A menu staple for seafood restaurants around the country, Fried Shrimp is more than just a little ball on a plate. It is a bite of delicious wrapped in a golden brown edible wrapper waiting to be enjoyed. It is used as an appetizer, on sandwiches, and even as a feature item for platters and baskets.
Unlike crab cakes (read about crab cakes here: https://bubbasfishshack.com/2020/10/28/crab-cakes/), Fried shrimp are a relatively new menu item for restaurants. Fried Shrimp made its major menu debut after the ending of World War II. Yes, canned shrimp was available dating back to just after the American Civil War. It was common to add whole shrimp onto a pile of lettuce with a mayonnaise dressing. Shrimp cocktails followed with the creation of cocktail sauce, but fried shrimp would still lag by 50 years.
It wasn’t until frozen foods became popular that fried shrimp truly found its popularity. Fried shrimp was much less expensive than canned variants and shrimp cocktails. The ability to use smaller pieces, and cover them in a flavorful, yet extremely inexpensive breading helped this delightful item expand from the menus of the Gulf states and California to all other areas of our country. Today, a lot of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from Asia and Ecuador.
Just like people argue about who created the cheeseburger (check out our sister restaurant’s article about that here: https://rivercitycafe.com/2020/09/30/thank-you-lionel-sternberger/), there is a lot of disagreement about who first breaded and fried shrimp. Some credit Red Lobster for mainstreaming the popcorn shrimp we know and love today, but most lean towards Creole and Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme. Prudhomme, a chef along the Louisiana coast was known for de-shelling and removing the tails of small shrimp. This allowed his customers to eat small shrimp by the handful.
At Bubba’s Fish Shack we like fried shrimp so much that it made five sections of our menu! Fried shrimp fits so well into our food entourage and goal of cooking our guests “Southern Seafood, the way it was meant to be” while providing them with the perfect dining experience every time they visit with us.
It starts in our “SHACK SNACKS” section. We feature Popcorn Shrimp, lots of small, tasty, lightly breaded golden brown bites of yum! You will also find our Bubba-Lo Shrimp. This appetizer features Fried Gulf Shrimp tossed in buffalo sauce and served with blue cheese or homemade ranch dressing.
Next, we jump into our “BUBBA-WICHES” section of the menu. There you find our Fried Shrimp Po-Boy. What a sandwich it is! We start with a fresh hoagie roll, pile lettuce, tomato, and red onion, and then pile as much popcorn shrimp on top of it as possible. Ever wonder where the term Po-Boy comes from? Check out this blog from our sister restaurant Pawley’s Raw Bar: https://pawleysrawbar.com/2020/09/30/the-po-boy/
We also offer a Fried Popcorn Shrimp basket in our “BUBBA-RIFIC BASKETS” menu section. Just like the appetizer, this basket is packed full of lots of small, tasty, lightly breaded golden brown bites, but this time it is served with our delicious fries. You can even choose to substitute the fries for sweet potato waffle fries, onion rings, or a side salad.
The last section of our menu that Fried Shrimp appear is where they truly make a splash! Our “BUBBA’S BIG DAWG PLATTERS” are exactly as they sound BIG! Whether you choose the Fried Gulf Shrimp Platter, the First Mate’s Platter, or the Captain’s Platter you will be greeted by a plateful of fried seafood accompanied by fries, coleslaw, and homemade hushpuppies. The Fried Gulf Shrimp Platter is exactly as it sounds. Gulf shrimp lightly breaded and piled onto the platter. The First Mate’s Platter allows you to choose two options from our list of seafood items while the Captain’s Platter allows you to choose four! That can be a lot of shrimp! We get excited just thinking about it!
At Bubba’s Fish Shack we love shrimp and we love cooking for our guests. Fried Shrimp is a menu staple for us just like it is our goal to provide the perfect Southern Fried Seafood to every guest, every visit.