Frozen shrimp

[afn33282]

Hey eGullet,

I have heard many, many times that freezing really messes up the texture of shellfish. I was wondering if there is ever a time and a place for previously frozen shrimp. What about lobster tails, soft-shell crabs, etc.? Should I always plunk down the extra money for the fresh stuff? Are there certain dishes where a budget-minded soul would truly do okay with frozen shellfish? What do you think? I imaging frozen bivalves are out of the question, but what about for clam chowder, etc.? After learning that some fish for sushi is always frozen before use, I am starting to think there may be viable exceptions to the rule. Thanks so much.

[Jason Perlow]

This is complete bull donkey. In fact, I would say 90 percent of the "fresh" shrimp you get in most supermarkets have been previously frozen. A lot of the jumbo shrimp is coming out of Mexico and Venezuela now and they freeze it right on the boat.

[afn33282]

Hmmm. I'm not being sarcastic here: what about the stuff you buy off the dock? Do they always freeze on the boat? And the middle-ground question is: what about the little independants selling off the back of a pickup truck, straight from their boyfriend's boat (we have one of these in our neighborhood)? The texture on these puppies is wonderful, and the taste is so sweet..... Thanks again.

[Jason Perlow]

If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a strong shrimping industry with heavy local consumption, like southern Louisiana or in certain parts of New England, or perhaps even in other certain areas of other Gulf states like Florida you will in fact be getting fresh shrimp right off the boat.

However depending on the season, even places like New Orleans use frozen shrimp in restaurants, just because the demand for the product is so high.

[Tess]

Freezing can screw up seafood, no question. I stopped buying frozen fish and seafood from my local Trader Joes because it was mushy too often. But some of it can be pretty good. I've had frozen fresh-water shrimp which I cooked from frozen on the grill and they were fine. You would think those would be pretty delicate.

[afn33282]

Thanks Jason, Tess. I guess a follow-up question for a new guy like me would be: What is the season for shrimp? Thanks.

[Jason Perlow]

Thanks Jason, Tess.  I guess a follow-up question for a new guy like me would be:  What is the season for shrimp?  Thanks.

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Depends on where the shrimp came from. The Louisiana shrimp season only started a few weeks ago, for example.

[johnnyd]

Shrimp Season in Maine is set a bit differently every year depending on findings by the Department of Marine Resources. Last year was December 20th to March 25th.

Here is a thread about harvesting shrimp in Maine. Lots of pictures of course.

[Mayhaw Man]

Thanks Jason, Tess.  I guess a follow-up question for a new guy like me would be:  What is the season for shrimp?  Thanks.

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Depends on where the shrimp came from. The Louisiana shrimp season only started a few weeks ago, for example.

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And in fact, the current brown shrimp season will be closing today for a few weeks.

This is determined by monitoring of the brown shrimp catch for immature white shrimp. When the white shrimp count gets high enough, basically when they are large enough to get caught in the nets but too small for sale, they stop fishing and hold up until the shrimp get large enough for sale.

This is determined by area, and is not a blanket stoppage. On the current stoppage the areas south and west of the mouth of the river are the ones that are largely affected. It doesn't mean much, supply wise, as the shrimpers just move into another area until the others are opened back up.

If you are a genius with maps (or a shrimper), you might be able to figure out the areas affected by today's closing.

And as far as the frozen issue goes-I can buy fresh shrimp cheap virtually year round, but those shrimp are being caught on small boats that dock often. The large offshore boats pretty much all freeze on board these days. If done properly, there is virtually no drop in quality of product. In fact, I would much rather buy fresh frozen shrimp than shrimp that I am not sure of the caught date. Shrimp deteriorate quickly and I believe that unless I am buying them straight off the boat (which I am fortunate enough to be able to do easily) or from someone I know, that I am better off buying fresh frozen.

[DTBarton]

It is true that almost all shrimp sold in seafood stores is previously frozen. Fortunately, if frozen in a block of water, shrimp freezes very well.

You can get fresh shrimp in the right areas at the right time of year. In the Carolinas, shrimp season is all summer and into the fall. They bless the shrimp fleet in McClellanville South Carolina (a true shrimping village north of Charleston) the first weekend of May http://lowcountryshrimpfestival.com/

I used to buy fresh shrimp in Charleston during the summers and I still get fresh Pamilico sound shrimp on the Outer Banks of North Carolina each summer and fall. I buy extra and freeze it immersed in water in milk cartons or plastic bags, keeps great.

Here's a link to a Hatteras place that will ship you wild North Carolina shrimp.

http://www.odensdock.com/seafood/ Ask them if they're getting fresh local shrimp yet.

To me, the bigger issue for getting shrimp is wild versus farm raised. I find farm raised shrimp to be tasteless. It can be hard to find wild shrimp, the majority sold is farm raised in South America and Asia. We're lucky that we have a local seafood store that only sells wild shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico.

[scubadoo97]

This is complete bull donkey. In fact, I would say 90 percent of the "fresh" shrimp you get in most supermarkets have been previously frozen. A lot of the jumbo shrimp is coming out of Mexico and Venezuela now and they freeze it right on the boat.

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Jason you are correct. I live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and we have followed the shrimp trawlers when fishing and have even traded the crew beer for shrimp. These boats go out for a couple of days and they have flash freezers on board. The shrimp would loose its quality if it was just iced for a couple of days until they got back to shore. One thing you should do with shrimp is bine it if you are doing any dry cooking like grilling. It really improves the texture.

[hwilson41]

I still get fresh Pamilico sound shrimp on the Outer Banks of North Carolina each summer and fall.

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Amen to that, and they are wonderful. We've been going to Whalehead on the Outer Banks every summer for many years with friends from SC, and across from the Food Lion is a vegetable market with a shrimp vendor beside it. The shrimp are fresh off the boat that morning - with or without heads, as you prefer - and the flavor is better than anything I've found up here in Fairfax. Makes a jambalaya that will bring tears to the eyes of a strong man (but take your andouille with you).

To me, the bigger issue for getting shrimp is wild versus farm raised.  I find farm raised shrimp to be tasteless.

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Couldn't agree more. Most of the farm raised stuff sold up here taste like pink cardboard. It's cheap, but you're getting exactly what you pay for. It's like those damned tomatoes that are bred for durability rather than taste. Sure they last a long time (because the skin is as thick as split cowhide), but why would anybody care? They have absolutely no flavor.