Shrimp is popular, easy to cook, and delicious. It can also be caught and raised in remarkably unsustainable ways. For shrimp as sustainable as it is tasty, look for certified U.S. wild-caught and U.S. farmed shrimp.
Pink Shrimp
Pink shrimp are caught mainly off Florida's Gulf Coast. They are plump, meaty, and versatile. Look for them, frozen, throughout the U.S.
Royal Red Shrimp
Royal red shrimp are caught out of the Gulf of Mexico. They are a deep water shrimp that taste rather like lobster. Highlight their rich flavor with simple preparations, or take advantage of it by using royal red shrimp in richly flavored dishes like etouffées, gumbos, and chowders.
Maine Shrimp
Maine shrimp are small cold-water shrimp, much like Oregon Pink Shrimp (see below). They are perfect for shrimp salads, shrimp cocktails, and in soups.
Spot Prawns
Despite the name, spot prawns are biologically shrimp. Caught along the West Coast from Santa Barbara on up to British Columbia, spot prawns are a limited but well managed fishery. They are sweet, buttery and terribly (although justifiably) expensive. Look for spot prawns sold alive for the best quality.
White Shrimp
White shrimp have a clean and classic shrimp flavor, with that perfectly nutty edge. I like to cook larger white shrimp on the grill, with a brush of butter and a squeeze of lemon.
Brown Shrimp
The majority of the U.S. domestic catch of shrimp are brown shrimp. They have an earthier flavor than other varieties.
Oregon Pink Shrimp
Oregon pink shrimp are wonderful flavorful shrimp from a very well managed fishery off the coast of Oregon.
