Seafood in Mississippi is still very fresh in December. Many popular Gulf species are in or near their peak season. The cold weather naturally enhances the quality and flavor of certain fish and shellfish. Seafood lovers in Mississippi are encouraged to explore new winter dishes featuring their favorite seafood and learn more about responsibly sourced seafood.
December is a prime month for several types of Gulf of Mexico seafood, including oysters, shrimp, crab, and fin. Adding seafood to your menu rotation provides significant health benefits, including improved heart and brain health due to its high content of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and essential vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin D, iodine, and magnesium.
Oysters are at their plumpest and most flavorful during their peak season, the colder “R” months (September through April). The Mississippi oyster season generally reopens in December, allowing for fresh local harvests. You can eat oysters at home raw with a squeeze of lemon, grilled, baked, or fried.
White shrimp are one of the two main shrimp species commercially harvested in Mississippi waters, alongside brown shrimp. White shrimp are known for their mild, sweet flavor and are in season from August to December, and sometimes into January. Shrimp offers a wide variety of culinary options. You can boil, bake, or barbecue it. Or enjoy Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp Creole, Shrimp Scampi, Coconut Shrimp, and Shrimp Ceviche. Or use shrimp as a topper for pasta dishes, stir-fries, salads, or tacos.
Blue crabs are available year-round in Mississippi, and you can find them fresh at local markets. Make a batch of crab cakes or indulge in a creamy crab bisque.
Several finfish are abundant and excellent for inshore angling in December, including redfish, black drum, sheepshead, and speckled trout. Cod and monkfish also peak in December.
While seafood has tremendous health benefits, there are a few things to consider if you eat more than twice a week. Limit seafood high in mercury, like shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish, to 12 oz or less a week. Pregnant women, those who might become pregnant, and young children should especially avoid these fish to prevent damage to the developing brain and nervous system. Some other seafood to be mindful of includes large, longer-living predatory fish like barracuda and large amounts of brown crab meat, which can contain higher levels of toxins.
It is essential to know where your seafood comes from year-round. New Mississippi laws require proper labeling of seafood as “Domestic” (harvested and processed in the U.S.) or “Imported”. The easiest way to ensure the sustainability of the seafood you buy is to look for products with “USA” as the country of origin. Look for the “Gulf Fresh Mississippi Seafood” designation to ensure you’re getting local products.
For the freshest seafood, it is best to buy directly from local markets or fishermen selling their catch at harbors, such as the Pass Christian Harbor or Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. You can also find Mississippi seafood at restaurants along the Mississippi Seafood Trail.
Shrimp and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 small green onions thinly sliced, (white and green parts divided)
- ½ cup celery diced (about 2 stalks)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ⅔ cups nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels (fresh, frozen, canned well rinsed)
- 1 can cream-style corn (15 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 pound thawed peeled & deveined shrimp (any size)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- ⅓ cup half-and-half
Instructions
Cook the bacon until crisp (to crumble). Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.
Add bacon fat and butter to a dutch oven or large, deep sauce pan on medium to low heat. Set aside the sliced green onion tops for toppings, but add the rest of the sliced onion and diced celery to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt and black pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the flour in the pot, then cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, a little a time at first, stir out any lumps. Slowly pour in remaining milk. Add the corn kernels, cream-style corn, and cayenne. Stir and bring to a low simmer. Let simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in thawed shrimp and cook until the shrimp are done, about 3-5 minutes depending on the size of shrimp. Remove from the heat. Stir in the thyme and half-and-half. Serve hot, top with crumbled bacon, green onion tops, and hot sauce (optional).
