I had the shrimp today, based on the recommendations above, and I was also surprised by the very strong fishy odor. Old oil? Who knows. Anyway, next time it will be a polish and fried.

I took my wife to RED HOT RANCH today for lunch. We both loved the hot dog and fresh cut fries. Also ordered a 1/2 LB shrimp. After reading the last few posts I talked to the manager in detail about the shrimp. They indeed clean, devein and de-tail ( is that a word...LOL ) the shrimp in house. He mentioned that they use a wild caught gulf shrimp which is the most flavorful. I can't remember that last time I had shrimp that good !!!!!!! What a great find for late night food fun !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me say this first: I am not a salty snack craver. I am more apt to long for a cookie, ice cream, gelato...anything sweet. So it was unusual for me to be craving something salty. I was at last night's Bulls game (debacle, whatever you want to call it). The people in front of us had hot dogs and fries. I've had a hot dog at the United Center and it's not good. Never had the fries, but the sight of them had me wanting them. Fortunately, I had the good sense to wait until after the game and stop at Redhot Ranch on the way home. The deal I made with myself was hot dog or fries, not both. I went with the dog and that had to be one of the best things I've eaten lately. It had a great snap and had the perfect amount of mustard, onions and peppers. Craving satisfied -- mission accomplished.

The northbound traffic on Western between Armitage and Fullerton was so unbearable shortly after noon today, I just had to stop in for a half pound of shrimp. The picnic tables and nice weather also helped ease the pain of my first world problems.



Dry to the touch on the outside, juicy on the inside:

Oh, man, I love those shrimp. Living just a few blocks away I have to restrain myself from heading over for a half pound more often than might be prudent. But seeing your pics, I'm thinking maybe I've restrained myself enough recently.

I like Red Hot Ranch, mostly due to their later hours - makes a nice last chance food grab before escaping the city.

Hit RR Ranch on Saturday afternoon(after Tac Quick, Toons, & Great Seas), small order of shrimps, and a hot dog with fries.

Shrimp weren't as good as times past(flesh was a tad dry(tough) and didnt pop). but still decent. (nowdays RR Ranch is probably my 3rd favorite fried shrimp spot: Trohas & Calumet being my favorites).

Hot dog was good, the fries were really good - im not a fry guy and they caught my attention.

Glad to have this place around.

jay2021 wrote: He mentioned that they use a wild caught gulf shrimp which is the most flavorful.

The Shrimp at RHR are my absolutely favorite in the city. I love capt'n porkey's and troha's were pretty good, but I love the character and quality of RHR the most.

To address the mineral/metalic/fishy quality of RHR shrimp, yes, they are flavorful. It may be matter of taste, different threshold to certain flavors (iodine?), or perhaps simply being used to eating farm raised shrimp. To me, these flavors taste fresh and signify that the shrimp are wild caught and ate a natural diet of plankton high in the minerals that the shrimp need to be healthy. To clarify some of the speculation above, these flavors do not say anything to the freshness of the shrimp. I've eaten shrimp which tasted similar fresh off the boat in the gulf. Every batch of shrimp I've had at RHR was clearly very fresh, and I've had many.

Tried the shrimp for the first time this afternoon. The breading is very heavy, just like many of the Chicago area shrimp houses. Not for me. No off flavor at all, but the poor shrimp are completely overwhelmed.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Tried the shrimp for the first time this afternoon. The breading is very heavy, just like many of the Chicago area shrimp houses. Not for me. No off flavor at all, but the poor shrimp are completely overwhelmed.

Are you sure you are talking about the same shrimp Sweetbread posted a pic of above? I would never describe the breading at RHR as being very heavy.

Sweetbread wrote:Dry to the touch on the outside, juicy on the inside:

laikom wrote:

Evil Ronnie wrote:Tried the shrimp for the first time this afternoon. The breading is very heavy, just like many of the Chicago area shrimp houses. Not for me. No off flavor at all, but the poor shrimp are completely overwhelmed.

Are you sure you are talking about the same shrimp Sweetbread posted a pic of above? I would never describe the breading at RHR as being very heavy.

Sweetbread wrote:Dry to the touch on the outside, juicy on the inside:

Yes. Same shrimp. Heavy! Way too heavy. To a Midwesterner, I'm sure they are very good. About the same degree of heaviness as Goose Island, but lighter than Lawrence's. Captain Porky's are more lightly breaded than these, but still to heavy IMO.

Unfortunately, I grew up in Tidewater, Virginia back in the 50's and 60's, where every other restaurant was a seafood house, serving either fried or broiled fish and shellfish. My first kitchen job 35 years ago was as a prep cook in a seafood house in Virginia Beach, so I've prepped, fried and eaten quite a few shrimp.

I believe the breading used for many Chicagoland shrimp places to be a three step (or even four step) breading. For example...flour, egg wash, bread crumbs or cracker meal (3) or perhaps even egg wash, flour, back in the wash, and then into crumbs (4).

Typically, on the Eastern seaboard, the shellfish is a) dipped directly into flour/meal before frying, or b) dipped into egg wash and then into the crumb mixture. It's a blessing as well as a curse to have enjoyed seafood cooked in this manner.





Unfortunately, this is what I'm looking for.

(Not trying to bash RedHot Ranch at which, IMO, the hot dog and fries are a strong #3 to Gene and Jude's and Jimmy's.)

Red Hot Ranch has some of the best french fried shrimp in Chicago. Has anyone compared them to other shrimp houses like Goose Island,
Lawrences, etc?

Red Hot Ranch opening at Ashland and Barry in the Dona Torta space.
Check out this link: http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130611 ... t-lakeview

Not only redhot ranch, but with burgers. This is good news.

So Redhot Ranch makes their own breaded shrimp and they don't use a frozen product? I'll have to check it out.

While they may be breading them in house, kinda doubt they're not beginning w/defrosted shrimp.

Red Hot Ranch peels, cleans and deveins the shrimp and then breads them.
I've seen them cleaning the shrimp while I'm waiting for my double dog and fries

Most places do. I would wager they are starting w/frozen shrimp they've defrosted though. That's not necessarily a bad thing, virtually everyone does. There's very little shrimp that hasn't been frozen available.

Unless its caught that day, I would prefer it frozen. Frozen seafood doesn't actually lose that much integrity; especially shrimp

After the shrimpboats come in with their catch it is flash frozen into five lb blocks and shipped.
I wouldn't be suprised if some of the more sophisticated boats can do this while out at sea.
The best shrimp in the world is wild caught gulf shrimp from Texas or Mexico.

For many years shrimp have been frozen on board. (And often cleaned as well.) Fresh shrimp to me means recently live or nothing. Anyone who has purchased the "fresh" shrimp at roadside stands in Florida or the Carolinas might well have had defrosted (or never-frozen but unacceptably old) shrimp. Particularly head-on, those bugs degrade rapidly. Well handled flash frozen shrimp are great, especially if they are being breaded and fried. No need to use "fresh" which barely exists.

Correct. Outside of Santa Barbara spot prawns and occasionaly some Gulf or Mexican shrimp, you just won't find them, and if you do, they're often cost prohibitive and as mentioned, degrade rapidly.

A common sight along I-45 in Houston is a van or pick up pulled over to the side of the road, with signs proclaiming Fresh Shrimp.

... and "best" is subjective, but I much prefer Key West Pinks/Hoppers or Royal Reds for peeling, rock shrimp for just about anything broiled baked or fried, and in fact favor wild browns over whites for frying, as they actually taste strongly of shrimp and can stand up to the breading and sauce. I have really enjoyed the wild crevettes/gamberi/gambas I have tried in the Mediterranean. Despite loads of excellent fish, squid, octopus and other critters, I have never had great shrimp in Mexico, South or Central America, yet. The farmed, fresh or brackish water things from Asia are usually horrible. Here's a nice guide to Gulf varieties:

http://woodsfisheries.com/wild-american-shrimp/

Please excuse the continued hijacking, but...

...although I prefer Texas brown or white shrimp, and yes, as others have stated, they're almost always frozen, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these 6-8 ct tiger shrimp (from Indonesia) that we served last night and again tonight. I don't usually like farm raised shrimp, but these are exceptionally tasty with a fantastic snap.

It has been confirmed by multiple sources that the Red Hot Ranch is taking over the Bunny Hutch in Lincolnwood.
Good news for us northsiders.

Been 2 visits in a row now where the shrimp may have come out of the fryer perhaps 30 secs. Too early. Breading and tails perfectly fried, thickest portion of the shrimp, a tad chewy, borderline undercooked.

Im in no hurry, i was the only customer, take your time..

Red Hot is still in my top 3, just saying ive never had a rushed order of shrimp at Trohas who sits at the top of my fried shrimp heap.,.

Still a fan, especially the hours, pretty much know where i can go to feed my fried shrimp jones when it hits on the way out of the city.

I drove by the Bunny Hutch today and saw the umbrellas up and OPEN signs on.
The Red Hot Ranch @ the Bunny Hutch is now open.

I must have missed this thread the last time I logged on here.
Anyhow, I ate a while ago at Red Hot Ranch on Western Ave. Here are photos of the french fries, and the fried shrimp. I left tips for it on foursquare. I think the fries are a solid contender for the best in metropolitan Chicago.
I will try the hot dog or polish sausage next time.

Redhot Ranch has great fries, but as far as the best-my vote still goes to Wiener and Still Champion. Just done perfectly.