Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Captain Randy Cuthrell of the shrimping vessel the B.D. Judge (get it? Their cards say, “You be the judge!”) and learned about Georgia Grown wild-caught shrimp and what makes their operation special.
Captain Randy had shrimp gravy, boiled shrimp, shrimp creole (what I liken to shrimp etouffee), grits, and rice. They have some of his recipes on the boat’s website: http://bdjudgeseafood.com/captain-randys-recipes.html#rec-2. I really liked the shrimp creole with rice!
Captain Randy and his crew were oh-so-patient with our 1,001 questions. I think I asked at least that many on my own.
After a slow start, we made our way out of the marshes and into the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the water being relatively calm, I got a little sea sick—never actually sick but definitely feeling a little green—so I popped the Dramamine I forgot to take that morning and rested a bit.
It was neat to see the shrimp nets in action and understand the hows and whys of the operation. Captain Randy’s boat was one of the first few boats in the U.S. that used onboard flash freezing systems, meaning that the shrimp are frozen within an hour of bringing them onboard and then are stored in 100 pound bags in a deep freezer until they are ready to be sold, locking in the flavor without adding any additional chemicals like STPP (sodium tripolyphosphate), which is common among some fishing operations.
I got some new lenses for my phone and I couldn’t help but overuse the fisheye lens. I also got a wide-angle lens and a macro lens, but those didn’t get as much use.
Our Georgia Grown intern, Callie, with a crab caught in the nets.
After almost five hours on the water, we saw storm clouds brewing and made our way back to the dock. Luckily we had the nice air-conditioned cabin to keep us dry as we asked the last of our questions.
We made it back safely to the dock and thanked the crew for such wonderful hospitality. I drove home happily from Savannah with 10 pounds of shrimp in the cooler, which made for a very happy family back home!
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