Upscale yet affordable and exotic yet approachable, shrimp is scoring well with consumers looking for a reasonable splurge.
“Shrimp has a high perceived value by customers, but it is relatively affordable from a kitchen perspective,” said Nick Oltarsh, chef of Lobby Bar & Bistro and Room at Twelve, both in Atlanta.
Shrimp has been the nation’s favorite seafood for the past decade, according to the National Fisheries Institute, whose latest figures from 2009 indicate that the average American ate 4.1 pounds of it that year, much more than canned tuna, of which about 2.5 pounds per person were eaten that year, and about 20 percent more than the 3.4 pounds of shrimp Americans ate on average in 2001.
Even in the Gulf of Mexico area, where the safety of seafood was under scrutiny after last year’s oil rig explosion, operators say diners are showing renewed interest in the area’s seafood.
Chefs, for their part, are embracing shrimp for its versatility, sourcing different sizes from around the world and serving them up grilled, sautéed or fried in a variety of dishes.
Oltarsh uses the crustacean as centerpiece of his classic shrimp and grits, but in another dish it plays a supporting role: as the garnish for halibut with grape tomatoes. He likes to serve wild Georgia shrimp with chipotle, tomatoes, capers and caraway. In winter and early spring he serves seasonal sweet Maine shrimp on bruschetta.
“I also like Alaska spotted prawn, as they often have the roe attached to their shells, which is beneficial in sauce making,” he said.
For Cypress, Calif.-based Real Mex Restaurants, shrimp’s reputation as a premium product is driving its popularity at the company’s three chains, Chevys Fresh Mex, El Torito Grill and Acapulco Mexican Restaurant & Cantina. The chains — 182 restaurants in all — all offer shrimp fajitas, and Chevys currently is offering a special Drunken Shrimp Fajita.
That item is one-half pound of shrimp sautéed in tequila, heavy cream, butter, garlic, jalapeños, pico de gallo, lime juice and cilantro. It’s served with Mexican rice and grilled vegetables for $16.99.
“Shrimp is one of those ‘I feel special tonight’ items,” said Lowell Petrie, Real Mex’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, adding that the shellfish is more popular with women, who make up 65 percent of shrimp orderers.
With an average of 70 Drunken Shrimp Fajitas being ordered at each of the chain’s 92 restaurants each week, it’s the second-best-selling item, only outsold by the 3-course meal deal, which offers a choice of soup or salad, an entrée and a small flan or fried ice cream for $11.99.
“Shrimp’s a big delicacy for us and for many Houstonians,” said Hugo Ortega, executive chef of Hugo’s and Backstreet Cafe in Houston, who offers a dozen different shrimp preparations between the two restaurants.
“We have cooked shrimp with pasta; we have it wrapped in bacon. We’ve done shrimp po’ boys with sesame seeds; we’ve put it in gumbo and in sauces with fish,” Ortega said.
One of the more popular shrimp offerings is Camarones al Mojo de Ajo, which is shrimp sautéed in lime garlic oil and served with rice and a salad made from the fleshy leaves of the local nopal cactus, whose fruit is the prickly pear. That dish is $23.
Ortega and many other restaurateurs near the Gulf of Mexico, from Texas to Florida, had a scare last year when the BP oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, opening an oil gusher that spewed some 200 million gallons of oil into the gulf before it was plugged July 15.
Fears arose that the water would be irreparably polluted, destroying the livelihoods of those who relied on its bounty and wiping out the beloved shrimp, oysters, snapper and grouper that inhabit the waters.
But Gulf seafood has proven to be more resilient than many people expected. Gulf of Mexico seafood is now scrutinized by an array of regulatory bodies, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have both declared it safe to eat.
“Right now there’s no question about [Gulf shrimp’s] safety. Even the area that was directly surrounding the oil spill has been opened,” said Ben Pollinger, executive chef of Oceana in New York, reporting what his suppliers in the gulf have been telling him.
Pollinger said he gets his Gulf shrimp from “a small mom-and-pop outlet” that shrimps in the interior waterways of Louisiana.
Pollinger lists it on the menu as “New Orleans shrimp.”
He said that while the oil leak was going on many of his customers asked about the shrimp.
“Awareness or interest kind of waned going into the fall,” he said, but some customers started asking questions again as the April 20 anniversary approached.
But he said sales haven’t been affected by fears of shrimp quality.
“The fact that I had it on the menu and I and my staff were able to speak intelligently about it,” seemed to assuage their fears, he said.
On the lunch menu Pollinger serves a salad with grilled New Orleans shrimp, hearts of palm, watercress, orange segments, cashews and a honey-lime Thai basil vinaigrette.
“The shrimp from New Orleans are sweet and have a nice texture,” he said, “but if you’re looking for shrimp cocktails or shrimp on the plancha, you’re looking for jumbo shrimp.”
Pollinger gets those wild caught off the coast of Guatemala, unless it’s Alaska spot prawn season, which begins in the spring.
“They’re great frozen, but when they’re still coming in alive, they’re killer,” Pollinger said.
He butterflies them, leaving the roe in the shell if it’s still attached, and cooks them on a plancha. He serves them in the shell as a $24 appetizer.
He uses the heads to make a spot prawn stock, and serves that with cooked spot prawn tails and squid ink gnocchi flavored with Meyer lemon, basil and wild arugula, also for $24.
From December through February, Pollinger also likes to use sweet Maine shrimp. This past winter he bought tiny ones — 50 or more per pound — and deep-fried them whole, with the shell and heads on. He tossed them in a chile mixture and sold them on the bar menu with a lime wedge for $14.
He also serves Maine shrimp raw with mango, chiles and young coconut water for $16.
Gulf shrimp might be safe, but they’re not inexpensive these days, said James Boyce, chef of Cotton Row Restaurant in Huntsville, Ala.
“I don’t know if it’s the oil spill or the cost of gas or the wars in the Middle East, but we have seen an increase in price of from $1 to $1.50 a pound,” he said, noting that the previous price range of $6-$12 per pound, depending on the type of shrimp, is now $8-$14.
He serves dishes ranging from large white Gulf shrimp wrapped in Tennessee bacon to seafood chowder, to which he adds the shrimp at the end to keep them from overcooking.
He said that although locals aren’t concerned “at all anymore” about the quality of the shrimp, visitors from farther north sometimes have to have their fears assuaged.
“I think the long-term effect is worrisome,” said Boyce, who had recently returned from a trip to the Gulf.
“The water’s clear. There’s nothing washing up on the beaches. So let’s keep our fingers crossed. Maybe we got lucky, but I would hate to cast that vote,” he said.
And not everyone uses much Gulf shrimp.
Jeremy Sewall, chef-owner of Island Creek Oyster Bar and Eastern Standard in Boston and LiNEaGe in Brookline, Mass., uses local Maine shrimp when it’s in season.
“We actually get them the day they’re caught for about eight weeks in the winter,” he said.
Occasionally he buys Gulf shrimp at the height of the season in spring and summer, but he mostly uses tiger shrimp farm-raised in Asia.
“We try to find the packers or the farmers that we think are doing a pretty good job delivering a consistent product and are trying to conduct sustainable farming practices,” he said, adding that it’s important to have a good relationship with your vendors to ensure quality.
“You have to do a little bit of old-fashioned legwork, spending time with your vendors, researching online to see if there’s anything about the farms you’re working with.”
At LiNEaGe, Sewall soaks the shrimp in buttermilk and then dredges them in seasoned flour before frying them and selling them as $11 appetizers.
“They’re one of the most addictive things out there,” he said.
Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
