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Olympia Seafood
Hood Canal Spot Shrimp |
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Hello Everyone!
The bell has rung and it's Round Two for Hood Canal spot shrimp! By the time this gets sent out we'll have the shrimp here at the shop, but as I write this our trusty fisherman is  out on the water doing his thing - and we are thankful! It seems like it's been a little bit harder to get our hands on the local spots this year, so we were excited to finally get the word about another opening! This week we're just focused on the shrimp, and if all goes well we will have an abundance of fresh tails through the weekend. Horray!
In the case this week we have a nice selection of beautiful fish. Fresh wild sturgeon from the Columbia River is making another appearance, and they're nice big guys. For salmon we'll have both Copper River sockeye and more amazing Westport ocean-caught kings (this week they're from Captain Mitchell on the F/V Destiny). For white fish we're looking at fresh Alaskan halibut, fresh true cod, fresh rock cod (snapper), fresh petrale sole, fresh ling cod and fresh sablefish (black cod). The little lings are particularly nice and if you're thinking about fish tacos the rock cod is just perfect. Plenty of clams, mussels and oysters - the oysters are getting a little soft with the warmer water temps, but still great to throw on the BBQ if you're not picky about texture! (For specialty oysters that you can eat raw we have Kumamoto and Kobashii this week.) If you've been dreaming of a crazy big Dungeness crab on your plate we've got Nisqually Reach jumbos in this week - both live and fresh cooked here at the shop - and they're averaging between 2.5 and 3 (!) pounds each. Some nice Big Eye tuna if you're thinking sashimi and lots of scallops, calamari, burgers and crab cakes to tempt you! The spots are the treat - come see us!
~Kira
A BIG p.s. : The shrimp arrived and they are *beautiful* but not as many in number as we had hoped. (That's why they call it 'fishing' and not 'catching'....hardy, har, har) We are working to get our hands on some more, but it's possible that we won't. If we don't, I would expect us to run out of shrimp sometime on Saturday, maybe even Friday. If we do run out we'll switch things up and feature our wild Mexican prawns from the Sea of Cortez at a discounted price, but please - if you have your heart set on spot shrimp for this week, give us a call! 570-8816 and we will set them aside for you. :)
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| Fresh Hood Canal Spot Shrimp | |
Oh how we love spot shrimp! If you haven't indluged in this local treat, you simply must decide to make this your year (or week!). Spot shrimp are tender, sweet, flavorful shrimp that are most similar to a very good lobster tail. It's just  serendipitous that not only do they taste so wonderful, but they're also: - local, so they're super-fresh arriving at our shop the day they're caught and you are supporting a team of fishermen that are in your community
- eco-friendly, they are caught in pots so the bycatch is extremely limited and habitat damage is minimal
- wild, and wild shrimp are definately the way to go for a nourishing protein source.
- easy to prepare, the only way you can blow it with cooking these shrimp is to cook them way too long... they are equally as fabulous in complicated recipes or simply slapped on a grill with salt and pepper
Spot shrimp are pink in color as a raw product, so unless you're feeling like sushi, they do still need to be cooked! I like to peel mine before cooking, but you can do it the other way around if you'd like, and some people even save the shells for stock or soup base. If you're a beginner and the idea of peeling shrimp seems overwhelming, check out our quick little video demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FDAHPSHy4E It really is that simple! (And this is a video from 2010 - Tony looks so young/cute!)
You can cook these shrimp using any favorite shrimp recipe, but here is one that seems to really lend itself to the sweet flavor of spots.
Garlic Basil Shrimp Pasta
one pound shrimp, peeled
 juice and zest of one lemon 2T olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c chopped shallots (or onion)
pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 c white wine
6-8 fresh basil leaves
salt/pepper
1 pound pasta
In a frying pan, warm the oil and add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 1 minute or so to soften. Turn your pan up to medium high, add your shrimp, lemon zest and lemon juice, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side (4-6 minutes total) until firm. Add wine and basil, cook another 30 seconds and salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat and stir in tomatoes. Toss with al dente pasta and enjoy!
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| Spot Shrimp or Spot Prawn? | The Mystery: Solved!
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It's understandable that you might hear the terminology "spot prawn" because in the US, the word "prawn" is often loosly used to describe any large shrimp. Spots are often large, but they are in fact a shrimp! Take a look at these diagrams, and then compare them to the pictures above. :)
 | | spot *shrimp* |
 | | white *prawn* |
To the left we have the shrimp. Note the bend in the tail and the body segment patterning. Prawns have sequentially overlapping body segments, while shrimp have segment two overlapping segment one and three. You can call them spot prawns OR spot shrimp, we don't mind! The important thing to call them is "delicious"!
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The Olympia Seafood Company, Inc.
411 Columbia St NW Olympia WA 98501
Tues 12-6
Wed thru Sat 10-6
Sun 11-4
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The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.
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