A Jumbeaux Tale of Shrimp

It is one of the most iconic scenes in American Movies this side of the Godfather. Bubba telling Forrest Gump about all of the shrimp dishes that they can eat when they get into the Shrimpin business together. Shrimp Etouffee, Shrimp Creole, BBQ Shrimp, Shrimp and Grits and on and on for what seems like days. It is great movie making and also very true, with all do apologies to Jessica Simpson and Charlie the Tuna- The real chicken of the sea is the shrimp.

My brother Roy and his Family were up to visit on his way to see my Nephew Bobby who is about to make his 3rd trip overseas as a guest of the United States Marine Corps. Bobby lives in North Carolina which makes Atlanta about ½ way in between the two.

This is one of the best shrimp seasons for consumers (not so great for the shrimpers, but we can talk about that another day) and Roy graced us with 20lbs of beautiful white gulf shrimp that he bought at the Westwego Seafood Market on the Westbank of New Orleans.

I could spend the entire blog talking about the market but suffice it to say that you get quite an eclectic mix of characters when you have 20 or so individual seafood purveyors all in the same gravel parking lot, trying to sell their catch from the day before. I get mesmerized by the experience and have to take a walk around the whole lot before I choose who I want to buy from. Roy on the other hand has his favorites (The girls as he call them) who he uses whenever he is in need of great seafood.

We were boiling the seafood and talking about how the shrimp season is this year. It dawned on me how many dishes we use shrimp in at Copeland’s. On our current menu we use shrimp in over ?? dishes. People always ask what are Copeland’s signature dishes and I always go to the shrimp dishes.

The Shrimp Etouffee is the best Etouffee around. I think that the Shrimp and Crabcakes Alfredeaux and Shrimp and Grits are the two best dishes that Chef Chuck and Chef Geoff (Copeland’s Chef’s) have come up with in the last few years.

Shrimp has been the protein of choice for both Creole and Cajun cooks for hundreds of years. It is no wonder, shrimp harvesting started in South Louisiana in the 17th Century. It was done the old fashion way for a couple of hundred years (cast nets) until the early 20th Century and the development of the mechanized trawl net.

It’s amazing to me that the US harvests over 650 million lbs of shrimp a year and still needs to import over 200 million lbs to satisfy this country’s appetite for the tasty little creature. I have tried shrimp from all over the world and the best shrimp hands down are the Gulf White Shrimp harvested off of the coast of Louisiana. Shrimp from other parts of the world take on the flavors of the foods that the shrimp eat. I am not sure if it is the brackish water but the shrimp from south Louisiana are the best and all we use at Copeland’s in Atlanta.

Shrimp have been an integral part of the diets of everyone from the Greeks and Romans to the Chinese. If you want to know the best way to eat shrimp do it the Creole Cajun way and listen to Bubba.. Shrimp Scampi, Shirmp Gumbo, Stewed Shrimp, Stuffed Shrimp, Shrimp Dressing, Shrimp Po-Boy, Boiled Shrimp……….