Shrimping Just Before the Lockdown

My son and a friend went out shrimping Thursday night and came back with a full haul. That means five gallons of shrimp. Half went to the friend, and we got the rest.

Thursday night at midnight our state lockdown went into effect and that means no more launching the boat. The ramps and parks are now closed. My son had planned to go shrimping again next week, but that will not happen.

Shrimping takes place at night, usually late at night (this is why I don’t go). The shrimp run as the tide goes out and it must be dark. A light is lowered into the water to attract the shrimp and they are scooped up in big nets. You can read about my son’s first shrimping trip here.

My son got home around 1:30 in the morning so the shrimp stayed in the cooler until the next day. We sat outside and de-headed every shrimp, then bagged most of them up to freeze. We also shared a few bags with our neighbors.

This time, I decided to put fewer shrimp in the bags so there would not be so many to peel at one time when they were thawed. I also divided them by largest, medium and small sizes. The photo below was from another time, but we had some shrimp even larger this time!

That night we cooked some for ourselves and wow, were they delicious! It’s like growing your own tomatoes and they taste so much better than store bought. It’s the same with fresh caught shrimp.

Yesterday I cut up this little plate to stir fry with vegetables. I like shrimp and fish cooked this way, without seasonings and salt so the shrimp flavor comes through. My vegetable selection is sparse right now, but I do have garlic, onions and carrots on hand, with basil and parsley growing in the garden.

Of course there are many recipes online, but I personally like a simple dish like this the best. We’ll have shrimp to eat for months to come, even after sharing our haul with some friends.

Want to know the rules of shrimping in Florida? Read about it at the Florida Fish and Wildlife site.

Hope all is well with you, my faithful readers.