Everyone else likes pizza on Fridays during Lent, but I’m effing sick of it. A local store had a sale: “Peel & Eat Shrimp, 2lbs $9.99”. Today, I get it out and I see that all of the shrimp is blue (raw). I’ve never cooked/boiled/broiled shrimp before. It says just dump it into boiling water for three minutes, pour it into a strainer, and serve in a bowl next to a hot-sauce bowl (and a shell collection bowl).
Is that all there is to it…?
Yes. But you will do better if you turn off the heat so they aren’t at a full boil the whole time. Just pull one out after 3 minutes, see if it’s done through (turned white in the middle), if not leave them another 30 seconds or so. Shrimp turn tough quickly if boiled too long.
The time it takes is based on the size. Did they provide a count per pound, something like 26/30? It could be you need even less time.
Thank You!
( Isn’t it funny? If this was some ‘Hallmark Movie’ they’d write in a woman who could cook shrimp and speak with a Creole accent. But then they’d swap me out for some Canadian Ken Doll. I’d be lucky if I could get to play the piano during the date sequences.)
I think they are better done in a frying pan with olive oil or butter, but in either case don’t forget to devein them ( get the shit out of them). That is also the trick for visually telling when they are done, as you can see if the flesh is opaque at the fat end of the shrimp.
Here are some more shrimp ideas.
Shrimp Alfredo.
Quick recipe, using what’s in the fridge. Peel the shrimp. Make a light roux with a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of flour. Add some minced garlic, milk, a little salt, and a little pepper. Bring to a simmer and add the shrimp. Stir until sauce thickens and shrimp is cooked. Remove from heat and stir in a bunch of freshly-grated parmesan cheese. Serve over pasta.
Thank You, People!
I boiled all 2lbs of shrimp in salted water for 3 1/2 minutes. In a bowl, I put hot salsa and two unrelated types of hot sauce for dipping. It was better than I deserved…!
Thank You Everyone!
Pro tip for next time you make boil and serve shrimp with dipping sauce: shrimp is so very easy to overcook, and it continues to cook for a little bit after it’s removed from the boiling water. So keep a bowl of ice water nearby and as soon as the shrimp turns opaque in the boiling water, remove and add it to the ice water immediately.
Or if you want to serve the shrimp still warm instead of cocktail style cold shrimp, and this is also good to do if you add shrimp to a soup or a gumbo or stew: turn off the burner (remove the pot from the burner entirely if it’s electric) before you add the shrimp, so it’s cooking in the residual heat, not actively boiling liquid.
For what it’s worth if you are going back for more shrimp, today The Guardian had a recipe for baked prawn taquitos.
Shrimp would substitute in just fine.
Looks pretty tasty .