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A Hole in One!!!! My grandfather used to make these for me when I was a very little girl, visiting him in Lancaster, PA. He was not a golfer. He was first-generation American of Swedish descent, who had grown up in Salt Lake City, Utah.

karacooks - is right on! If you want freshest possible shrimp it's got to be frozen JUST THAW IT RIGHT! Upon harvesting shrimp and it hits the deck it sterts to deteriorate, as in rot, so it has to be iced or frozen stat! The question should have been saltwater shrimp versus fresh water and the origin. I feel the Mexican Guaymas Whites are the best available and they are frozen. The Guaymas whites are the sweetest and claenest tasting of all. In the mid '79's the Japanese signed a 30 year contract with the Mexican Government Co-operativo to purchase the entire catch of these shrimp so they weren't available anywhere but from Japan. A few years ago the contract expired and the Mexican Gov't saw the error by locking in a price and wouldn't renew the contract so now they are available here in the U.S. Try the Catalina Seafood Company in San Diego put in a little effort and get the best.

I have no problems with frozen shrimp that are wild caught from the USA. I won't go near farm raised and/or imported shrimp. The link below is an article written by Jim Carrier for Orion Magazine. If you love shrimp it is important that you take the time to read this article. Thanks to Mark Bittman for bringing it to my attention. Now, read and learn:
http://thirdcoastcuisine.blogspot.com/2009/09/shrimp-truth.html

@Ed Levine - My mom called them "Egyptian eggs" as well. I think me, you and Embackus's friend were the only one. It seems to be the least known name for them.

I'll only use frozen shrimp or scallops for that matter if added to a stew... otherwise you need the fresh stuff to grill/sear.... oh yea - I have made the mistake.

I have never seen fresh shrimp in our area so I have to buy frozen. I like knowing i have them in the freezer ready to go for a quick meal. I am 5 minutes away from making shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi, or chinese shrimp stir-fry. If I had access to fresh shrimp, I would love it. But I don't. I am sure the flavor is probably better but there is nothing I can do about this except move somewhere south - such as FL, LA or GA.

Personally, I have no problem with frozen shrimp. However, my question has to do with what is being sold as "fresh". I live in Miami, FL. I recently went to Homestead, FL to a "farmer's market". While there I realized much of the product sold was from California, not locally grown produce. So I wonder if the non-local mentality has carried over to other categories.

To my question. There is a fish monger selling head on green shrimp at the same farmer's market. However it says it comes from the Gulf. Is it possible to buy Gulf shrimp that has never been frozen on the Atlantic side of the state? I guess I should ask the question this way...Does anyone have experience buying head on green shrimp that you know for certain has not been frozen?
Maybe the better question is...how can I tell if head on green shrimp has been recently caught? these shrimp are displayed as Alton Brown recommends with piles of ice in a free draining container.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

lighthouses still love 'em

Bull's Eye!

@Carey Jones: so get in the business of informing people.

these types of posts don't foster conversation, they foster confusion. lots of the posts on this site do that. it's both frustrating and off putting to be part of an audience that's being treating that way.

there wasn't any analysis. there wasn't any background info. there was only regurgitation and that was pretty limited.

there isn't any controversy to teach here. even the concept is ridiculous, but that's the lazy and insulting presentation i keep seeing here.

raise the bar and quit dumbing down your content.

@dbisping: Our intent, in this post, was to draw attention to a writeup elsewhere on the Internet and ask for the opinions of our Serious Eats community on the topic—that is, whether frozen shrimp have their merits.

At Serious Eats, we aim to foster discussion about a wide variety of topics, some of which we on staff or as writers spend time exploring ourselves, some of which, like this, are simply intended as conversation starters. We believe that there's a great deal of collective knowledge in our online community and want to tap into it whenever possible. Posts like this allow us to do so.

I totally agree. If you thaw slowly and cook them properly, frozen shrimp are delicious. There also soooo cost effective: buy at a warehouse store and use only what you need. No waste=money saved! I feel the same about the frozen scallops I get at the warehouse store.