Seafood on our table most often plays the role of delicacies, but they are very useful and necessary for our body. One of the popular delicacies is shrimp. But not everyone knows how to peel shrimp and how to cook them properly.
These marine inhabitants have an unusual and delicate taste. There are many recipes for cooking shrimp dishes, only the processing process is one, although it also has some features and options.
What are the benefits of shrimp
These little delicacies are very useful. Shrimp meat contains only 7-8% fat, and this is especially beneficial for the heart and blood vessels. Shrimps contain many trace elements, vitamins, amino acids and minerals. They are rich in calcium, potassium, iodine, zinc, sulfur.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in large quantities. A substance like astaxanthin, which turns crustaceans red when cooked, is much stronger than vitamin E and the antioxidants we get from fruits and vegetables.
Eating shrimp regularly will keep you in excellent physical shape. It remains to learn the secret of how to properly peel shrimp.
Of course, we buy this delicacy in the store. It is sold both in purified and unrefined form. Peeled shrimp, of course, are more expensive.
Each of us chooses in what form it is better to buy them. But, we will take into account that three kilograms of unpeeled shrimp correspond in value to one kilogram of peeled ones.
If we are dealing with unpeeled shrimp, the question is whether they need to be shelled or not. National cuisines some peoples offer recipes for shrimp dishes, the preparation of which takes place heat treatment the whole product, together with the shell, and even the paws and head.
Shrimps are cooked in this way in Italy and China. There are options when shrimp, before eating them, you need to remove the head and legs, and eat the shell along with the meat.
The French and Italians leave tails on shrimp to make them easier to fry. And to make the dish look more aesthetically pleasing, the chefs of some restaurants cook shrimp with the head.
However, the head of crustaceans also contains a lot useful substances. Therefore, you might think whether to peel shrimp from all these utilities, or not.
The process of cleaning shrimp is not the most difficult, and not so unpleasant, compared to cleaning fish. There are several ways to start cleaning.
You can first remove the head, then pull the tail to remove the shell, and then pull out the esophagus. You can first remove the legs from the shrimp, then the shell and head.
Bags with eggs, which may be on the paws, must be removed carefully, since caviar can also be eaten. Shrimps need to be cleaned of veins inside, for this they are cut lengthwise with a carving knife, and all unnecessary is removed with the tip of the knife. It is best to use special tools for this.
You can peel shrimp in an elegant way. To do this, first cut off the paws with special kitchen scissors. Then, in the direction of the length of the outer bend, cut the shell with a small knife and push its halves apart.
The dark “vein” is carefully pry off with the tip of a knife, the meat is taken out and washed well under running water. You can first remove the shell, and then remove the vena cava.
To boiled shrimp it was easier to clean them, they are dipped in cold water for a few seconds while still hot.
Shrimps, like any seafood, are famous high content iodine, calcium and protein. Undoubtedly, you need to consume them for food, and for this you should be able to properly clean them.
Maximum benefit are able to bring only the freshest products, and this, of course, also applies to shrimp. The freshly caught product has practically no smell, it is distinguished by a moist and elastic carcass. Such a shrimp has a tail, and a head, and legs are always in place and hold well, its color is gray-green, without white bloom. If the insides in the head area are black, this is a sign of damage. Ideally, the head should not differ in color from the entire body or have a red-orange tint. If there is no access to fresh shrimp, you have to purchase frozen ones. It is safer (and cheaper) to buy unpeeled king prawns. In this case, it is possible to assess the condition of the product by the color of the head. Having chosen cleaned carcasses, we rely only on the conscience of the manufacturer. The contents of the pack are of poor quality if there is snow or a large number of ice glaze.
Correctly peeling a king prawn means eating high-quality, exclusively useful product. And this is the path to health and longevity.
Before peeling shrimp, experts advise to cook them unpeeled. This will exclude the possibility of microbes, dust particles and third-party components entering the meat during transportation and packaging (there is no guarantee that everything was done in compliance with all the established standards).
Buying unpeeled shrimp and then processing them yourself is not only safer, but also tastier! Boiling unpeeled, makes it possible to preserve their aroma and useful components.
Before you eat shrimp, you just need to remove the shell from them - this is an easy procedure, and many even like it!
In this article, we will tell you how to properly clean shrimp, whether peeled, raw or frozen.
How to peel raw shrimp
Of course, shrimps are delicious on their own, but they are often an ingredient in some kind of dish and they need to be pre-cleaned before cooking, and you need to know how to properly clean raw shrimps so that they retain their qualities and naturally unique aroma.
Cleaning crustaceans in raw or boiled form involves several simple steps. Regardless of the type of shrimp, cleaning them is easy.
Let's describe the process step by step.
Video "How to clean raw"
How to peel shrimp if they are raw.
How to clean frozen
How to properly clean raw shrimp, we examined. Now we have to consider how to clean frozen ones. There are some nuances here.
How to clean boiled
Many people know how to clean boiled shrimp, but even in such a simple matter there are some subtleties and tricks.
Clean up in order.
Shrimp can be cleaned using any of the methods we have proposed, depending on the form in which you purchased them. Don’t worry if something doesn’t work right away and you might ruin a few things. With a little practice, you will start to get everything right.
How to eat shrimp
After cleaning, the question may arise, namely, how to eat shrimp? It all depends on your preferences. You can simply without any tricks, i.e. in a "pure" form. However, this is too banal for such a valuable and rather expensive product. It is better to cook them in some special way or even make a special dish.
For example, if you are a beer lover, then make an excellent shrimp fragrant snack. It is quite easy to prepare.
When it turns golden, add the shrimp to it.
Fry until cooked and put on a platter. You can decorate with dill or parsley, you can also sprinkle with lemon juice.
But if you prefer shrimp in pure form, then you can make a kind of assortment, namely put on the same dish with other seafood (for example, squid) or crayfish.
Enjoy your meal!
- If you purchased boiled frozen shrimp, then in principle they are already ready and you can eat them. However, in order to achieve more refined taste We still advise you to boil them a little.
- If the shrimp are cooked correctly, then the cooked meat should be tender and soft, taste a little sweet, and have a pleasant aroma.
- In order not to bother cleaning shrimp, buy peeled ones.
- You can clean, namely, you can free the shrimp from the shell before cooking, or after.
- It is better to buy large shrimp. Meat in them is not only more, but it is also a little tastier.
This video shows how to properly clean shrimp if they are frozen.
How to clean shrimp? This question arises in almost any housewife who bought and decided to cook shrimp at home for the first time.
Today I will give you tips on how to do this, and also show all this in a photo and video.
But first, let's talk about the benefits of this product.
Shrimp is a seafood that is rich in phosphorus, potassium, amino acids, vitamin E and A, and various antioxidants. That is, all dishes made from shrimp are not only tasty, but also very healthy.
1) We put fresh shrimp on fire. Cook in boiling water for 3 minutes. This is necessary not only in order to cook the meat of these seafood, but in order to make it easier to clean them later. We look at the photo. Note: Raw shrimp can also be peeled. But boiled ones are much easier to peel.
2) We take out the cooked shrimp and cool them for a few seconds under cold water. This step is also important in order for the shrimp's chitinous shell to be better cleaned.
3) We take the shrimp by the back with the belly up. We tear off her head (as in the photo).
4) The next step is to remove the legs from the shrimp (pictured below). Sometimes there may be caviar at the base of the legs. It must be carefully peeled off with a knife - it is also a delicacy, and it can be used in the preparation of the same dish for which we cook shrimp.
6) Having reached half of the body, we take it with the fingers of one hand, and with the other hand we gently pull the tail part of the shell, thereby pulling it off the body of the shrimp.
First you need to make sure the freshness of the shrimp. Any shrimp should be stored in the refrigerator at -18 to -21 °C. Raw shrimp should be eaten within 48 hours of purchase, while cooked shrimp can be stored for 5-7 days. Frozen shrimp keep for 5-6 months.
Wash the shrimp. Place them in a colander and rinse thoroughly cold water. Examine each carefully and set aside those that appear slimy, colorless, or have a strong fishy odor.
- The temperature of the water in which you wash and defrost shrimp should be below room temperature. Shrimps cook very quickly, so hot water will make the texture of their meat sticky and stringy.
Get rid of your head. Grasp the head with your index finger and thumb, where it is connected to the body, and with the other hand, hold the tail firmly. Squeeze and twist the head to tear it away from the body.
- Not all shrimp are sold with the head on, and some people prefer to leave it on to enhance the flavor. ready meal. Heads can also be eaten, although this seems strange. Tear off your heads if you are a very squeamish person.
- Put the heads in a separate bag and try to take it out as soon as possible, otherwise it will appear very quickly bad smell. You can also leave the heads and cook homemade broth from seafood.
Pull off the legs. Having dealt with the head, turn the shrimp "belly" towards you. Squeeze the legs firmly with your fingertips and tear off towards the tail. This is easy enough to do, but you are unlikely to be able to remove all the legs the first time. Repeat the process to get rid of the remaining limbs.
Remove the shell. There are several different ways remove the shell, and the effectiveness of each depends on whether you are working with raw or already cooked shrimp. Try to start the process from where you ripped off the legs, and gradually remove the shell segments from the sides of the shrimp. This is the most common cleaning method.
- Use your fingernail or small fruit knife to remove the shell segments one at a time. This can also be done by first removing the head and then stripping off the shell along the back of the shrimp. This method is no less effective.
- Alternatively, you can use a knife to cut the shell along the curved part of the shrimp and then peel it off the sides. This method is most often used for cleaning raw shrimp, as you still have to get a vein out of them.
The tail fin can be removed if desired. Most often, shrimp are cooked along with the tail fin, but it all depends on the recipe. The tail fin is easy to remove, and for this it is necessary to slightly pull it to the side. Use a small knife to make a cut along the bottom of the tail if you can't remove the fin with your hands.
Remove the vein. A dark vein runs along the back of the shrimp, which acts as an intestinal tract. With a knife, you can get it if you make a deep cut in the pulp of the shrimp right along this vein.
- The incision should not be too deep, just make an incision that will allow you to get to the vein (it is located approximately in the middle of the shrimp).
- Pry the vein with the tip of the knife, and then pull your fingers towards the tail. The vein should come out easily. Check that the intestinal tract is completely removed.
