Whether fresh or frozen,shrimpis the most popular throw in ofseafoodin the country.
For me personally, the first form I was introduced to was popcorn shrimp.
This knowledge gave me a great head start heading into this frozen shrimp taste test.
Photos by brands. Design by Eat This, Not That!
I was able to throw most into the air fryer.
But, two required special treatment and were alternatively cooked in the oven.
From there, it was time to get munching.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
Time for these brands to sink or swim!
The brand mostly focuses on frozen beer-battered appetizers like Cheesy Potato Bites andCheese Stickswhich happen to be quite tasty.
Budweiser additionallyteamed up with SeaPakin 2019 to offer a line of seafood favorites, including Beer-Battered Shrimp.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
I caught a box for $4.99, and was excited to give them a shot.
Their shape and coloring are also somewhat reminiscent of a chicken nugget.
The shrimps' lighter shade is likely thanks to their beer-batter coating.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:Like fish masquerading as shrimp.
From my first bite, I knew something fishy was going on hereand not in a good way.
The breading does deliver a smooth and buttery taste.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
And, to this day, he continues to pad his portfolio with even more marine-based offerings.
Just in the category of frozen shrimp alone, the Gorton’s brand now boasts nine different products.
At my local grocery store, I developed a case of decision paralysis as I took in the selection.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
The taste:Palatable shrimp, but much too dry overall.
The texture and flavor of the seafood itself are there, so it reads like real, fresh shrimp.
But, the coatingwhich is made with real draft beerdoesn’t add much value.
Megan Hageman, Eat This, Not That!
It’s fairly brittle and extremely dry.
I found myself using a boatload of cocktail sauce, as I munched them down.
I did, however, end up snagging two different varieties since I just couldn’t decide.
But, my stereotypically friendly TJ’s cashier assured me both were delish.
One was this Tempura Shrimp.
Since it is tempura, it’s slightly different from most other shrimps here.
It is battered and is also stretched out and uniquely prepared to give it an elongated appearance.
Plus, they became immensely oily and left a pool of liquid on the baking sheet.
Inside the thin breading, the shrimp is similar in appearance to a stick of imitation crab.
The Taste:Firm shrimp inside a squishy, soggy breading.
The tempura glaze doesn’t offer any sort of snap.
The batter’s flavoring is also a bit mediocre, albeit a tiny bit buttery.
A mild shrimp flavor came from within.
But, as mentioned previously, we indulged solely in the company’s popcorn shrimp.
So, I decided to dive into uncharted waters and instead give theJumbo Butterfly Shrimpa shot.
The largest shrimp measured in at just about 2 inches wide, just slightly larger than most other options.
I’m now curious to see what the brand’s regular butterfly shrimp look like.
The taste:Somewhat nostalgic for me, but not as tasty as I remember.
The breading is what reminded me most of the popcorn shrimp of my younger days.
It’s crunchy and salty, but overbearing at the same time.
But, for now, my childhood favorite sadly earns a spot in the mid-tier of the rankings.
The bag says that these are “crispy, tail-off round shrimp with a thin gluten-free breading.
Great for tacos, in stir-fries, or atop salads.”
The look:Stereotypical popcorn shrimp.
I could actually make out the curved shape of each crustacean.
The outer layer doesn’t look too thick and comes in a light tanmaybe even slightly orange-ishshade.
I would buy and eat again.
Even so, there’s one brand that I liked even more.
I am not personally familiar with the company’s products.
Within the crustaceans category, shrimp is a staple.
It came in a 1.5-pound bag containing 45-50 “large” shrimps.
The look:Sneakily similar to SeaPak.
The two share the same shape, shadeeverything.
I’m glad I didn’t eat these back to back because I likely would have confused them.
The taste:Addicting.
And, speaking of the golden panko crust, it’s also done quite well.
All of the above chalks up to a perfect frozen shrimp experience.
