Head-On Shrimp; Part 2
We were at Busch’s today and Alice spotted something in the case that I’d never seen before; very large head-on Argentinian red shrimp.
So, of course, we had to buy some. They are big suckers! Six to a pound! So, for a snack this evening I cooked them up. It may look like a big snack, but in reality, there isn’t much more than a small morsel of flavorful essence in the head/body and once the head was gone, the tail was more or less like a normal jumbo shrimp in size. My guess is that whatever is in the body which felt quite heavy prior to cooking is mostly liquid and drains into the cooking sauce. Not complaining, the sauce was superb. A couple of them had a bit of roe, but by and large there wasn’t much in the head/body. I cooked them very simply with just lots of butter and “Slap ya’ Mama’” seasoning. The other purpose of whatever leaked out of the head/body must be some sort of thickening agent. All I put in was butter and Slap ya’ Mama’ yet it became very saucy and rich with a burnt Sienna-like hue.
On the plus side, these have a very rich lobster-like aroma and flavor with seaweed and ocean subtleties. The tails are very meaty with firm texture. On the negative side, they are not deveined and a bit harder to peel than your typical “peel and eat” shrimp. I put out small spoons to eat what was in the head because they looked just a bit too big to suck it out. As mentioned earlier, there isn’t much in the head/body after cooking.
With this delightful evening snack, we enjoyed a couple of rosés. The first was some leftover 2021 Giardino Pinot Grigio Rosé Vivace della Venizie IGT ITALY $5.99 at Trader Joe’s that we had in the fridge. I really like this wine with its red wine aromatics finishing with a fresh zip nearly spritzig. The blue/pink color suggest that it not only had significant skin contact but maybe even a bit of red wine added. The last time we tasted it, I gave it 16 points SILVER and I’d say that is exactly what I’d give it again. Because that one just barely had a couple of short pours in it, I brought out a bottle of 2021 Backsburg Pinotage Rosé W.O. Coastal Region SOUTH AFRICA which I have no idea where we bought it or what it cost. This is a winery that goes back over a hundred years and is now owned by the fourth generation of winemakers Simon Back using carbon neutral production and growing methods. My experience with wineries that were the new kid on the block long before the wine boom of the late 20th century is that they know what they are doing and because land and facilities were much much cheaper way back when, they can afford to sell their wines at an affordable price. In South Africa, for these legacy wineries, house style was developed long before the American palate, American wine critics and the American buying power had any sort of influence. Even today, most of the older South African wines seem to have developed unique expressions of terroir without any attempt to please the American palate. This wine is no exception. Alice was not a fan. It had two things going against it. It is Pinotage, after all. Pinotage is very rustic with a black-dirt-like expression as well as the typically dry, slightly bitter style also typical of South African reds. Though extremely pale (almost white), the body is substantial with a very distinct red wine nuance in the nose and finish as well as a clear expression of Pinotage. I absolutely loved it and loved the way it paired well with the very spicy Slap ya’ Mama’, the rich butter sauce and the strong meaty seafood flavor. I’d give it a GOLD!
Enjoy in Good Health,
A Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner
