Shrimp, best time of year?

[giggler]

When eating/ buying shrimp..

is there a best "season"?

are they like Oysters, and best in Months with an "R"?

Eric, Austin Tx.

[GB]

That oyster rule is no longer the hard and fast rule it once was. See this article for more info.

I eat shrimp year round and have never noticed certain times being better or worse than others.

[jabbur]

I don't know if it's covered here or not but a friend of mine wrote this book and it might have something in it for you. If it doesn't cover shrimp, it might cover other things you're interested in.

Buy ketchup In May and Fly at Noon-guide for best time to buy this, do that and go there book

[GB]

jabbur that is so cool that your friend wrote that book. I almost bought it the other day. I listened to an interview with him on NPR and found the book to be really interesting. I still may buy it.

[Uncle Bob]

Shrimp seasons can and do vary from State to State, and within various regions of State Waters and also by the type of shrimp...Mostly browns, and whites, and pinks....Right now whites are in season in Mississippi and Louisiana...Check with your State's Wildlife and Fisheries (or whatever) to see what is in season for your State...I would guess White shrimp are available right now in Texas markets...

Enjoy, and HTH

[Andy M.]

In the majority of the USA, shrimp is only available frozen, so season has little meaning.

I almost never see actual fresh shrimp for sale. Sometimes stores sell frozen shrimp that has been thawed. I also never see whole shrimp with head and appendages.

[BreezyCooking]

Actually, fresh head-on shrimp are making a MAJOR comeback. I can get them almost every week at several of my local markets here - usually U.S. Gulf Whites. They're lovely. And at one of Asian markets here I've seen them offered still alive & squirming about! Definitely a new adventure for me to try one of these days - lol! But for the most part, shrimp are available year-round, & all have been beheaded & flash-frozen before they reach your market. Some large concerns even do this on board the boats shortly after the catch. Which means, just like much frozen finfish, that your frozen shrimp can actually be "fresher" than what's sold at your market as "fresh, never frozen". But as a simple answer to your question - no, there really isn't any real "season" for shrimp.

Re: oysters - Here on the East Coast, while oysters are generally available year-round in restaurants, fresh in-shells aren't readily available in markets during the "non-R" months. Not due to toxic algae blooms, but more due to the non-R months being the primary spawning months, which makes the texture of raw oysters soft & somewhat mushy/milky.