These sex-changing crustaceans are also called native shrimp and they’re harvested from the cold waters of the Gulf of Maine. They’re considered to be a delicacy — some people eat them raw – and are only available for several weeks in the dead of winter.
Their official name is Pandalus borealis and they live their entire lives in the Gulf. While some Maine shrimp end up at fishmongers in other parts of the country, it is in this northern nook of New England that they’re most plentiful and sold in a casual way. Some specialty shops have them at specialty shop prices, but most of us buy them from individuals and often from the back of a pickup truck within a day of their being caught. That’s how I got mine, just off a busy road, at $3.50 per pound. Heads and all.
This species is also found in the North Sea and off the coasts of Japan and Washington state. According to wikipedia, they begin life as males and transform into females — their genitalia changes — within a year or two. The timetable depends on how many females are available to maintain procreation. If there are too many, the males delay the change but can begin it earlier if there’s a shortage.
They’re little; that’s about half a pound in the photo. Their size makes them especially sweet and prized; the fact they are backyard-fresh adds to their appeal. The Boston Globe says much of the small harvest of native shrimp ends up on upscale menus, although connoisseurs like them briny and raw, tails peeled, heads still on.
Because they’re so delicate and tender they are more perishable than supermarket shrimp, most of which are imported. My native shrimp are in the freezer right now, waiting for a special moment, but they are best when prepared very simply. Boiling them in salted water for a minute or two, stirring constantly, is a good method and they’re ideal candidates for ceviche, letting citric acid do the cooking.
Even if you never have an opportunity to try them, you just might think of them the next time someone mentions going through “the change.” Gender-morphing Maine shrimp give that phrase a new meaning.
Maine Shrimp Ceviche
Trim, if desired, and devein the shrimp. Marinate in salted lemon juice for 2 -4 hours. Pat dry and serve in a mixture of diced tomatoes, scallions, green pepper and a little olive oil.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Or just tell Ella “Deliver to my suite at noon, with Champagne!”
That too!
mmmmm! My mouth is watering!
I think you need to run a little sideline;
FedExing Maine shrimp to the boondocks! <3
sage! I wish I could send you some.
I hesitated about posting a photo of shrimp that still have heads and eyes, so I’m glad it didn’t bother you. Some people are squeamish (I am, sometimes) and I respect that.
There’s a little store front up the street from me that sells them cheap. I only ever ate them in cocktail sauce or breaded and fried – didn’t know what else to do with them, or how to peel them- they’re so tiny.
I’ll have to get some –Thanks!
(LOL –I once worked in high end restaurant, where a woman nearly took the vapors because her trout almondine was looking at her.
She screamed – “Oh – he has a head!”
And I thought, “Well, of COURSE he has a head…how’s he going to see where he’s swimming, without a head…?”
Linda’s last blog post..NO MORE NEGATIVITY. This Means Us.
I can imagine her reaction! Sometimes when I teach people how to eat hard shell crabs and they find out crabs have eyes…
Bon appetit! Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you so much for the post on Maine shrimp. I used to buy them from the back of a truck when I lived in Sudbury, MA. Now I live in Gloucester — they call them native shrimp here. I just bought some on a trip to Maine and have been experimenting with how to prepare them. A challenge, but very worth it. I have a recipe on my blog, and thanks for yours! I particularly appreciated the info about the sexes. I couldn’t figure out how there could be so many females compared to males (that is, how there could be so many with roe).
Question: can you describe the flavor, which is so unlike regular shrimp and so wonderful? I can’t find the right words…
Beebe
Beebe – That sex-change aspect is rather amazing, isn’t it?
I think the only way I could describe the taste is sweet. Sweet and clean. That still doesn’t do it justice.
You must be up to your ears in lobster, though. I can’t believe the low prices right now. I can finally understand how it was so plentiful in the 18th C that it was relegated to the help.
Thanks for stopping by!
$3.50 a pound??!!! I just bought 20 lbs today, at $.99 a pound!
Right on Rt. 1 in Kenebunk!
Yours didn’t have to travel very far.
Bon appetit!
I went to my hometown of Auburn Me. yesterday, and the local fish market had them at a buck a pound. If I had wanted 100 lbs. it was 75 bucks. They are so yummy. I lived on the Gulf of Mexico for 13 yrs and their shrimp are great, but not like maine natives.
I’ve seen them this year for $2 – $2.50 (this post is a year old) and that’s not bad considering the price of gas. They’d still be worth it at twice the price!
OK…I just have to ask – you DO have to peel them, right? And cut off the head? Do you have to celan them? They’re so cheap around here.
And smelts. I used to think smelts tasted like sardines, but I just read that they’re delicious fried in butter and cornmeal. They’re cheap, too. They catch them in the bay practically in my back yard. I assume you have to clean them, but they’re not as tiny as Maine shrimp.
The article I read claimed that when you first catch them, they smell like fresh cucumber. And tradition dictates that you have to BITE the head off the first one caught. (!)
So I decided I should just buy some..
Hi, LInda. Yes, the heads are removed — you can pull them off if you like — and they should be deveined. All shrimp need deveining; that’s the intestine. I peel them after cooking. Some people eat the heads, but that’s a little too Bourdain for me.
You know more about smelts than I do. All I know is the expression, “Slicker than a smelt.” I tried one. That was enough.
Actually, I finally just bought some, and I’m told you don’t have to devein them.
There were several trucks by the side ofthe road selling them for $1.00 a pound only recently. I bought some already peeled for $2.00 a pound.
And a merchant up the street showed me how to peel them. He used a big pan of water, and just popped the heads and shells off underwater.
They were good, and very fresh.
I’ll try that water method, thanks. We never see them this late here.
As for not deveining, I have no desire to eat any shrimp’s intestine and the waste it contains. Nope.
I felt lucky to buy them for $8/ pound frozen and cleaned on Monhegan Island in June. ‘09
I had only had them fried at Rye Harbor, NH, when I was younger, and looked here for some inspiration as to what to with them.
Hi, Sally. I’ve never seen them out of season like that — or cleaned — so I guess $8/pound isn’t as startling as it sounds. They are luscious and for me, the simpler they’re prepared, the better.
I posted a cocktail sauce recipe just a few months ago that would be great with steamed Maine shrimp. The search box should turn it up quickly. Bon appetit!
I just found out, there are 2 varieties….one is very very small, but the other is tiny. The very small kind are easier to peel and eat.
It was late Feb when I bought the small ones. But I once saw a big bucket of the tiny ones, shell on, outside a fish market door for 75 cents a pound.
I wonder if that even covers the gas $…? There are lobstermen around here whose wives are working 2 jobs to support their lobstering habit.
Oh well. In the 19th century, the governor had to pass a law that it was illegal for resrot owners to feed lobster to their help more than 3 times a week.
Lobster was just lying around on the beach in those days.
Hi, Linda. Yep, I’ve read about servants in Mass complaining in the olden days about having to eat lobster so many days. How times have changed. They were also the ones who got whole wheat bread — here and in Europe — since it was considered inferior to white bread!