Goodies from the Sea in East TenneSSee!

One thing we have learned in our 14 years living in land-locked Tennessee, you can’t smell the ocean, get sand between your toes or get really fresh seafood unless you find a great seafood store.  They are few and far between, but now we have made a connection and I will tell you all about it.

We normally go to South Carolina every summer; the main goal is to eat really good and really fresh shrimp.  Plus we would buy several pounds to freeze to bring home.  This summer we decided to skip the Low Country, but we still have a craving for fresh shrimp. What do to, what to do?

Friends discovered a place called 'The Shrimp Dock' and they went there for lunch.  But, the location isn’t really convenient for us.  I did check their website and what did I find but the fact that they have three locations in total.  The one in Alcoa/Maryville is just a one hour ride from here to there.  The two other locations are Farragut and Bearden.

One afternoon last week I called the Shrimp Dock to verify that they would have fresh shrimp the following morning.  Once I had that confirmed we planned to leave a little before 9:00 am in order to get there when they opened at 10:00 am.  We got there a few before the ‘open’ sign was turned on.

Display Case 

As soon as the door was unlocked we entered, found the shrimp display and started ordering.  They had 4 different sizes/prices.  We walked out of there with about 9 pounds of shrimp.  Needless to say we had a cooler with us to keep them safe on the ride home.

Once home my husband divided the shrimp into one pound packages and used his vacuum sealer.  He left one pound out for our dinner that night.  I made Oven Baked Shrimp and have provided the recipe I use at the bottom of this article.

Weighing the fresh Gulf Shrimp

The shrimp they sell are Gulf Shrimp, which I’ve heard are better than Georgia or South Carolina shrimp – they were good, but I don’t know if they were better!  We were just so happy to be able to buy fresh shrimp.  I asked the young man who waited on us if they have them all year long and he said they do.  It was a lot cheaper driving to Maryville than driving to the Low Country of South Carolina or Georgia!

Here is the link to The Shrimp Dock – you can find all the information you need regarding the three locations, the lunch menu, the retail items and a little history of the company.  If you are a seafood lover but can’t find a good place to buy fresh shrimp, now you can visit The Shrimp Dock and satisfy that Seafood Craving in East TenneSSee!

I will share my favorite method of cooking fresh shrimp – Oven Baked Shrimp, it is very easy:

• Remove tails and shell, put shrimp in a bowl
• Add olive to lightly coat the shrimp
• Add fresh ground pepper and sea salt
• (You garlic lovers can add garlic if desired)
• Mix well
• Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper (it makes clean-up a snap)
• Put shrimp on the prepared pan in a single layer
• Bake in 450 degree oven until shrimp turn pink (just a few minutes)
• Don‘t overcook the shrimp or they will turn to rubber!
• Serve with homemade cocktail sauce and a few slices of lemon

Just looking at these photos makes me hungry!

Photos  belong to AbbG