# Peel-and-eat shrimp: What's the point? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 1, 2025, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439 "2025-04-01T02:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/21 "2025-04-01T16:33:43Z")
I am eating in a Japanese buffet as we speak, so to speak, an ALL YOU CAN EAT place, and i am discovering my body’s capacity for peel- and- eat shrimp. It’s surprisingly high. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/22 "2025-04-01T16:35:32Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s just not worth the effort and sloppy eating. Sloppy eating is a feature, not a bug. Leave that roll of paper towels right on the table, please. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/23 "2025-04-01T16:40:08Z")
Mildly sloppy eating for a worthwhile return (barbecued ribs come to mind) is fine. Peel-and-eat shrimp, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/24 "2025-04-01T16:43:44Z")
Spoken like someone unfamiliar with the glory of North Carolina shrimp. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/25 "2025-04-01T17:27:59Z")
> [@sunacres](#): > > Sure there is - eat 'em! (the tails) My dad did that. My sisters and I thought it was gross. I recently found out that my nephew does too. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/26 "2025-04-01T18:25:59Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Spoken like someone unfamiliar with the glory of North Carolina shrimp. Let’s hear it for Mediterranean (Greek Islands) and Atlantic (Normandy, Brittany) shrimp too. And if you’re putting sauce on a shrimp, you need better shrimp. j ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/27 "2025-04-01T18:48:59Z")
Absolutely re: the other shrimp–I dunno everywhere that’s delicious, but I know good North Carolina shrimp is. But a good sauce can complement the briny sweetness, and I ain’t giving up my lemon butter and my cocktail sauce. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/28 "2025-04-02T05:30:45Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The sauce/spices are on the shells…which you peel off. I like Chinese salt and pepper shrimp where the shell is fried enough that it just becomes a part of the crunchy coating. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/29 "2025-04-02T12:52:45Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I like Chinese salt and pepper shrimp where the shell is fried enough that it just becomes a part of the crunchy coating. Ha, I was going to post about how I heard Neil DeGrasse Tyson say once that he liked to eat shrimp with the shells on, but I wanted to google it to get my facts straight, and look what I found. Looks like both the OP and I have been carapace-challenged for awhile now (I made a few posts in this thread I hardly remember): > [@Shrimp shells...when do you eat them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrimp-shells-when-do-you-eat-them/948040): > > I have seen it said that in some shrimp dishes you can/should eat the shells. What dishes are those? Seems madness to me. In my mind, shrimp shells are up there with eating finger nails. Is this ever a worthwhile thing to do or just peel the shrimp and enjoy? Is there a way to know if you are meant to eat the shells in your shrimp dish without being told? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/30 "2025-04-02T22:28:00Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I like Chinese salt and pepper shrimp where the shell is fried enough that it just becomes a part of the crunchy coating Yes! They’re intended to be eaten. I twist off the heads first, although I understand many Chinese eat them. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/31 "2025-04-02T22:40:39Z")
I sometimes eat the shells, especially if they are cooked enough to be crispy. But even when i don’t, i don’t find them very difficult. I usually grasp the tail with my fingers, and then grasp the flesh of the shrimp with my teeth, and pull gently to remove the shell. A tiny bit of meat remain in the tail, but not much. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/32 "2025-04-03T00:51:57Z")
> [@Boudicca90](#): > > I typically don’t order lobster or crab if I have to de-shell them either. I will happily eat boiled lobster, but only at home as I dismember them so thoroughly I get every last scrap of meat out, even from the knuckles, legs, claw thumbs, and tail flukes, all dipped in melted butter. It’s a gloriously messy process that I would not inflict on observers. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/33 "2025-04-03T01:00:57Z")
The knuckle meat is the best. I don’t even use butter, I love lobster. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/34 "2025-04-03T03:03:17Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > When doing shrimp this way, I marinate them and grill them with the shell on, which helps keep them firm and juicy. There’s lots of room for the marinade to penetrate around the shell Correct, again. This is why you were un-pitted. You answered the “What’s the point.” Sometimes good food is manual. I grew up in Maryland and am now in FL. The shrimp I can get now in FL are FRESH. 99% of shrimp are flash frozen to ship to other places. When you can get fresh shrimp, it’s a huge difference. Blue crabs steamed MD style are inimitable anywhere— caked with crab seasoning (not old bay), and sweet, but you do need potato salad or lots of beer to help fill up if you’re really hungry. I can get through a half dozen crabs (pulling out the jumbo lumps & all) in a couple minutes if I’m anti-social. Crab feasts are more about eating crabs and being social and seeing who can pluck out the biggest jumbo lump. And real, steamed blue crab bought by the dozen (or bushel) in paper grocery bags, & crab cakes. I miss crabs more than I like the shrimp in FL. They don’t do crabs in FL like MD. I don’t like FL…but that’s for another forum. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/35 "2025-04-03T13:53:22Z")
As a kid in Maryland, I loved peeling and eating shrimp. The peeling was part of the ritual and shrimp was rare enough for me that the peeling was worth the reward. Nowadays, I never get peel and eat shrimp because it’s not worth the effort for the crappy shrimp one is liable to be served. Like **Solost,** what annoys me is when you get tail-on shrimp mixed into a dish. I have to fish them out of the fra diavolo sauce or jambalaya to take the tail off instead of just enjoying the meal. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/36 "2025-04-03T20:01:52Z")
I get the impression a lot of Dopers don’t realize how much flavor the shells impart to the dish. They’re a feature! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/37 "2025-04-03T20:34:38Z")
Is there a way to use them as a boquet garni, at least for a boil, or do they need to be touching the shrimp flesh during cooking? ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/38 "2025-04-03T21:44:56Z")
One could peel the shrimp first and make a stock with the shells, then add the stock to the dish (some dishes are done exactly that way) but you are correct, the shrimp themselves won’t be as flavorful that way. Even when we make a dish with whole unshelled shrimp we save the shells from each meal for stock. A few shrimp shells can generate an amazing amount of really delicious rich stock. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/39 "2025-04-03T21:55:57Z")
Once I learned how to peel them with a knife and fork, they became much less annoying. But I would still prefer it if the cook would peel them. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439/40 "2025-04-03T22:22:53Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > I will happily eat boiled lobster, but only at home as I dismember them so thoroughly I get every last scrap of meat out, even from the knuckles, legs, claw thumbs, and tail flukes, all dipped in melted butter. It’s a gloriously messy process that I would not inflict on observers. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > The knuckle meat is the best. I love and eat all of the lobster too, and I enjoy breaking it all open and glorying in the mess as well. Once I ordered a live lobster from Red Lonster and the waiter said “we’ll pre-crack it for you”. I said no, bring me the intact whole lobster and a cracker. I didn’t trust them to not remove the legs or some other part I’d miss, or screw it up somehow with the prep work. The waiter actually had to bring the manager out to the table to make sure I knew that’s what I really wanted. I love the tomalley, the green stuff under the carapace. I like to spin steamed asparagus spears in the tomalley- it’s like lobster-flavored butter. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t even use butter, I love lobster. You don’t eat the shells in that case, I hope 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peel-and-eat-shrimp-whats-the-point/1016439.md?page=3)