Few things say summer on the North Carolina coast quite like fresh, head on shrimp from the Pamlico Sound. Harvested from one of the largest estuarine systems in the United States, these wild shrimp are beautifully sweet, firm and clean tasting. Keeping the heads on protects the delicate meat during handling and cooking, helping the shrimp stay succulent and develop even more flavour. For plenty of chefs and seafood lovers, head on really is the gold standard.

North Carolina’s commercial shrimp fishery harvests three species: white, brown and pink shrimp. What you’ll find changes with the season, and each has its own slightly different character, but all three are prized for their quality. Much of North Carolina’s shrimp has traditionally come from the Pamlico Sound and other inland waters, making this one of the most important shrimp producing areas on the East Coast.

Pamlico Sound shrimp are naturally sweet, with a clean, delicate flavour and just enough salinity to remind you where they came from. Cook them properly and they’re firm and succulent with that lovely snap you want from really fresh shrimp. They’re brilliant grilled, roasted, boiled or simply thrown into a hot pan with butter and garlic.

But what about “head butter”?

I know I bleat on about head on shrimp, but indulge me again for a minute because there is a reason I keep banging on about them. The heads are where so much of the good stuff is hiding.

Inside is all that rich, sweet, briny flavour, often referred to as head butter. Cook the shrimp whole and those juices mingle with the butter, garlic, olive oil or whatever else you’ve got in the pan, creating their own ridiculously good little sauce. Get some decent bread involved and there’s really not much more you need.

And yes, I am absolutely the person who thinks sucking the heads is half the fun.

It’s messy, slightly undignified and completely worth it. Peeled shrimp are convenient, I get it. But head on shrimp have character. They make you work for your dinner a little, get your fingers involved and abandon any pretence of table manners. Give me a pile of head on shrimp, plenty of napkins, something cold to drink and a good bit of bread for mopping up the juices and I’m very happy indeed.

There’s a bigger story here too. Shrimping has been part of North Carolina’s coastal heritage for generations and remains an important commercial fishery. Local fishermen work the sounds, rivers and coastal waters, supplying seafood markets, restaurants and families across the region. Buying fresh, wild North Carolina shrimp helps keep that money within coastal communities and supports the fishing families and local businesses that depend on these waters.

It also means eating shrimp that haven’t travelled halfway around the world to reach your plate.

When they’re running, there are few things I’d choose over a pile of fresh, head on North Carolina shrimp. Keep the heads on, cook them simply, put plenty of napkins on the table and don’t waste the good bit.