I found these “shrimp boats” at an estate sale.
My internet research reveals that these were made by Red Wing Pottery in the 1960s, and that there was also a “butter boat”:
Can you imagine the parties this armada of shrimp boats must have been featured at? After all, the 1960s were best known for peace, love, rock and roll, and shrimp. Groovy.
The shrimp boats have provided the inspiration for this recipe for shrimp salad — a specialty of mine. Although this time of year the heat, humidity, and constant threat of hurricanes makes living on the Gulf Coast miserable, one saving grace is the readily-available wild-caught Gulf Coast shrimp. Plump, firm, and mildly sweet, Costco’s shrimp ring can’t hold a candle to these. They make an excellent shrimp salad — so good that you might be tempted to be shellfish and keep it all to yourself. Delicious on its own, this shrimp salad is also great on a soft roll, and makes tasty little sliders.
By the way, you do know that there’s no popcorn in popcorn shrimp, right? And hate to burst your bubble about pot roast . . . .
- ½ pound cooked shrimp,* peeled and deveined
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Coarsely chop shrimp. Place in a medium mixing bowl and add celery, dried onion, mayonnaise, lime juice, and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- *For the best shrimp salad, use wild-caught Gulf Coast shrimp. I like to boil mine with a bag of Zatarain's or Louisiana brand Shrimp Boil.
Just a few ingredients go into this shrimply delicious salad
Ready for the blessing of the shrimp fleet
I wonder what place it was?
There was a place in Houston years ago that used to serve a shrimp dip that was very similar to this that was da bomb. I can’t wait to give this a try.