COURTESY OF Fred Thompson
Shrimp prepared in the style of Chesapeake House.
Morehead City, Georgetown, S.C., Shem Creek, S.C., and Thunderbolt, Ga., have one delectable food product in common: They are all major centers of the shrimping business, especially brown shrimp, or "brownies" as they are known in the trade. With all due respect to Forrest Gump, Gulf shrimp have nothing on the brown shrimp of the Mid-Atlantic.
Pink, brown and white shrimp are all great tasting and all are found in the waters off North Carolina, with white shrimp being the smallest catch. Whites are primarily found in abundance in the Gulf and around southern Georgia and Florida. Browns are the shrimp of summertime in North Carolina, and August and September bring some of the largest harvests, and, with an ample supply, prices tend to drop.
The purchase is well worth it. Few shrimp that are farmed in Asia will give you as much pleasure as wild-caught, Atlantic-raised shrimp, but you are also supporting a tradition, a livelihood, of American fishermen. These folks create jobs, support local coastal communities and their tax base, and bring to us the very best in flavor and freshness, even in the face of escalating costs and disappearing profits. Yet few give up. They deserve our business, as do the independent farmers at your local market. As the bumper sticker says: "Friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp."
So these North Carolina Brownies are just that - a light brown color in their raw state. They cook up to a beautiful pink and have a bold shrimp flavor, a little softer texture, and I believe the best expression of any shrimp I've ever tasted. Brownies are also pretty confined to the areas where they are caught. These are the shrimp that the guy on the side of the road sells, many times with the heads on (which is just a twist and a thump to remove), but they are more available now in fish markets and even stores like Whole Foods.
What to look for
During August and September when they are the most flavorful and abundant, I usually make a run to Bogue Banks or Topsail Island with a large cooler to buy enough fresh, local shrimp to fill my freezer. These shrimp freeze beautifully. Just take quart freezer bags and put about a pound of 31- to 40-count shrimp in each bag, fill with water, seal and freeze. There is no need to salt the water. The shrimp will last for six months or more, but I'm betting you consume them quicker than that.
Look for shrimp that have no black spots. Avoid ones with yellow tints or shrimp that don't fill out their shells. Think in terms of the number per pound: 31 to 40 count, for instance, are solid medium shrimp; 21 to 24 are a good count for large shrimp. Using this method keeps everybody honest.
This is one of my favorite ways with shrimp. It's simple, it's quick and the taste belies how easy it is to fix. It's really best with fresh shrimp in late summer, but frozen work pretty well. Feel free to change the herbs. Cilantro and parsley work nicely. The wine you use should be of good quality and drinkable. Please don't overcook your shrimp, unless you just like rubber. This dish should take no more than 6 to 7 minutes.
So get your cooler and your taste buds ready.
