If shrimp isn’t already on your weekly dinner rotation, it certainly should be! Shrimp cooks quickly, pairs well with nearly everything and is extremely versatile. Although, the massive pros come along with a few small negatives. Occasionally it can be easy to overcook your shrimp, and yes, preparing them can be a challenge, but don’t let that stop you from cooking up a storm. Here are our best tips for avoiding any bite-sized mistakes when cooking shrimp:
Know Your Expiration Dates
When fresh shrimp is on the menu (which it entirely should be), be sure to saute, grill, fry or bake the shrimp within 24 hours of purchasing them fresh. But if you do buy frozen, keep an eye out for shrimp that are harvested as close to your home as possible. No matter where or when you buy them, here’s a general rule for fresh or frozen – if the shrimp smell even the slightest bit like ammonia, toss them in the trash. They’ve gone bad, and aren’t worth the risk.
Keep it Seasonal
Shrimp are delicate and need well-thought-out preparation. Shrimp have a naturally sweet, mild, oceany flavor so they can handle quite a bit of seasoning. They can be added to so many different styles of dishes from all over the world, so the type of seasoning you use depends on the entree you have in mind. If you’re unsure of what to use, there’s one seasoning you can always rely on, and that’s sea salt.
Avoid Overcooking at All Costs
Trust us; we’ve all done it. You’ll know that your shrimp have cooked too long when they lose all of their yummy flavors and become rubbery. Yuck. Unfortunately, to make it even more difficult, shrimp continue to cook after they’re removed from the heat. As a result, be mindful to factor that into the actual cooking time. Our rule of thumb – if they’re still straight then your shrimp are not quite done yet if they are perfectly cooked the tail will slightly curl into a C-shape and drastically overcooked shrimp will form a complete O-shape. “O” for overcooked…see what we did there?
Keep it Simple
When it comes to shrimp, the easy route means buying them peeled and deveined. If you’re new to the shrimp game, the prep process is the most difficult and frustrating, but also easily avoidable. The most significant risk of buying fresh shrimp is failing to remove the full vein or mangling the shrimp from overhandling, but if you purchased the shrimp pre-peeled and deveined, you won’t have any issues. If you don’t have the time to properly prep the fragile shrimp or this is your first time cooking with shrimp, make it easy on yourself by purchasing them already prepped.
Brine it Up
Most types of shrimp will benefit from the simple, inexpensive process of brining, no matter how you plan on cooking them. Brining is like a marinade but instead of flavoring, it’s sole purpose is to keep food tender and moist. Brining can be used with any time of shrimp, either raw shelled shrimp or raw peeled and deveined shrimp. Here’s the best way to go about brining your shrimp: (Note- you can use either kosher or table salt, but the measurements won’t be equal. 1 cup of table salt without iodine is equivalent to 1.5 cups of kosher salt). Mix ¼ cup kosher salt with ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 cup boiling water and 2 cups of ice. Add shrimp into a bowl of brine and let sit for 20-30 minutes for peeled shrimp and 40-60 minutes for your unpeeled shrimp. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and pat dry afterward.
That’s all there is to it! These tips are necessary if cooking up tender, and flavorful shrimp is your goal. No matter how you prepare your meal, it all comes down to finding a good recipe, being patient with the prep work and staying close to your stove during the cooking process. As always, if you discover that making shrimp isn’t your thing and you’d prefer to eat out, we’ll happily have a table ready for you at Marker 32!
Recent Comments