Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is available fresh only while in season, and when it’s here we freeze enough to supply us for the coming year. We buy it directly from the F/V Rimrack based at Rye Harbor, one of New Hampshire’s few remaining working waterfronts. By the time the Rimrack comes in from a day of shrimping, it’s after 5 p.m. and dark out, with temperatures hovering around freezing. The boat has just docked and large totes filled with shrimp are waiting to be unloaded (lower righthand corner).
Customers have driven in from all distances to pick up a supply. The shrimp is weighed out for smaller orders, or portioned out by the five gallon bucketful.
The rest of the shrimp is unloaded and goes to the Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative, with each tote holding about 100 pounds of shrimp.
This five gallon bucket holds about 28 pounds of shrimp, and yielded 12 pounds after peeling. While the season lasts, northern shrimp is available direct off the boat through the F/V Rimrack in Rye Harbor, and Eastman’s in Seabrook; call ahead to confirm landing times and availability.
Diary of a Tomato 
Love love love this! Feel like I am still there. Hope it was a fun day!
Hey, Liz! It was freezing cold but indeed fun, complete with salty language unconveyable by photograph!
Wow that looks good! What’s the price per pound?
It was $50 for this 5 gallon bucket (28 pounds) of shrimp; it’s running $1.99/lb unshelled at the local fish store but I like that buying off the boat means the money is going directly to the fishermen.
Thanks for this intimate look at the boat itself. That’s a lot of peeling!!! I hope you had a helper or two. Maybe you’ll be sharing with us what you’re cooking with them?
Eleanor
It’s not so dissimilar to peeling tomatoes in that it’s putting food away for the future. It took about 4 hours, starting with a strong cup of coffee and ending with a nice glass of wine, along with that satisfied sense of having restocked the larder… ;-)
Have you tried freezing with the shell on? If I had that much fresh off the boat shrimp I would freeze half with the shell on (snip off the legs and whiskers) and would also cook some unpeeled.
Hi, Norma, thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely try freezing some with the shell on with the next bucketful, but at this point in winter have only limited freezer space. We’re freezing them peeled and raw. If you’re unfamiliar with northern shrimp, they’re naturally pink, and what you see above is uncooked!
Those pictures of the boat are wonderful, the antithesis of the fish counter at the supermarket to say the least. Its great that every time you eat some you can think of where and when you acquired them.
…and also the people we got them from! An added bonus is knowing that they don’t use any preservatives, an all too common practice.
O..M…Gosh….. I think I’m in love…..
:-D THanks for the look. I think the last picture left me drooling for some lime and avacado. Love fresh off the boat shrimp, it’s an absolute favorite.
I don’t usually think of that combination since we don’t grow avocados here, but love the thought!
What a great field trip! I might be too scared to jump on board….;) xx