Pick a Peck of Pickled……Shrimp?
I don’t know if I could live without the sound of the sea in my ears. Going to the beach isn’t for me, but I like to get a glimpse of the enormity of all that water. It’s assuring to know I’m this close to the Wonderful Wild World of Atlantic Seafood.
People can quibble with me all they like, and I will still stick my nose up high and proclaim the obvious: shrimp trapped in nets along the Mid-Atlantic coast are the best on earth. The large ones are eight or nine fat, juicy inches long from tip to tail, two or three bites of luscious meat. Even more if one eats the tail, too. Living beyond the reach of our Seafood Wonderland would be tough for my palate to take.
One of my favorite go-to snacks in these lean dieting days is pickled shrimp. About every three days, I visit the local ramshackle seafood store, a dark den of leaning wood on a busy street corner. It is scented like I imagine the bottom of the sea would smell if I could breathe it in without drowning: brine, pluff mud and fish that are dead, dead, dead.
Oh, and shrimp. Large and small. Three pounds of large, heads off. That’s what I buy every three days. They start stuffing the gullet of a big plastic bag as soon as I darken the door. We pickle the whole lot of them, because it’s just the best Southern way to eat them fresh.
Doubt me? Try Hugh Acheson’s great recipe from Saveur.
Hugh Acheson’s Pickled Shrimp (Or Prawns, if that’s where you are)
MAKES ABOUT 6 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 lb. (26–30 count) medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ tsp. celery seeds
¼ tsp. allspice berries
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 dried bay leaves
½ medium yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring Old Bay and 8 cups water to a boil in a 4-qt. saucepan; add shrimp, reduce heat to low, and cook until shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl of ice water to chill; drain again.
2. Finely grind celery seeds and allspice in a spice grinder; transfer to a bowl and stir in oil, juice, parsley, salt, chile flakes, garlic, and bay leaves. In a 1-qt. glass jar, layer shrimp and onions; pour over oil mixture. Cover with lid; chill overnight before serving.
This post is part of my Torture Myself By Writing About Food While On the Dukan Diet Series. To eat these posts from the beginning, click here and read forward for some butt-kicking pimento cheese.
I’m trying to comment, but my taste buds have shriveled and died. Pickled? I’m trying to keep an open mind…SLAM!
Roxanne, you and Annie don’t eat shrimp, do you? You’re welcome to talk about juicing.
We don’t eat shrimp, although I find them delicious.
I think I have had every kind of shrimp you can think of, but, never pickled shrimp. I’ll have to give it a try.
They’re really yummy, Lou. I think you would like them.
have never tried pickled shrimp. i usually get mine from Stono Market over on Johns Island when I pick up my CSA share. I’ll have to give this a try with some of the shrimp I have stashed in the freezer.
I grew up landlocked. The only water nearby was the river. Since moving to Charleston though, I don’t think I want to live very far away from the ocean anymore. Being near the ocean, with the smells, the wind and all the birds seems to have this way of captivating people.
Eugene, I know you would love this dish. Let me know if you make it.
Water is like possibility, an opening.
Who does the de-veining? That is a task I don’t care for. I have frequently left the sand vein in and just crunched away. But don’t eat the tails. I use the pinching method taught to me as a young girl by my Mama and Grandmama; when shrimp are boiled just right, you can pinch the tail just in front of the final “fans” and the last morsel of sweet shrimp just slips out of the shell. And to help that happen, when you boil shrimp, put just a tablespoon or so of vinegar into the water.
I LOVE pickled shrimp. And they are not Dill Pickles folks. My favorite preparation for them is my dear friend John Martin Taylor’s recipe for them which is reprinted here. http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20100926/PC1206/309269948. His amazing book on Lowcountry cooking, “Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking”, is being reprinted in celebration of it’s 20th anniversary. John’s book is a wonderful celebration of everything that is the Lowcountry. It includes the ruminations just as Andra writes now. From his website John continues to sell his grits and books. http://hoppinjohns.com/cgi-bin/screenbld.asp?Request=HoppinJohnHome
I don’t devein either and it has never bothered me. Can’t wait to try the pickled shrimp recipe. The thing I miss most about not living in Charleston is the fresh seafood.
MTM does the de-veining. I can’t do it. Ick. I don’t eat the tails, either, but I do use the method of your forebears to get the last bit of meat out of the tail.
I’m sure Hoppin’ John’s recipe is a winner. We’ll have to try it on our next batch. We’re eating pickled shrimp like crazy right now.
If you need extra help, let me know. I’m in for the eating part, not the de-veining.
We have three pounds of it for Alice’s going away party tonight.
I’m with the Good Luck Duck, pickled shrimp? My mind and tastebuds cry out – oh the shame of it all. When I think of shrimp I smell butter, okay, when I think seafood I smell butter (which is much better than brine and fish smell – ugh). Oh…and fresh shrimp? We do not get such a tasty treat here in Boise (I did have some fresh seafood in Ireland – mmmmmmm). Fresh seafood is non-existent in Boise. As for the ocean I’m much more into the smell of the creek and the pine trees (I guess that’s a good thing since I don’t live very close to the ocean).
Do you get salmon and that sort of thing there, Lori?
This dish really tastes better than it sounds.
Yes we get salmon here. In fact the family cabin sits real close to the Little Salmon River and the Native Americans and a bunch of fishermen (in the hundreds) have been down along the Little Salmon the past few weeks (last week the moved on to a different area – the whole lot of them). They’ll stand side by side and fish for these salmon. It’s amazingly crowded and I cannot imagine wanting to do something so badly that I’d get up at 2:00 to 3:00 in the morning just so I could stand on a rock and fish for a fish. Ugh, and no, I do NOT like fresh fish (salmon, trout, etc.). I cannot stand the smell, the gutting, the thwacking on the head to kill the poor thing, nor the taste – ugh.
That whole process sounds dreadful. I couldn’t watch.
That sounds SO good. I love shrimp. And I can just feel the texture between my teeth and imagine the way the pickling makes them taste .yum. I’ll have to try that. Oh – and I love the way you describe the smell of the shack, too!
Let me know if you try it, Jessie. I’d love to hear what you think.
I bet Nancy would like these. They sound positively nasty to me. Number one I am not a huge shrimp fan – unless they are beer battered and deep fried. Number two I hate pickled things. Especially pickles. Blech!
But I am glad you like them and can eat them on your diet. I will pass the recipe on to Nancy. While I eat more of the BBQ I have left over from Saturday. Yumm….
You should make them for Nancy as a romantic surprise, Carnell.
I had to look up the Dukan diet. I’ve done Atkins several times, and protein is the only way to go for me. I’ve added back quite a few carbs, but always feel better when I cut carbs out completely. It’s just hard to do in the American culture.
Shrimp is a favorite of mine. But I love butter on it.
All the best on your diet adventure.
Thanks, Mike. The thing I like about this diet is that it adds stuff back in over time. I think I’m getting a good overall lesson in how to eat better and make better choices. I hope that will be a good thing.
Yet another tasty Southern recipe, Miss Andra.
And, not one that’s bad for you for a change.
I am so making those! Also? I was in Trader Joe’s this morning, and there in the dips case: pimento cheese! Probably not up to proper Southern standards, but present nonetheless!
Trader Joe’s PC is probably worth trying, but nothing really beats homemade. I can’t wait to hear how your pickled shrimp turn out, Cam.
I am with Carnell on this one. I like my shrimp deep fried or not at all.
James, I really like them best deep-fried, too. Not on the menu at the moment, though.
I’m so hungry right now . . .
Seafood, every day for breakfast – lunch and supper if my waistline and wallet could afford it but pickled …….. Andra, I’m not so sure
Linda, the shrimp is divine. I just had some for lunch.
Mouthwatering! I won’t go near one if its still wearing its tail. i’ve never heard of them being pickled though.
I can’t do the ones with heads on them, Helen. In Europe, they often serve them that way, and it’s just icky. Those eyeballs staring up from the plate…..ew.
No Andra, I couldn’t eat any thing that was looking at me as I put it into my mouth.
I’m afraid I am anti pickled sea life; I didn’t realize this happened in the US! I tend to blame pickled seafood on the Japanese.
Our boiled peanuts down South also exist in SE Asia.
The Chinese put peanuts in steamed savory dishes, which has always struck me as a little weird if inoffensive.
40+ years ago…Morehead City NC…5 lbs. of shrimp right off the boat…stand forever to de-vein them…boil half and deep fry half…pig out!
Don’t think I’ve had truly fresh shrimp since, and they are an unheard of commodity in land-locked, northern Indiana. 
Pickled, huh? Might be tempted to see if we could replicate your recipe with frozen shrimp, but something tells me it wouldn’t be quite the same! 
‘Round here, if you’re into fish (I’m not particularly) you’re gonna find bluegill, perch, crappie and the like, fried, and frequently served up “all-you-can eat” on a Friday night!
Karen, they say this works fine with frozen shrimp, especially if you can find some flash frozen ones. Might be interesting to try. I love your images of NC.
And, I love me some Friday Fish Fry.
By the way…. I’m surprised that Kim didn’t weigh in today with a lament about missing her salmon, mussels, and Dungeness crab and the like from the Pacific Northwest! Maybe she will yet.
I miss those things, too, after only visiting.
Gosh, that sounds delicious. Your diet is going to be the death of mine! LOL
Hugs,
Kathy
Kathy, this wouldn’t be too bad for you and Sara. It is a dietary staple for us right now.
This is a whole new culinary experience, Andra. I’ve never had shrimp that large, nor pickled! I am so glad that you have something so rich and tasty to look forward to while on your new eating plan! I don’t think they look very pretty, though! I might have to be blindfolded first!
Debra
Shrimp are prettiest when they are battered and deep fried. NOT on my diet.
I will have to try this recipe. I have had pickled shrimp but they were pickled in Lemon juice and slices. Really yummy.
I like the kick of the Old Bay and bay leaves in this recipe. Let me know what you think, Nancy.
Much better than peanuts Andra.
Sounds just delicious….
We need to make some more today. They all got eaten at the party last night.
Food that tastes good and isn’t fattening? Gold dust.