Almost 95% of all shrimp sold in the United States comes from farmed shrimp in countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam and India…as well as Latin America. The stuff you buy at the supermarket comes frozen (since shrimp is highly perishable) and then is thawed out and placed on ice to make the display look nice. But the shrimp you’re getting is not “fresh” (unless you’re lucky enough to get some wild caught local shrimp) and it’s from countries where the methods of farming are questionable at best.
Shrimp farming in Asia and Latin America is destroying mangrove forests and because of that, coastal villages as well. Disease is commonplace in shrimp farms, so they’re pumped full of antibiotics and pesticides. Slavery is common in the Asian shrimp business, and there even have been accounts of shrimp injected with jelly to plump them up for buyers. Just. Don’t. Buy. Them.
Imported wild shrimp are also a problem because of bycatch. For every pound of wild shrimp caught, several pounds of other animals such as turtles die needlessly in the trawler nets.
Wild American shrimp is the best way to go for your health and the environment. American shrimp fishermen are required by law to reduce bycatch. For example, they’re required to use Turtle Exclusion Devices to stop turtles from being caught in their nets.
I stopped eating tiger shrimp and other farmed shrimp from foreign countries a long time ago, because wild-caught American shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, the Carolinas, or the Florida Keys is readily available at supermarkets and membership stores where I live…and the price is right.
And on top of everything else, wild caught American shrimp tastes better. And why shouldn’t it? The shrimp are eating their natural foods found in the wild…not some pellets thrown at them that contaminate the water around them, not to mention the shrimp themselves.
Before I could find shrimp locally, I used to order it in 5 lb. frozen boxes online, and even with shipping, the price was affordable. My favorite website for wild caught American gulf shrimp was
www.cajungrocer.com. I’ve also ordered my favorite Cajun foods, like Turduckens and alligator sausage, from these people for many years.
The basics of this recipe come from my friend, Lee, a chemist who also enjoys creating in the kitchen. What I found interesting about his recipe was the touch of sugar that doesn’t really add sweetness but rather helps create the light, tasty caramelized crust that forms on the shrimp when you sear it. I tweaked a few things in this recipe, but the essence of it remains the same.
Seasoned shrtimp.
1 pound large peeled and deveined wild-caught American shrimp
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Sugar
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 clove of garlic, squeezed through a press
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
Extra Virgin olive oil
Toss the shrimp, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mash the butter with a fork, folding in the garlic. Add the lemon juice, parsley, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add half the shrimp in a single layer to the pan and cook at high heat until they’re caramelized on one side, about 1 minute. Flip the shrimp over and cook them for another 30 seconds. Don’t overcook them!
Remove the cooked shrimp to a covered bowl and similarly sear the other half of the shrimp, then return the first half of the shrimp back to the skillet. Turn down the heat to medium and add the butter/garlic/lemon/parsley/oregano/salt mixture, occasionally tossing the shrimp around in the pan to evenly coat them with the glaze.
If you’re serving the shrimp over pasta, increase the amount of butter and olive oil to just lightly coat the pasta. Toss the cooked pasta into the pan of shrimp to combine.
I like to season lightly at the end with a tiny pinch of Fleur de Sel. Serve immediately.
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