I keep these nets on top because they will jump out.

[shrieks] LINDSEY MCCLAVE: In this episode, we traveled to Sulphur, Kentucky to Faul Family Riverside Farm and learned all about aquaculture and shrimp farming.

MAGGIE KEITH: Andre Faul had a background in aquaculture and studied in Miami, Florida, and when he brought that back to his family farm, he was really excited to see that there were some grants available and he was able to make this an actual business.

So, it was nice to meet him having the respect for farming outside and having a diverse mix of animals, but also what aquaculture could bring to a farm.

You don't really think of shrimp in Kentucky.

I think we are so focused on wild caught, wild caught, wild caught fish is important so farm-raised gets a bad rap, and I was really excited to understand why it was important to have farm raised fish.

And for me, it was just a fascinating topic and one I was really excited to learn more about.

I'm Maggie Keith and I'm the farmer.

And I'm Lindsey McClave and I am the foodie.

Hey, Andre.

Thanks for having us out.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Thanks for coming out.

Yeah.

So, tell me about your family farm.

ANDRE FAUL: We're up here in Henry County, just outside New Castle.

We have about a 100 acres here in Henry County and we focus mainly on regenerative agriculture.

And we started out raising pasture chickens and then branched out into pasture pork, grassfed beef, played around with some grass-fed lamb, some turkeys for Thanksgiving, and then, now, our sort of niche product is saltwater shrimp.

And then we also host weddings in our tobacco barn here that we redid.

And is that something in your family's history farming?

Do you have sort of that in your lineage?

Yeah, dad grew up on a farm in South Africa.

It was a big citrus farm that he grew up on.

So there've always been sort of go-getters and entrepreneurs, I suppose.

When we moved as a family to the States, mom and dad wanted to get back on the farm being able to experience that life again and we're lucky enough to be able to do that.

And then what inspired you to add shrimp to the mix?

So, my background is in marine aquaculture.

I went to University of Miami, got my Master's degree in marine aquaculture, and then I worked down there for about a year, raising Florida Pompano for restaurants up in Orlando.

And then this opportunity came up, mom and dad bought the farm, and my wife and I moved here in 2016.

But I've always wanted to get back into aquaculture in some way, so I was doing some research and found Kentucky State University and they've been doing a lot of work on marine shrimp and they have a pretty well-established aquaculture program there.

So, I reached out to them, did a facility tour of their place, and they told me about a grant program that they offer for farmers.

The money comes from the tobacco settlement money.

So, I applied for that, got the grant, and was able to purchase a couple of different items to start a sort of proof-of-concept shrimp system in one of our hay storage barns.

[chuckles] So, I set it up in there and ran it for the summer and produced some shrimp, and it went really well.

It was received really well by our customers and restaurants and stuff.

And then we ended up putting up a whole new building dedicated just to shrimp.

And you mentioned regenerative agriculture.

Is that the practice you follow, or organics, what practices do you follow?

For all of our livestock and everything we do, regenerative agriculture, I guess, sort of encompasses the whole farming principle.

It's just a way of farming that, instead of working against nature, continuously fighting against nature, you, as much as you can, try and work with nature, leaving it in a better state than when you found it.

Animals are definitely an integral part to the environment, and then trying to mimic their natural movements and rhythms as you raise them, I think, not only leads to better health for them, but better health for our farm and the pastures and the native fauna and flora around.

Coming from South Africa, is there anything sort of from your travels here and where you all came from and your family history that also contributes to the way you think of how you farm and how you live on this land?

So there's a term in South Africa, ubuntu, which means "I am because we are."

It's a way of thinking about your community.

My personhood sort of depends on interaction with my community.

So, not only do we focus on building strong communities and treating people with respect and dignity, we sort of apply those same principles to how we raise our animals, treating animals with respect and dignity, and realizing that it's a living, breathing being, and so, giving it the best life as possible that we can.

How do you explain, "Yes, this is shrimp from Kentucky, - and it's saltwater at that"?

- Yeah.

How do you kind of talk about that?

Well, yeah, it's a good point because the first thing they think about when I mention the shrimp, they think it's like freshwater prawn because there's a couple of freshwater prawn farms around Kentucky that harvest at the end of summer, but it's a different product, doesn't taste the same.

So, first off, I mention to them it's a saltwater shrimp and it's raised in tanks indoors, then I'd start talking about how I harvest it either same day, or the day before they order, so it's the freshest seafood that they can get around here, and that's definitely a selling point to not only retail customers, but also chefs.

And I think, as consumers of fish and shellfish, we see on labels a lot, "wild caught," "farm raised."

How do you define yours in that, and why is it a good idea to be supporting and eating fish and shellfish that are grown here in Kentucky, or raised?

We would define ours as farm raised.

Farm raised fish and aquaculture has gotten a bad rap for a long time because of some bad players in the industry and not necessarily just here in the States, but worldwide.

Shrimp farming in particular in Asia and China, there's a lot of mangroves that get destroyed to make these massive ponds that they grow shrimp in, so it's not a very sustainable practice, but there are groups that are doing good work, sustainable work, raising seafood in a way that we can provide enough seafood for everybody to eat, but it's not destroying the environment.

And so our system is considered a closed system, water reuse system.

We reuse about 98% of our water.

We lose 2%, 3% to evaporation, but we can continuously reuse our water to raise our shrimp, and so, in that sense, it's sustainable.

The technical term for the system is a bioflux system, or a hybrid bioflux system, where we culture beneficial bacteria inside the tank along with the shrimp; it sort of creates its own ecosystem in there.

And then the bacteria serve in keeping the water clean and free of any harmful ammonia, or nitride, or anything that can damage the shrimp and then the shrimp, in turn, can feed on some of the bacteria that form in there.

And what is the taste profile like?

You mentioned there's some freshwater prawns versus the saltwater.

What are we going to taste?

Reviews I've gotten from customers and chefs have been like, the shrimp have a sweet taste to them.

I don't know if that has to do with the way that we raise them in that bioflux system, or if it's the freshness, or what, but sweet taste, you can taste the freshness, you barely have to put anything on them.

They actually taste like shrimp.

A lot of shrimp you buy in the supermarket, they taste like whatever you put on them.

Yeah.

You put them in a sauce, they taste like the sauce, and if you eat them just with maybe a little of salt on it, it didn't taste like anything.

But ours has a distinct shrimp taste to it.

And the other nice thing about our shrimp is we sell them as a whole head-on shrimp and a lot of the flavor sits right there by where the head and the body meet, and so, when you're buying shrimp tails, you're kind of missing out on the best part because just like with any meat, the flavor is in the fat, and so, the fat pocket right by the head there provides a lot of flavor when you cook it.

So, how do you like to cook your shrimp?

My favorite is probably skewers on the grill, brush some garlic butter on it, and lemon juice either from fresh lemons, or from the bottle, and yeah, pretty simple.

I also like to just put them in a skillet with some butter and garlic and lemon juice.

Yeah, they don't really need too much.

[chuckles] Pretty simple, yeah.

Represents a good product, - I would say.

- Yeah, exactly.

Are you able to grow them year-round?

That's the plan, yeah.

This will be our first winter doing them, and so, we're experimenting with different ways to keep the water warm and keep the building warm.

But yeah, the plan is to be able to provide fresh shrimp year-round.

What I've heard about farm raised fish is there's the potential that they're fed all this GMO corn and stuff that they're not even meant to digest just like cattle.

What are they supposed to eat?

What do they eat?

Yeah, like I mentioned, they do consume some of the bacterial -- what they term bacterial flock when you get enough buildup of beneficial bacteria.

They bunch up in these flocks and then the shrimp can consume them.

But we do give them a formulated shrimp feed that we purchase from a feed company.

It's got all kinds of vitamins and minerals in it, but the main component of it is fishmeal and fish oil, so the fishmeal provides the protein and then fish oil makes it palatable for them to eat it.

And they're able to digest that and grow big.

How long does it take from a baby shrimp?

What is a baby shrimp called?

- [chuckles] - Spawn?

- A post larva is actually... - A post larva?

How long from a post larva to a shrimp?

- To an adult shrimp?

- Adult shrimp?

Well, a harvestable size shrimp, I suppose.

Depending on water temperature, it's about 4 months.

They'll grow about a gram and a half every day after that first month.

So, we try to aim for about an 18 count per pound.

Once they get to about 18 to 20 shrimp per pound is when we will start selling.

I feel like that's a good size for people to cook and chefs kind of like that size, too.

So what do you see your long-term plans for shrimp and aquaculture being on the farm 5, 10 years from now?

Continuing to grow this?

What are your hopes?

Yeah, I hope, at least fill out this building that we have right now with tanks and get it up to its maximum production and try to get as efficient as possible with that system.

And then depending on demand and how it takes off, I'm open to expanding the production system.

For the meantime, I want to focus on making it as efficient as possible raising a good product and getting it to some chefs around town and people in our community who enjoy fresh seafood.

So, give us a tour.

I've never been in any facility like this.

I'm super excited to learn.

Yeah.

So, this is our new shrimp building.

Currently, we have five tanks in here.

We use above ground swimming pools as our tanks.

It's the most economical, cost-effective way we've found to hold water.

So, I keep these nets on top because they will jump out.

MAGGIE: Whoa, really?

- Whoa.

- So these are ready to harvest?

- There's... - Oh my gosh.

- I know, right?

- Can I touch it?

ANDRE: Sure.

- Isn't that neat?

[shrieks] - [laughing] ANDRE: A little jumpy, but... Oh my gosh.

Oh, poor buddy.

- He probably wants to... - [laughing] - Oh, we haven't -- - Did he go, too?

So, this is about -- this and bigger is about where we -- So, that 18 count per pound dish size?

- This one is probably a 16, 18.

- [laughing] Okay.

Yeah.

But you'll see that they have this spike - on the top of their head.

- Yeah.

The rostrum is what they call it, and then they have a spike here on the tail, too.

The tail is beautiful.

It really is.

Really pretty colors in these shrimp.

[laughing] They're pretty jumpy.

But when I stock them in here, I put about 5,000 in here.

- Wow.

- Wow.

At the moment, I've harvested some out of here, so there's probably about 3,000 left, - but, yeah, there's another... - Wow.

It's beautiful.

Really pretty coloration.

So how come it like has a curly tail when you kill it?

Does it like seize up and...?

ANDRE: Yeah, I think, because it turns like this when you cook it.

LINDSEY: Yeah.

ANDRE: Probably the muscles contract and pull tight.

LINDSEY: Wow.

Look at it.

MAGGIE: Oh my god.

It is wild.

LINDSEY: It opened its mouth.

ANDRE: Fascinating little creatures.

Now, basic premise of this tank is just obviously the water-salt mixture.

We have this pump that pumps to that tank over there; that's our solids separator.

So, any excess solids that accumulate in the water get captured in that tank, and that's our sort of waste product.

And then it goes to the biofilter there which aids in removing ammonia, harmful ammonia and nitride out of its system.

And then that just comes back into the tank.

So these are about 2 and a half weeks old, I think.

And you can see from just a week ago, they've already almost doubled in size.

LINDSEY: So, what are you looking for?

Looking at these, is there anything you're observing other than the size that you're like, "Okay, this is going the way I want it to go"?

Yeah, I'm looking for -- so you can see their intestinal tract, I guess.

I'm looking to see if that's full because that's an indication that they're actually eating and that there's enough food in the tank.

In about 2 weeks, 2 and a half weeks, these guys will be big enough to be split out into this tank.

And when I get this one empty, I'll split them basically three ways-- here, or there, and leave the rest in here.

So, I'll end up with -- I brought in about 20,000.

I estimate that I'll have about 16,000 or so left when they're ready to go and then I'll split them evenly, so just over 5,000 per tank.

And then they'll stay in there until they're ready to be harvested.

The prime time to cook them is 24 to 48 hours after they're harvested.

- Yeah.

- Great.

Can you pack me up a couple pounds?

I'm really excited to try this.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- All right, great.

These are the shrimp harvested yesterday.

A little more tame.

Yeah, definitely more tame.

I was not expecting them to be so excited.

- Yes.

- Out of those tanks.

So, as he talked about, he really loves to appreciate the entire shrimp and cooking them head on and I could not agree more.

So, we're going to prepare the shrimp two ways today.

And my objective with these recipes was make it all about the shrimp.

So, really keep the focus on that flavor and not do too much just to enhance it.

So, first, we are going to make some spring rolls because I just think that's a really nice fresh way to work with these shrimp.

And also, we've got some really wonderful crunchy vegetables from the farmer's market right now this fall.

And I love to add that in there- the texture, some brightness.

So, for that, we have some shrimp here that we've left the shell on, but I have removed the heads for this particular preparation.

So, after we make our spring rolls, we're going to take the shrimp and just sauté them head on.

And just like Andre said, he's like, "I like him head on.

Give me a lot of butter, a lot of garlic, a lot of lemon."

I was like, "That sounds perfect."

So, we're going to do that.

I've got a big loaf of crusty bread - we can serve alongside.

- Great.

And I think it should be a great representation of all the things you can do with these shrimp.

And for these that I did take the head off, they're in a bag in my freezer, and I can't wait to make a stock out of them.

So, definitely, and the shells that we'll remove, we'll keep those, too.

- So, let's eat some shrimp.

- Great!

- All right.

- I'm excited to learn this.

This is a dish I've always loved enjoying out, but I've never made at home.

And I love that it can -- I mean, truly, any filling can go inside.

So, we're starting with the shrimp and we're adding just these fresh vegetables that we have that I got at the market last weekend.

I love to add a little fresh mint.

I think it adds a little like, "Mm, what's that going on?"

But depending on time of year, I mean, I might add some avocado to this.

We're also going to have some of these rice noodles in there for just a little bit more filling and just like makes it a little bit hardier.

The rice papers that we're going to use to make the rolls, they can be a slightly finicky, but once you get rolling, ha, ha, ha, no pun intended.

It does kind of just flow and it makes a really tasty, refreshing meal.

So, to start, I'm going to go ahead.

I've got a pot of water boiling on the stove.

I'm going to add some salt, and then I'm going to put these directly in the water.

I'm going to cook them for 2 minutes max.

We really don't want to overcook the shrimp but we just want to give them a nice quick boil.

I'm going to transfer them to an ice bath and I'll stop the cooking.

Then we'll take the shells off and we're going to bisect them down the middle to make them a little bit thinner so they roll easier.

Then, in that same water, we're not going to dump it, we're going to bring it back to a boil and in that water, we'll go ahead and cook our noodles.

It's kind of got some shrimpiness in there already, so we don't want to waste that.

And so our filling is going to consist of the shrimp, the rice noodles, some carrots, radish, and there were some jalapeño.

Pavel, one of our favorite farmers, just had some, he was like, "Last jalapeno of the season."

I was like, "I would love a little spicy crunch in there."

And the radish has more of that peppery crunch.

And then we're going to add some -- I like to do the mint leaves on the outside.

You'll see what I mean by that.

And that will be our first dish.

So, let's get over and get these guys in the water.

So, we have our shrimp here.

They are gorgeous.

- Yes.

Pretty in pink.

- Pink.

Yes.

LINDSEY: And so, it was 2 minutes out into the water.

And the other thing you can tell that they're done by touching them.

I mean, they're just perfectly plump.

- They just have that great... - Yeah.

So, what we're going to do is we are going to take the shells off.

This is our shell plate?

This is our shell plate, and then we're going to cut them right down the middle, and in doing that, we'll take the vein out.

Okay.

So, we have our assembly line.

It is time to make spring rolls.

So, basically, we have these rice papers, and you can see they're kind of like little cracker almost.

And I find the best way, you just want to submerge them in water and they soften up.

I like to just use a half sheet pan with a little bit of water in it.

Cold water.

That's it.

I just think it makes it easier.

It can be flat and it just makes it easy enough to handle.

So, this is a feel thing; you want it to just be softened so it immediately starts to soften and get a little bit sticky.

So, I just kind of turn them.

While I'm doing this, while I'm softening it, If you want to maybe just pluck off some good mint leaves, that would be great.

And if there are holes in them, you definitely want to maybe move on to the next one because the idea is not to let it break.

It looks like plenty come in a package.

Yes.

So, we want to lay it flat.

So, we've got our rice paper here and then I like to do -- you don't want to overfill it, which can be very tempting and I'm definitely guilty of.

But I like to do one and a half shrimp, or three halves, and then just add my filling.

So, like we said, we have some slightly sweet crunchy carrot, some peppery radish, rainbow radish at that.

And then I love some spice in here.

So, I think the fact that we have some fresh jalapeno still makes it well worth it.

We're going to add a little bit more there and then just some of our rice noodles.

- Beautiful.

- On top.

And if you want to put two of the mint leaves you plucked - right on top.

- There you go.

All right.

So, now, we're going to just pick it up from the bottom.

And I find it easiest to roll away from myself.

So... [chuckles] MAGGIE: The mint leaves are going rogue.

LINDSEY: Yeah, the mint leaves went rogue.

So, it takes some trial and error, so maybe you'll put the mint leaves on in the middle.

But then you just roll it forward, you pull the sides in sort of burrito style.

And then you just keep rolling and you want to work with it quickly.

You don't want it to sit too long because it does, as it dries, get sort of sticky.

But you have this nice little packet.

- Great.

- There we go.

Okay.

Do you want to give one a try?

- Let's get rolling.

- All right.

Well, you caught on quick.

- I did.

- Well done.

Yeah, this is fun.

I know.

And I think these are beautiful, but you can also see how you can really get some colors going and different types of herbs like we were saying.

I think it's super fun.

So, you rolled this last perfectly snug one and I'm just going to cut it.

MAGGIE: Right between the mint leaves.

LINDSEY: Yeah, right between the mint leaves.

We'll just do a nice... - Beautiful!

- And how pretty inside?

MAGGIE: Yeah, the watermelon radish is gorgeous.

I know.

Well, let's have a little taste test before we -- Mm.

The mint does add.

Mm hm?

Mm hm.

I think this is a great vehicle for the shrimp.

There's a lot in there texturally to enhance it, but you don't lose the shrimp.

You can taste the flavor of the shrimp in this dish and that's what I like, none of this is too overpowering.

So, you can taste the butteryness.

Exactly.

And it's a great little pocket snack, or you can make it more of a meal.

[chuckling] - All right.

- Just stick it in.

Well, now I'm ready to have it in a hot preparation on the stove, so let's go from light to butter, garlic, all the good stuff.

Lemon.

Okay.

So, now, we are going to take a note from Andre and cook the shrimp with their heads on and like he said, just with all the good stuff-- butter, lemon, garlic.

I want a little parsley on there at the end.

And we're going to use a lot of butter because we're going to act like that's a sauce, too.

So, I've got some bread in the oven just warming up and we'll be able to dip that while we enjoy these gorgeous shrimp.

So, what I've done here is we've left the head on, we have taken the shell off the body, including the tail, but I do still want to take the vein out, devein it.

I just like to take -- smaller knife, to me, works better for this job, but whatever feels most comfortable for you and I just very carefully run down the back and then you can just see it right there.

Again, not attractive, but that's why we're going to get rid of it.

And then I put my knife in and I just pull it out and it does come out a little bit easier - once it's cooked.

- Yes.

It's got a little bit less spine.

We saw that with the spring rolls.

LINDSEY: And once you get going, it goes pretty quick.

Yeah.

So then, you have your deveined shrimp.

And it still looks beautiful.

- It's all intact.

- Yeah, exactly.

So, I'll get to that lovely job if you want to do the job of zesting and juicing the lemons.

And then mincing a couple of those cloves of garlic.

Great.

So, just a little pile of zest?

LINDSEY: Yeah.

That's what I think would be nice.

So, I'm going to rinse my hands off and then we'll get over here and we're going to melt an entire stick of butter.

Great.

Yeah.

Because why not?

And it's unsalted butter, so we're going to add some salt, some pepper.

We're going to add -- we need to mince this garlic, so we'll get the garlic going and some of your red pepper flakes for just a little heat.

We'll get it cooking and we'll be ready to eat in no time.

Well, we have a shrimp feast on our hands.

We do.

It looks amazing.

Yeah.

I am very impressed with our spring roll rolling skills.

And I personally love a peanut sauce for dipping for this particular one and this one, I threw some ginger in, which is fresh right now.

So, we've got that.

I am very thrilled with this buttery goodness and I think Andre would be hopefully proud of the head-on shrimp that we've crafted here and a nice, crusty little bread for dipping.

My mom and kids are very hungry, so I think they're going to join us, and I'm anxious to get my mom's take because she is a lifelong pescatarian so I think she'll be very excited to know that this shrimp actually came from Kentucky.

Yes.

And I'm sure your kids will enjoy the extra butter that's in there for the dipping.

Well, yeah.

Definitely the bread if nothing else.

Yeah.

[chuckling]