Comedian, Harry Hill, has praised a ‘classic’ Lancashire dish on the Off Menu podcast, hosted by Ed Gamble and James Acaster.
In the latest episode, Harry is asked to explain more about his ‘dream starter’ on a menu and he said the Morecambe dish topped the list
Harry said: “I’ve got potted shrimps".
James replied: “I’m going to hold my hands up and say I know what shrimps are but I have never heard of potted shrimps before.
“They’re shrimps but they’re in butter,” said Harry. “Hard, cold butter that has a ‘nutmeggy’ flavour to it with shrimps embedded in it.”
James replied: “I’m now picturing Jurassic Park, you know the amber with the mosquito embedded in it.”
“If you want a fossil reference, it’s more like sedimentary rock,” said Harry. “You know, with all the little shells dotted around?
“Some of [the shrimp] would be touching each other, I would say".
Ed said: “It’s like rush hour on the tube, you know the central line.
“If you were to fill the carriage on the central line with butter… the people are the shrimp for this analogy,” Harry joked.
Harry said the dish is traditionally spread on warm toast.
He said: “I suppose it’s a bit like a terrine type thing. It’s Morecambe Bay potted shrimps, isn’t it? A lot of shrimping goes on there.
“When I was a kid we would go shrimping… the ocean was stocked full of living creatures, you'd just have to dip your shrimp net into the water down there.”
The history of Morecambe Bay potted shrimp dates back to the 18th century, when shrimping was a traditional occupation for people in the area.
Harry isn’t the only famous face to have praised the Morecambe dish.
Ian Fleming, creator of the James Bond novels and short stories, was also reputed to be a lover of the dish.
He passed this love onto his famous spy character and it featured in Fleming’s writings.
In 2020 a former royal chef, Darren McGrady, revealed that the Queen loves eating Morecambe Bay potted shrimp on toast.
He said: "They're little brown shrimp harvested from Morecambe and they're cooked and marinated in this secret spicy butter."
"The Queen would have it with warm toast and when you spread it the butter melts and you have this beautiful shrimp as well. You need to look them up to try them."
You can listen to the Off Menu podcast on Spotify, Acast or Apple Podcast.
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