Growing up on the coast I learned many tips or tricks about seafood. When you want to buy seafood there are some basic rules to remember to ensure you are buying only the freshest product. The easiest rule is buy/eat shellfish in months that end in R.

Shrimp: 

Size              Number of shrimp in a LB     Best use

Extra Jumbo   10 or less                          Grilling or shrimp cocktail

Jumbo           11-14                                Boiling, frying, grilling

Extra Large     16-30                                Boiling, frying

Medium          31-35                                Stir-frying, sauce dishes, casseroles

Small             36-45                                Soups, pasta, sandwiches

• Look for shrimp with firm flesh
• Smell the shrimp, if there is an ammonia odor they are no longer really fresh. You should only smell the ocean.
• Most likely if you are more than an hour from the coast, the shrimp will be previously frozen.

Crawfish:

• Best in months ending with R. The shells are thinner after they molt and therefore are easier to peel.
• You want crawfish that are still alive, they taste better. When dining in a restaurant you can tell if they are alive when they hit the water as their tails curl up. Avoid eating the crawfish with straight tails.
• Only buy local. Avoid the pre-peeled, packaged foreign frozen crawfish.

Oysters:

• Only buy oysters in months that end in R (September-December). If you eat them raw this is the best rule to really stick to. Why you ask? In warmer weather there is more bacteria in the gulf water. Oysters spawn in warm weather and this ruins their raw flavor. If you have immunity issues or health problems it is best to avoid eating raw oysters. 

Betina Foreman, Realtor and Member of: ABOR, TAR, NAR, ActiveRain, Trulia, Zillow

Keller Williams Real Estate    1801 South MOPAC, Suite 100    Austin, Texas 78746

512-771-6318    BetinaForemanREALTOR@yahoo.com or Betina@BetinaForeman.com