DO NOT buy the Manager's Special! Be afraid. Be very afraid...

Theophan · July 2017

Brothers and sisters, read on for a tale of woe: I really wanted some grilled shrimp tonight, planned to do a super simple dish from an Eggfest collection: shrimp marinated briefly in pineapple juice, then skewered with pineapple chunks, all sprinkled heavily with DP Jamaican Firewalk. Easy peasy, what could possibly go wrong?

Well, the only local shrimp they had that were wild caught were on a Manager's Special, and it didn't occur to me until I got home and SMELLED them as I was shelling them that the reason for the Manager's Special just might have been that they'd had them too long and were discounting them to get rid of them before they were completely rotten. As it was, they were only somewhat rotten. <sigh> I asked my wife, who's cooked a lot more shrimp than I whether she thought they were too bad to cook, and was surprised when she thought OK they were not super fresh but hadn't turned "bad," so I went ahead. She thought they were good, and maybe it was only because I didn't like the way they smelled as I was shelling them, but I didn't think they tasted very good, threw most of them away.

So... learn from my FAIL, brothers and sisters, and when there's a Manager's Special at the seafood counter, just very slowly and carefully, BACK AWAY and get something else. A can of Spam. Tofu, for crying out loud! Anything but the Manager's Special...

Here are some photos of good intentions gone tragically wrong:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/4e/a974xhy6xy7y.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/b7/974onbohsptf.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/1u/kjau8fizz219.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/6v/ig40c66zk4me.jpg

buzzvol · July 2017

Well they look good. But I know what you mean-I just can't eat over ripe shrimp.

dsrguns · July 2017

Bad seafood is no joke. Wild caught shrimp are stronger smelling than farm raised. I wouldn't want to eat either of them if they are bad though.

TN_Sister_State · July 2017

Nothing worse than bad seafood. It will turn off anyone. I once got sick off bad seafood and didn't eat it for years. And I OD on it when in gulf shores.

Theophan · July 2017

Yeah, I'm really hoping we don't wind up getting sick. So far, so good. Again, my wife thought they tasted fine, so maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I did NOT like the way they smelled or tasted.

nolaegghead · July 2017

You'll probably be fine. The strong smell from shrimp and fish that happens eventually (before more putrid smells develop), even when refrigerated (much faster at higher temps) is from autolysis, where enzymes are breaking down the flesh - think how fish sauce is made. If you smell any trace of ammonia, I'd avoid - ideally fresh shrimp (which are going to be from frozen, even if you buy them at the "dock" in most cases) should not smell strong at all.

Some manager's specials come from the store just buying a lot of a product because it's in season. I would say the lesson learned is smell your seafood before you buy it.

NPHuskerFL · July 2017

Agree with @nolaegghead
Myself I rarely buy frozen seafood period. Shrimp is something I normally buy fresh off the boat...that is if we don't cast net them ourselves. They shouldn't have an off-putting aroma. And ammonia smell steer clear!

SmokeyPitt · July 2017

The recipe looks great- hope you get to try it again. FWIW I always buy shrimp frozen. I read somewhere that is the best way. As mentioned above unless you live by the water it will have been previously frozen anyway so the freshest tasting will be after the initial thaw.

Also FWIW, I always buy the managers special steaks if I see them. Beef is a different story and you can get "wet aged" beef at a discount because it may not be bright pink anymore.

etherdome · July 2017

I appreciate your point. I learned long ago that any fruit, meat, bread, or milk that is a "managers special" or marked down for quick sale is near the end of its life , if not already. I avoid it all.

RRP · July 2017

Only time in my life I had food poisoning was from shrimp at a restaurant. It was our 10th wedding anniversary and the next two days I thought I was going to die or at least wanted to!

fishlessman · July 2017

in most places out there, the fresh shrimp on display comes from the frozen bags of shrimp in the freezer section of the supermarket

tjv · July 2017

the one thing I do avoid in the meat/seafood cases are the in store, repackaged items that are nestled with a bunch of wholesale packaged items. it happens often with ribs.

looking through a certain meat and all are in the prepackaged vacuum sealed bags and next thing ya know, you see one or two that are hand wrapped in the store's styro trays. ya gotta wonder, why or what happened to them to get that way.......no thank you........

t

fishlessman · July 2017

tjv said:

the one thing I do avoid in the meat/seafood cases are the in store, repackaged items that are nestled with a bunch of wholesale packaged items. it happens often with ribs.

looking through a certain meat and all are in the prepackaged vacuum sealed bags and next thing ya know, you see one or two that are hand wrapped in the store's styro trays. ya gotta wonder, why or what happened to them to get that way.......no thank you........

t

the repackaged ribs up here are solution added hormel, they dont have to mention solution added if its repackaged under the stores label

SmokeyPitt · July 2017

fishlessman said:

in most places out there, the fresh shrimp on display comes from the frozen bags of shrimp in the freezer section of the supermarket

Exactly. They defrost it for you and then charge you an extra $2-$3 a lb.

nolaegghead · July 2017

The deli meals are often made from food that didn't sell in the store.

DO NOT buy the Manager's Special! Be afraid. Be very afraid...

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