ASTORIA, Ore. — This week, we learn more about a hugely popular Oregon seafood that’s among the smallest of shellfish, the Oregon pink shrimp, and we head to the kitchen to learn new shrimp recipes at one of the state’s heritage pubs whose name hearkens to the 1800s in Astoria.
It’s a short hoist from the boat to shore for thousands of pounds of Oregon pink shrimp on the 4th Avenue dock in Astoria.
At Bornstein Seafoods plant in Astoria, Andrew Bornstein said that pink shrimp — also known as “bay shrimp” or “cocktail shrimp” — has a fishing season that begins each April and runs through October.
“We’re something to be proud of, for when people care about what they eat and consume they generally want local, wild, sustainable, good for the planet and good for their body," said Bornstein. "And when it comes to pink shrimp, we have that story to tell.”
Pink shrimp are Oregon’s second most valuable seafood behind Dungeness crab.
Last year, the Oregon pink shrimp harvest was 44 million pounds, and it’s a seafood that’s worth more than $20 million to coastal communities.
“We have more boats fishing this year than last year,” added Bornstein. “We have more nations and different customers coming on-board saying that this is a really great product and a bright spot in the Oregon seafood industry.”
Pink shrimp are high protein, low calorie and just the sort of product that chef Matt McClure loves to serve in new recipes at his Astoria Brewing Company.
We recently joined a special gathering of guests at Astoria Brewing, one of the town’s heritage pubs. While the brewery and pub were established in 1997, the business celebrates a same-name link with the very first Astoria Brewery established in 1872.
“In the 1800s, people were making beer and there were multiple breweries in the town,” noted McClure. “Prohibition takes over in the early years of the 20th century and shuts all those breweries down and nothing really happened with brew for many years.
"We decided to make beer and open Astoria Brewing Company as a homage to those early days — now 27 years ago — and it’s helped out the town immensely! Beer tourism is amazing.”
McClure loves to take advantage of fresh seafood in his kitchen, and pink shrimp are the perfect menu item.
“Shrimp are definitely something we sell a lot of on a daily basis and we trying to serve people what they want, so pink shrimp is top of our list.”
Recipe number one is called a Shrimp Louie Dressing. McClure starts by mixing 3 cups of mayo, 2 tablespoons catsup and ½ cup of sour cream. It’s a base to which he will add other ingredients, including 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and the juice from one whole lemon.
“Now this is one version of a Louie that’s kind of a traditional salad dressing that people have done … there’s a hundred and one ways on a good day to do shrimp in every particular fashion,” said McClure.
He added three pounds of fresh Oregon pink shrimp and served the dressing atop a mixed green salad with sliced avocado and a sliced boiled egg.
Recipe number two is a sandwich called Shrimp Po’Boy. This delicious classic shrimp sandwich is loaded with zesty golden-brown shrimp on sourdough bread with remoulade sauce.
Large prawns, fresh or frozen, thawed, peeled and deveined 16/20 or 26/30 shrimp replace the pink shrimp. They are double dredged in rice flour, then into a beer batter of rice flour before a quick trip into the 350-degree fryer for three to four minutes.
The large, crunchy shrimp rest atop a lightly toasted sourdough sandwich roll and then topped with a not-too-spicy remoulade, a savory and flavorful sauce, plus lettuce and tomato slice.
McClure’s Remoulaude Sauce: In a small bowl, mix 1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup dijon mustard, a tablespoon lemon juice, parsley, a dash of mild hot sauce, 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard, 2 cloves fresh garlic, capers, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon paprika, chopped scallion, dash of salt, and ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Let sit for 1 hour for flavors to combine, then serve or cover and store in the refrigerator.
“It’s sweet, it’s spicy and it’s the perfect seafood sauce, especially for shrimp,” noted McClure.
Diners dig in and then weigh in on their lunch:
“Oh, this is an incredible sandwich,” said local diner Steve Wedell. “I like the kick in it! Just a little bit but not too hot, and the roll was exceptionally good. I thought it was just excellent.”
“Well, I loved them both, and of course I was hungry as well," said out-of-town visitor John Jordan. "I’ve never had a shrimp po’boy before, and it was fantastic. I’m assuming this has become one of their best sellers because it’s very good. In fact, I would go out of my way for a sandwich like this.”
You should go out of your way to make Astoria Brewing a getaway stop for the food, the beer and a stunning view to the broad Columbia River.
“We have a great view right here to the water,” added McClure. “We’ve got an outdoor deck for a perfect dining set up. When you’re coming into town you can eat, drink and have a good time.”
Be sure to watch the weekly half-hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on KGW.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
- "Grants Getaways I," Photography by Steve Terrill
- "Grant's Getaways II," Photography by Steve Terrill
- “Grant’s Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.
You can reach me: Gmcomie@kgw.com