Shrimp Tails or Tales

The Hill Team has enjoyed a life long love affair with shrimp, all shrimp.

Some of our favorites hail from all points in the United States.

Last month we embarked on a culinary and cultural adventure in mid coast Maine in

the charming harbor city of Rockland. Maine Shrimp are a National Treasure.We rediscovered some of the freshest and tastiest shrimp of all.

Here is a wrap up of a few of our favorite shrimp varieties:

Florida rock shrimp’s ridged shell yields a sweet and lobster-like flavor. Since I now live on Floria’s west coast, I delight in buying fresh shrimp off the boat and simply tossing it on the grill.

Gulf of Mexico Brown, (not really brown) tastes best in chowder, seafood soups and gumbo.When I find Gulf of Mexico pink, with a full flavored salty tang, I simply saute them gently in extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter, or place these morsels in scampi.

We all enjoy California shrimp, called spot prawns. Sweet and crab-like, we also grill these in the broiler or on our charcoal or gas grills.

Around 11;00 A.M., on Saturday morning, after the farmers’ market in Santa Barbara, locals would head to the harbor. The shrimp boats that had been trawling all night would bring in their catch. What fun it was to wait on the dock with our fresh produce, awaiting “the catch of the day” with a hot coffee or cold beer. Then, if you stopped at the nearby vineyards, you experienced a perfect day and a delicious dinner.

One of the best shrimp I ever tasted was near New Orleans, in Biloxi, Mississippi, when I was invited aboard a working shrimp trawler. I first tasted these succulent little babies at Commander’s Palace.

In June, the Hill Team devoured some of the best shrimp found in the US. They are known as Northern Pink, also called Maine shrimp (Pandulas borealis).Sounds like a star, and they were one of the stars of of our culinary tour in Rockland, Maine while we were guests of the Historic Inns of Rockland.

Yes we feasted on lobsters, oysters, mussels and succulent scallops, but the shrimp were addictive. These 2-3 inch long crustaceans have a full flavor, perfect for the famous Maine shrimp chowder. I also like them in a shrimp roll, similar to a lobster roll, and just as tasty.

I like Maine shrimp raw, off the boat, near Rockland Harbor on Penobscot Bay.

I think it is the cold water and rugged, rocky coast that makes Maine seafood a national treasure.

As I write this, Maralyn and Norm are at the No Name on Boston Harbor, devouring their famous shrimp chowder.

Watch this column, Where and What in the World, for shrimp chowder recipes from Boston and Maine. Also, how to buy shrimp, if you cannot find them at their source.