The fabulous fresh spot shrimp!

I was going to keep it short and sweet this week, and just let you all know about the Enviornmental Film Festival this weekend, but then I got "the call". It was a good one! We're expecting a fresh-off-the-boat shipment of Westport spot shrimp Wednesday morning, and that is always cause for excitement around our shop. Read on for more information about these fabulous shrimp! (Or are they prawns? What *is* the difference between a shrimp and a prawn anyway?? Mysteries will be solved below... )

Fresh Westport Spot Shrimp

Direct from the fishermen on the F/V Sunset Charge on Float 11 in Westport. 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... we're working on eliminating the unsustainable farmed shrimp entirely from our shop
• 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 Foreman 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: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FDAHPSHy4E[/youtube] It really is that simple! 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.