4.79 a pound??? Lazy, uninformed bastard! Perhaps he's not paid enough to care, or the bags of frozen shrimp come in a big order with other products from one supplier so it's just easier. You saved that place some grief from me by with-holding their identity

[shel]

In my opinion, if you own a restaurant, you should care, but I decided that during weekend dinner service was not the time to pick a fight. I'll follow up with him though, and let y'all know what I hear.

[ghostrider]

After several weeks of shelled shrimp, my local WF is back to the unshelled variety @ $5.99 / lb.

I am back to my earlier instinct that they have better flavor if you shell them yourself immediately before cooking.

I have gotten better at it thanks to johnnyd's tips above, though I'm still no speed demon. I find that if you give the shell a gentle little wiggle before attempting to strip it, this helps loosen it & greatly increases your odds of being left with a whole, untorn shrimp.

A few more weeks to hone my technique. The season is waning but it's been considerably better (for me) than last year's. No intestinal virus in January, that's always a plus.

[scordelia]

I love those little Maine shrimp. I remember the first time I made them for my mom when she vistied me on MDI; she thought they were cooked because they are so pink when raw.

One of my faves with them was to make a risotto. Use the shells to make stock and go. The nice sweet shrimp are perfect.

[Chris Amirault]

Last batch at the Providence Whole Foods tonight. Making seviche, pisco sours, and popcorn.

Gracias, las gambas de la Maine!

[johnnyd]

Indeed, the end of the Maine Shrimp season is nigh...

... so it's time for the final recipe of the season: from The Fore Street in Portland Maine, Chef Sam Hayward's Shrimp Chowder featured in this month's Saveur (#100)

I went to Harbor Fish Market Saturday afternoon and to my dismay they were totally out of shrimp! Damn, I thought, maybe word is finally getting around? So I head over to Free Range and he's got one tote of whole shrimp and a handful of shelled on hand. In front of me is an irate asian lady who appears to be waiting for several pounds to be shoveled into bags. This is the first time I may not be able to buy fresh shrimp when I want it. Thankfully, I get three pounds, per Sam's recipe.

Time to get to work...

There are way more little shrimp in this batch. A lot of damaged ones too. I see clearly why trapped shrimp have an edge.

The heads, shells, damaged and smalls go straight into the pot with 10 cups cold water,


and brought to a boil. Simmer five minutes.

This will be excellent stock. There is a lot of extra shrimpmeat in it.
Next, I rendered 1/4cup blanched saltpork and added 2 large russet potato and a leek, white only

Cook gently for five minutes. Then added 3cups shrimp broth.

Simmer gently, covered for ten minutes.
Then melt 3tbsp of butter, turn heat to high, and add chilled shrimp meat and 3/4cup of heavy cream.

This is looking pretty rich right now!

Boil for 30 seconds...

Then gently fold into the chowder base and let rest for ten minutes, covered.

Add Salt, generous grinds of fresh black pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

... and you might get it to look like Sam's at Fore Street! Recipe called for chives garnish - I used a scallion top.



Delicious! Thank You Sam Hayward, and Many, Many Thanks to the boys on the boats who bring us this treasure every winter.

[ghostrider]

Dang that chowder looks good!

Haven't been able to find shrimp in Jersey all week. Serious bummer. Are the catches tapering off? Well I got links, I'll go look for myself.

[johnnyd]

Just got back from Harbor Fish Market in the Old Port and they say another couple weeks left. They expect a load of whole shrimp tomorrow as a couple boats are sure to go out in this nice weather. Judging by the load at Free Range Lobster on Commercial Street, the harvest is getting smaller sizes and there is no roe anymore. This is the time when the quality falls off precipitously so there is not likely to be any shipped south. I don't know that for sure except for Chris's post above sounds definite in RI.

End of March season closure sounds right as I missed the opening by two weeks back at the beginning of this thread - I was using last year's dates

I hope to nail at least five pounds tomorrow so I can freeze them for the summer and fall. Okay, maybe ten pounds. At $0.99/lb it's stupid not to.

[Note to local readers: The mid-atlantic shad roe looks terrific. $8.99/pair. Also, Tolof the kelp noodle guy will be at Harbor Friday 11a-3p for a demonstration of kelp noodle preparation as well as his Bangs Island Mussel aquaculture product. Should be delicious.]

[rmillman]

Whole Foods Boston has not had them for more than two weeks :-(

[ghostrider]

Maine DMR site linked on p. 1 says "The 2007 fishing season, which is the same for mobile and trap gear, will be open seven days a week from December 1, 2006, through April 30, 2007. "

So it ain't over technically, but may be another matter practically.

[johnnyd]

Picked up the last of the whole fresh shrimp at Harbor Fish y'day - only two pounds left! The price was up to $1.49/lb and they went through about 200 lbs in six hours. I do believe there is finally some action among consumers. My job may be done here... or just beginning?

They were so fresh and delicious I had a handful with ponzu, made a bowl of nice shrimp ceviche, then peeled the rest for freezing. Some, however, were just too small so I sprinkled some salt and paprika on 'em and sauteed at high heat.

I don't understand why these aren't prepared more often around here. Crunchy goodness.

At the bottom of the bag I found this curious little guy:

There are at least five species of north atlantic shrimp. This fellow couldn't keep up with his brethren I suppose.

[pennbrew]

So is the season over? It looks like I'll be in the Portland area on Friday or Saturday, any chance of finding about 20 lbs. of fresh shrimpy goodness to bring back home to Pennsylvania?

Thanks!

---Guy

Edited by pennbrew, 26 March 2007 - 08:11 AM.

[Chris Amirault]

Another great season and another great topic by johnnyd. Here's to next year!

[johnnyd]

Thanks Folks, it's an honor and a pleasure.

Sunday's New York Times had an article about Port Clyde, Maine [available for a limited time] that featured a photo of a couple fishermen off-loading their shrimp on a recent afternoon. The town is rallying to preserve working waterfront acreage and shoreline for the fishing industry as much property has been purchased by out-of-staters for vacation homes.

Harbor Fish Market says only a few boats are going out for shrimp at this point. They haven't seen whole shrimp at the shop in two weeks. Headless was for sale y'day for $3.49/pound. There will be shelled shrimp available all month, $5.49 or so per pound.

[ghostrider]

Since we're into the dog days & I've nothing better to do, thought I'd kick this thread back up top while dreaming of shrimp.

Seriously, I've been wondering what happens to all that frozen Maine shrimp & why I can't find any of it here in Jersey. I guess most of it goes to the local Maine restaurant trade so that I can enjoy a fine plate of fried Maine shrimp at the Kennebec Tavern in Bath in July.

While up there last week I noticed that Gilmore's Seafood, a fine fishmonger if ever there was one, was selling little containers of Maine shrimp (at $5.00 / lb, I think it was). Apparently they have a pretty good handle on how much they can sell & they defrost a certain amount every day.

Gilmore's will air-express the stuff to me but the cost of shipping makes this a ridiculous option economically.

Ah well, if it were always available, would we appreciate it as much? YOU BET!

[Timh]

I had been runniing a Maine shrimp Bolognese w/ schiaffone(a thick tube pasta). The frozen tail meat runs @4.25 #, a great price point, pluse its so easy to work with. Ran a rissotto, andtopped a pizza with them.

[johnnyd]

I had been runniing a Maine shrimp Bolognese w/ schiaffone(a thick tube pasta). The frozen tail meat runs @4.25 #, a great price point, pluse its so easy to work with. Ran a rissotto, andtopped a pizza with them.

That's awesome. What quantity do you order and who's the vendor? That guy in, I think, Bristol that you mentioned upthread this winter?

There does seem to be a lot of Maine Shrimp on menus this summer. How about that?!

[ninetofive]

With the weather like it is today and looking over those pictures of your chowder, JohnnyD, I'm actually longing for it to be March.

[johnnyd]

Shrimp season opens Saturday, December 1st.

Northern Shrimp 2008 Fishing Season Set at 152 Days
Section Expresses Concern about Shrimp Availability during the 2009 Fishing Season

Portsmouth, NH - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a 152-day fishing season for the 2007-2008 northern shrimp fishery, a 1-day increase from last year's season. The approved season was based on recommendations of the Northern Shrimp Technical Committee and Advisory Panel.

"Our efforts to reduce fishing mortality in the early 2000's continue to provide an above-average abundance of shrimp for the fishery," stated outgoing-Section Chair Ritchie White from New Hampshire. "By approving another five-month fishing season, we are able to maintain improved harvesting and marketing opportunities."

As usual I'll be starting a new topic commemorating the season opener and welcome any and all member news about fresh Gulf of Maine shrimp - location tracking, prices and recipes are encouraged from your part of New England and beyond. After three years reporting on Maine shrimp I think we are finally in the position to make a market for these delicacies.

Who's in?

[glauer]

When is the first day of the season Johnny?
I can't wait.....
last year I carried a big box of them to Germany. Bought in the afternoon and eaten next day for dinner with my family...they LOVED it.

[ninetofive]

Count me in. The season starts around 12/1, right?