Today we docked at RE Mayo dock in Hobucken, NC, a commercial shrimp boat dock; a huge bargain at $16 per night, it’s a self-service barebone dock with nothing except to tie up your boat. Most free docks we’ve stayed in are probably in better shape than this dock, but it has character (quintessential coastal fishing dock) and they sell freaking great seafood from the commercial fishing boats homed there. As we see shrimp boats hard at work, we decided on a change of course and write about North Carolina shrimp.

Americans love shrimp. It’s the most popular seafood item in the country, and for good reason. Shrimp is easy to cook, low in fat, high in protein, and tastes delicious. Turn the clock back to the 19th century and you’ll see a different story. Shrimp were thought of as “bugs” and fishermen would actually throw them back when caught. How the times have changed.

Almost 90 percent of the American shrimp supply is imported, much of it from India, Thailand and Indonesia. As we are about to find out, the locally caught shrimp are the best and they taste totally different than the imports.

Ever since our friends, Alex (from North Carolina) and Corky on M/V Anodyne, told us about North Carolina shrimp being the best in the world, I’ve been obsessed to find good shrimp while we’re in the great state of NC. My thinking is that you can’t truly compare and fairly judge shrimp while dining in restaurants (you don’t know the source and different chefs can affect the outcome of the dishes), you really have to cook them yourself to realize their true quality and flavor. Every where we go, I find myself talking to Claudia like I’m Bubba from Forrest Gump who freaking loves shrimp. I would entice Claudia to research for the best seafood market nearby and how I would try out different shrimp recipes for her enjoyment. That did the trick as we would always be on a constant lookout for any seafood market whenever we land.

In Beaufort NC, our marina allowed us access to a courtesy van and we were able to drive to different stores to purchase NC shrimp. Some were fresh and some were flash-frozen vacuum packed but that’s OK. We went to “Captain Jim” in Morehead City (per Corky’s suggestion), “Tryon Palace seafood” in New Bern and “RE Mayo seafood” in Hobucken to buy shrimp and other seafood. We cooked them for dinner as Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Mozambique and Curry Shrimp with rice to get different flavor profiles out of these delicacies. Turns out these shrimp are simply the best that we’ve ever had, more tender, more flavorful and no ammonia taste.

Claudia is a sauce person so I tend to cook most dishes loaded with extra sauce. An example while eating Shrimp Mozambique, Claudia and I would licked the sauce dripping down our arms. We didn’t want a single bite to go to waste. The very large peel and eat shrimp was swimming in a perfectly spicy buttery wine sauce. A large piece of crusty jalapeño-cheese bread laid next to the shrimp just waiting to take a dip in that sauce.

Next up, Shrimp with Red Pepper Pesto or Jerk Shrimp, when we get to Virginia, that is if we can find another great seafood market. But we also love crabs so that might be our next seafood obsession other than shrimp.