What seafood is South Carolina known for?
Varieties like Blue Point, Baritaria Blade, and Wellfleet are just a few of our local favorites. Shrimp is synonymous with this part of the country. A pillar of the South Carolina economy and food culture, shrimp can be found on almost every menu on the Island.
Known as the “Seafood Capital of South Carolina,” Murrells Inlet is located just north of the Pawleys Island and Litchfield communities on U.S. Highway 17. It is a historic fishing village with a variety of restaurants and a laid-back atmosphere.
No trip to Charleston is complete without some fresh from the dock seafood. From Lowcountry shrimp and grits, to fresh oysters and she-crab soup, Charleston is the place to go for delicious seafood and southern hospitality.
Each year, the Palmetto State's coastal towns celebrate South Carolina seafood at dozens of festivals from hot spots like Murrells Inlet, the Seafood Capital of South Carolina, to the smaller Lowcountry towns like beautiful Bluffton.
Some popular seafood dishes in Myrtle Beach include shrimp and grits, seafood platters, crab cakes, and grilled or fried fish.
South Carolina has two species of native black bass (redeye bass and largemouth bass), more than nine species of native sunfish, as well as shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, and striped bass which migrate up coastal rivers. The state is also home to endemic nongame species such as the bluebarred pygmy sunfish.
The 60-mile stretch of coastline from Little River to Georgetown is known as the Grand Strand, an area as famous for fresh seafood as it is for family vacations.
- Frogmore Stew. Frogmore Stew is a staple dish in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. ...
- Shrimp and Grits. Shrimp and grits has been a South Carolina specialty for generations. ...
- Oyster Roasts. Oyster roasts are just one of South Carolina's tasty culinary traditions. ...
- Barbecue. ...
- Peaches. ...
- Boiled Peanuts.
- Boiled Peanuts. ...
- Carolina Reaper. ...
- Chicken Bog. ...
- Frogmore Stew/Lowcountry Boil. ...
- Okra. ...
- Peaches. ...
- Shrimp and Grits. ...
- South Carolina Barbeque.
South Carolina shrimp are considered among the best in the world and are part of the foundation of lowcountry cooking. The Gulf and South Atlantic are renowned for commercially landed brown (Penaeus aztecus), pink (Penaeus duorarum), and white (Penaeus setiferus) shrimp.
What crab is in South Carolina?
Despite its fearsome appearance and aggressive nature, the blue crab is greatly cherished in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Gourmets prefer the blue crab's sweet meat over all other locally caught seafood.
The recreational harvest of brown shrimp by cast nets and seines takes place in the state's tidal creeks, usually starting in early June. White shrimp are first caught in the creeks in late July or early August and have usually moved into the ocean by late October.
Whatever your preference, shrimp is a seafood delicacy and a favorite of Lowcountry locals and visitors alike. Because of South Carolina's location and climate, fresh prawns are available to Lowcountry locals for eight months of the year.
Many believe the name comes from the region's occasional reputation as a crime-ridden, unsafe place. A few associate the name with the area's nightlife. But that's a relatively bygone era; it's no longer the '90s, when the Grand Strand had dance clubs on practically every street corner downtown.
Calabash isn't just the name of a town, it's a buzzword for good eating. To prepare food Calabash-style requires coating fresh shrimp, fish, oysters, clams or crabs with a light, flavorful batter, then giving them a dip in a searing hot fryer until they are lightly golden.
In Murrells Inlet there is Fresh Catch and Seven Seas Seafood selling products such as fresh tuna, mahi mahi, crab meat, extra large shrimp pieces and more. A good place to buy in the Myrtle Beach area is Mr. Fish Seafood Market who sells lobsters, mussels, sea scallops, oysters, and a variety of fish daily.
In South Carolina, that meat is invariably pork — sometimes pulled from a whole hog, sometimes chopped from a slow-smoked shoulder or ham, but always deriving from somewhere on the pig.
Most common, is the striped, but we also have the dwarf, banded, flat-clawed, clam shell and giant red hermit crabs. Along the edges of our marshes, it is easy to find the semi-terrestrial fiddler crabs. Sand, mud and brackish water fiddler crabs can be found in their so-named habitats.
- Shrimp.
- Red Snapper.
- Tilefish.
- Mahi Mahi.
- Flounder.
- Crab.
Crabbing can be a fun family activity to plan with your kids while vacationing on Folly Beach and getting started is easy. You just need some line, a net, bait and a bucket or cooler for your catch. In South Carolina, you are most likely to haul in blue crabs, known for their namesake blue-hued claws and sweet meat.
What kind of shrimp are in South Carolina?
The state of South Carolina is home to three different species of commercially edible penaeid shrimp, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: brown shrimp, white shrimp, and pink shrimp.
South Carolina is known for its warm temperatures, white sand beaches, parks, festivals, and golf – the things that usually draw people to our beautiful state – but it's our famed southern hospitality, rich culture, flavorful cuisine, and slow living (long before it was a lifestyle movement) that inspires them to ...
"The epitome of Southern comfort food, the fried bologna sandwich takes a simple lunch meat, warms it up on a griddle, and serves is on white bread with a smattering of mustard or mayo and yellow cheese.
Lowcountry cuisine is the cooking traditionally associated with the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Georgia coast. While it shares features with Southern cooking, its geography, economics, demographics, and culture pushed its culinary identity in a different direction from regions above the Fall Line.
- Huguenot Torte. A favorite from Charleston is the Huguenot Torte treat. ...
- Benne Wafers. Now this is a great one for sure! ...
- Lady Baltimore Cake. Now, this may be a new one for me.
References
- https://blythecustomhomes.com/blog/what-food-is-south-carolina-known-for
- https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/dec/22/south-carolinas-myrtle-beach-doesnt-want-to-be/
- https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/what-is-calabash-shrimp
- https://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/food-drink/seafood
- https://follybeach.com/lets-go-crabbing/
- https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/bluecrab.html
- https://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/shrimp.html
- https://www.iheart.com/content/2022-12-27-this-is-south-carolinas-most-iconic-sandwich/
- https://kiawahriver.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-south-carolinas-shrimp-seasons-a-classic-shrimp-and-grits-recipe/
- https://coastalreview.org/2017/03/sams-field-notes-diversity-carolina-crabs/
- https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/untamed-lowcountry/article261268842.html
- https://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/itineraries/seafood-guide-to-myrtle-beach
- https://celadonliving.com/what-is-south-carolina-known-for/
- https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/shrimp/
- https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/explore-small-town-south-carolina-at-the-bluffton-may-river-shrimp-festival
- https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/get-hooked-on-fresh-catch-from-sc-markets
- https://www.charlestoncvb.com/plan-your-trip/dining-nightlife~124/seafood~1100/
- https://mtpleasantseafood.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowcountry_cuisine
- https://nativefishcoalition.org/south-carolina
- https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/7-southern-foods-you-must-try
- https://kiss951.com/listicle/3-most-popular-south-carolinian-desserts-you-should-know/
- https://www.bbqhub.net/features/An-Introduction-to-South-Carolina-Barbecue
- https://hammockcoastsc.com/murrells-inlet/