Avocado Shrimp Salad with Habanero
My mother used to tell me stories of when she was a teenager she and friends would walk down to the shrimp dock and was paid 50 cents a bucket to dehead shrimp. She said it was only a few times that she went because constantly smelling like seafood wasn’t her thing.
Those docks now called the historic seaport marina were once filled with shrimp boats, trap boats, fishing boats and not to forget the turtle kraals. These days the docks are lined with restaurants, hotels, yachts, charter fisherman and booze cruises with the sound of Jimmy Buffet playing in the background but for some reason I am ok with it. The only thing in this world that doesn’t change is change.
My home town went from fishing town where everyone knows everyone to a tourist trap. Even though it made a lot of people angry and most of them left I love it here. I was raised and lived my life where everyone wants to vacation. My cousin Scott Santana once said when he was interviewed to be citizen for the day, “Key West is like vacation when I’m not on probation”.
Every year when the first cold front comes through the Keys, at sunset and the tide coming in there is a certain group of conchs at an undisclosed location (that I refuse to give up) catching bucket loads of shrimp at road side. We catch black mullet, blue crab and shrimp most the time taking the catch home that night to snack on as fresh as fresh can be. I personally have been taking part in this tradition since I was a young boy and continue today. We are usually enjoying a beer or two moving from culvert to culvert catching the right tide and having a blast. It is so much fun! Teaching our kids the way, hopefully, they will still be able to do the same when they are grown up.
Key West pink shrimp and the deep water royal red shrimp local here to the Keys are by far, in my opinion, the best shrimp you can possibly eat - especially if you are getting those shrimp from the J.T. One of the last of many that is still here in the keys making his living as a shrimper. J.T. shrimp are all natural no chemical IQF that lock in that wonderful fresh taste. Most other shrimp are in what they call the dip - a disodium sulfate bleaching component that is used as a preservative. Once tasting Capt. Ricky’s shrimp from the J.T. you will understand the difference.
Shrimp being one of my personal favorite fruits from the sea is enjoyable prepared almost any way. Beer steamed cocktail, peel and eat, fried, grilled, skewered, scampi, with grits or in a salad the Key West pink shrimp is a great gift from God.
Avocado Shrimp Salad with Habanero
- 1 pound blanched Key West pink shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup red onion
- 1 ripe avocado diced
- 2 small diced celery stalks
- 1 cup peeled deseeded and diced cucumber
- 1cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup spicy Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Sea salt to taste
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Pinch of coriander
- Pinch of habanero (be careful - very spicy)
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together and serve with mixed greens, on a croissant, or in a wrap and enjoy!
3 Responses
michael alzamora
i run a trawler outa key west for 30 yrs or so.and the times haved changed .i got maried on white street peir and park at the time.but it seems to me the good ol conchs have moved on.,and now more turisto is what you got now…but will never forget living the life as a fisher man.
Gina
Love the recipe also just a little something about the JT it’s named after my mother in law and is owned by my brother in law who still lives in key West. Shrimping in keys is a dying industry. The shrimping industry made key West now it’s all about the tourist
Cindy Romano
I L?VE THIS ARTICLE ?
I have lived in S.W. Florida my whole life and traveled to the Keys & Key West since I was a young girl and my late Grandfather since he was a young guy ( who rode his Indian Motorcycle from New York to the Florida Keys) …so it has always been in my blood and is my dream to live down in the keys one day.
Reading this article is nostalgic to me because of how much I love the Florida Keys & Key West , and especially since we started to take our young son down there, he has started to become familiar and love it down there as I do.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your life in writting???
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Chef Martin Liz
Author
Culinary Author, and Chef, Martin Liz is a 3rd generation native, Key West Conch. He is classically, French trained and specializes in Key West's fresh seafood. Spearheading the 'Ocean To Table' movement, Chef Martin makes an amazing array of truly unique, Key West and Caribbean delicacies, utilizing local seafood and exotic, indigenous flora and fauna. His natural creativity, coupled with classical training and a desire to preserve the largely lost, culinary traditions of his heritage, meld an exotic mix of Cuban, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and French-West Indies with tastes that are exclusively, undeniably, Key West. Famous for his "Caja China" (Cuban, China Box) Pig Roast, Key West-Fresh Paella, Island Style Smoke and a passion for upscale, Beach Barbecue with indigenous wood flavors, Chef Martin's mission is to bring back the traditional flavors of Key West, that have been lost in time. Chef Martin is also an accomplished, "Gastronomical' Columnist and Published Author, who has been featured in many TV shows, magazines and periodicals including HGTV and Travel Channel's 'Bizarre Foods America', to name a few. He has also conducted seminars, educating guests on the thing he knows best - Conch Cuisine and Culture, at the Atlanta, and Key West Food and Wine Festivals. His culinary accomplishments have landed him, working alongside such well known, chefs as Top Chef Judge, Michael Shwartz, Culinary Author and Chef, Kevin Graham and Norman Van Aken. Chef Martin Liz is currently focusing on a few key, consulting projects, and enjoying keeping Key West Conch Cuisine and Culture alive, through private parties, classes and educational seminars. Chef Martin is available at 305.896.2087 or _culinaryconch@gmail.com