Buying Shrimp

[Dawgluver]

And then we eat them. Oh, the horror!

 

[Addie]

When shrimp are caught in the wild, they are beheaded and laid on a bed of crushed ice. They are then covered in more ice. They are separted on the deck by size. A lot of the really big ones are left with the heads on. These are for restaurants. The shrimp are placed in bins. As the bins get filled up, more boards are placed in the slots at the front. On a good boat, each bin holds just one size. They get more money for their efforts. The really small ones, the heads are left on. Those are for canning. A bad practice. Less money for them. It all depends on the captain. If the captain owns his own boat, he will make the crew behead the tiny ones. If the captain is on a boat owned by a company, they don't care.

So there is your lessone on what happens to wild shrimp when they are taken aboard a shrimper boat.

 

[buckytom]

from now on, i propose we call addie "bubba" (as in bubba from "forrest gump").

 

[Addie]

from now on, i propose we call addie "bubba" (as in bubba from "forrest gump").

it is 2:30 a.m. thanks for the laugh. you have me roaring!! I will be laughing all night now.

 

[buckytom]

take it easy, bubba. we've got a long night ahead.

 

[Chef Maloney]

Addie, thank you for that information. Very interesting, thank you for sharing

 

[CraigC]

When shrimp are caught in the wild, they are beheaded and laid on a bed of crushed ice. They are then covered in more ice. They are separted on the deck by size. A lot of the really big ones are left with the heads on. These are for restaurants. The shrimp are placed in bins. As the bins get filled up, more boards are placed in the slots at the front. On a good boat, each bin holds just one size. They get more money for their efforts. The really small ones, the heads are left on. Those are for canning. A bad practice. Less money for them. It all depends on the captain. If the captain owns his own boat, he will make the crew behead the tiny ones. If the captain is on a boat owned by a company, they don't care.

So there is your lessone on what happens to wild shrimp when they are taken aboard a shrimper boat.

This is true of boats that are going to sea for several weeks, but not the case with "day boats"! Nothing beats fresh, wild caught, heads on shrimp!

 

[Addie]

This is true of boats that are going to sea for several weeks, but not the case with "day boats"! Nothing beats fresh, wild caught, heads on shrimp!

That's true. And those are going straight to a restaurant. So what do you do with the rest of your catch? But places that will buy your shrimp as soon as you dock are far and few between. You have to have an agreement in place for that purchase to take place. You have to tie up early in the day and leave the dock in the wee hours of the morning. So there is not that much fresh shrimp on the market. The purchaser is the middle man. He doesn't want to be paying his workers overtime. And he usually has a contract with a local restaurant for the big ones. Most dayboaters are father/son or two brothers who think they are going to make a quick killing on the shrimp market. They waste more fuel going out and coming back in than they get paid for their catch. They also have to pay for their ice. If you don't find the "sweet spot" in your first hour out, you have wasted a trip.

Another reason you have dayboaters is because the owner/captain of the boat doesn't have enough experience to go out into deeper waters. Or the license issued by the CG. If you have to call the CG due to your own stupidity, you receive a hefty fine. So it is safer and more prudent to stay in close to shore where another shrimp boat can tow you in on their way back to dock. Those big shrimp got that way because they love the cold deep water. And dayboaters don't go out that far.

 

[CraigC]

That's true. And those are going straight to a restaurant. So what do you do with the rest of your catch? But places that will buy your shrimp as soon as you dock are far and few between. You have to have an agreement in place for that purchase to take place. You have to tie up early in the day and leave the dock in the wee hours of the morning. So there is not that much fresh shrimp on the market. The purchaser is the middle man. He doesn't want to be paying his workers overtime. And he usually has a contract with a local restaurant for the big ones. Most dayboaters are father/son or two brothers who think they are going to make a quick killing on the shrimp market. They waste more fuel going out and coming back in than they get paid for their catch. They also have to pay for their ice. If you don't find the "sweet spot" in your first hour out, you have wasted a trip.

Another reason you have dayboaters is because the owner/captain of the boat doesn't have enough experience to go out into deeper waters. Or the license issued by the CG. If you have to call the CG due to your own stupidity, you receive a hefty fine. So it is safer and more prudent to stay in close to shore where another shrimp boat can tow you in on their way back to dock. Those big shrimp got that way because they love the cold deep water. And dayboaters don't go out that far.

Have you ever watched "Swamp People"? I don't think Joe would waste his time shrimping if he wasn't going to make money. There are fish markets that depend on day boaters to get heads on shrimp for public sale, so I doubt all of the catch goes to restaurants.

 

[Addie]

Have you ever watched "Swamp People"? I don't think Joe would waste his time shrimping if he wasn't going to make money. There are fish markets that depend on day boaters to get heads on shrimp for public sale, so I doubt all of the catch goes to restaurants.

The only reality show I watch with any regularity is Top Chef. They just don't hold my interest. I have enough trouble trying to keep track of my own daily activities. I used to watch the Most Dangerous Catch. But when they started to show bodies floating in the waters, I had to stop. It brought back memories to when my second husband was brought home by the CG when the boat he was on went down in the Atlantic. I couldn't deal with it. That is when I learned what "flashback" really menat.

I have never been a movie person. But with the selection of quality shows on TV these past years since reality shows have taken over, I have discovered some very good movies that I had no interest in the first time around. The Hallmark Movie channel has become my favorite. No violence, no course language, no stupidity. I know, what a dull life I lead. Thank goodness for the "Bleep" button. I can get all of that language I don't care for out on the street.

So to get back on subject. Cajuns are very proud folks. They really do scratch a living from their surroundings. Earning any kind of a living in the swamps is difficult enough. I am not familiar with dayboats in the swamps. Only in the Gulf. And if they can catch large heads-on shrimp, and sell them for a profit, then I wish them all the best in the world. It is a hard life.

 

[Snip 13]

I always put the farmed shrimp in ice cold well salted water for an hour or so. Then they taste better and don't go as rubbery.

 

[Addie]

All shellfish should be cooked at a gentle heat. And for the shortest time possible while still cooking the product completely. It is the prolonged high heat that will cause shellfish to become rubbery and tough to eat.

 

[CDavis504]

There is no comparison, wild caught shrimp is much better than farm raised. If possible always get fresh Louisiana shrimp, it's some of the best and most flavorful in the world. And do not even waste your time getting the shrimp that is imported from China. In my opinion those have no taste whatsoever.

 

[CraigC]

I give up! Now when I ask for WC shrimp locally, I get directed to the frozen food section. Guess I'm gonna have to start ordering from LA, just like I do for live crawfish!

I don't eat at Red Lobster, but those who do should ask where they get their garbage, err I mean "shrimp" from. Or tell them that you want WC shrimp and see if they lie to you.

 

[Addie]

All shrimp are frozen right on the boat. They are placed in the hold on a large bed of ice, then covered over with more ice that is a few inches thick.

 

[GotGarlic]

Fresh shrimp is highly perishable - I prefer to buy it frozen. If I'm going to splurge on expensive seafood, I'm getting scallops

I bought a two-pound bag of frozen wild-caught Texas shrimp for dinner tonight. Will give a report later on

 

[CraigC]

All shrimp are frozen right on the boat. They are placed in the hold on a large bed of ice, then covered over with more ice that is a few inches thick.

You are wrong when it comes to day boats. My SIL has an uncle in LA that supplements his income shrimping. It gets iced down on the boat and delivered to a seller that does some online business. I can get it shipped overnight, heads on and never frozen. I have no idea why you keep making this generalized statement when it is only true of boats that are away from port for long periods of time.