Finnie Haire took up frying shrimp 20 years ago after retiring from the United States Postal Service. He spent the first ten years moving around the South Side.
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For the last decade, he's been serving shrimp at Haire's Gulf Shrimp, a storefront on the border of Park Manor and Englewood.
He and his wife take a different approach than most to fried shrimp.
"Yes there are other places that's been around, that may have a larger brand name, however ours are fresh, as you see, every morning," said Haire's wife, Aisha, said.
"Haire.Hand-cut, hand-deveined and they're never frozen."
Finnie butterflies them to increase the surface area and rinses them well. Then, the shrimp are thoroughly coated in a wet marinade.
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"Once they go on the family's secret recipe, the marinade - which, say the mother-in-law would have been 100 years old - it's a trade secret," Aisha said. "Once they go from being cut fresh and then on the marinade."
The shrimp then go into a dry breading with some light seasoning and shaken until they're coated evenly.
Both the wet and dry recipes are a secret.
The shrimp then go into the fryer for just a minute or so. They're served with some saltines and a choice of mild cocktail or hot sauce.
The ratio of shrimp-to-breading is just right.
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"Some places I say, you're getting some shrimp with your bread, with us you're getting more shrimp and less breading," Aisha said.
Haire's Gulf Shrimp
7448 S Vincennes Ave
(773) 783-1818
And in Steve's Extra Course Video, he takes a look at the spaghetti from Haire's.
Extra Course: Haire's spaghetti