Okay. Can we talk a little about shrimp? And how they’re one of the friendlier seafoods? Even non-seafood-lovers often enjoy shrimp. Shrimp are widely available and easy to cook and can be served in a wide variety of ways. Shrimp is lean and protein-packed and delicious.
What’s not to love, right?
I will tell you. Shrimp that has not been deveined. And when they say “vein,” they really mean “intestinal tract.”
Yes, friends, I’m talking about poop.
I actually kind of hate deveining shrimp; it makes the eating of the shrimp less enjoyable for me. But, since I’ve lived in Louisiana for 6 1/2 years now, I’ve made it a priority to buy gulf shrimp, which is more expensive than farmed international shrimp. And I don’t do shrimp that still have their heads, so the compromise I’m willing to make is that if someone else will take care of the heads and the legs, I can take care of the “vein.” Usually. Sometimes you’ve just gotta make someone else do it.
I kind of assumed everyone deveined their shrimp, but after I moved here, I realized that many, many people don’t devein shrimp. I’ve even had shrimp in fancy New Orleans restaurants that didn’t devein their shrimp. Guys…always devein your shrimp. Maybe it’s cultural, but this is one cultural thing I can’t get onboard with (and I’ve eaten squirrel). But it’s gross not to. It takes away from the shrimp’s delicate flavor. And it’s gritty. Also, it is poo.
So if you’ve never deveined a shrimp, or if it’s always felt intimidating, today’s your day. I’m giving you fair warning right now, I’m showing you how to cut the digestive tract out of a small sea creature, so if that grosses you out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
For starters, I try to buy fresh shrimp from a local fish market (or the grocery store counter, or even a butcher–many meat markets also carry seafood). I realize this isn’t always a possibility, but I’ve had much better luck with less-fishy-tasting shrimp when I don’t buy the frozen bags in the freezer case.
Mine don’t have heads and most of them don’t like legs. Just the way I want them (the still have shells and tails.)
For starters, you need to peel the shrimp. Take one of the little buggers…
and carefully peel off the shell.
You’ll have a little shell-less shrimp. Hold the shrimp with the curved back facing up.
I enlisted the help of my friend and babysitter extraordinaire Laura to help model the actual deveining. She was thrilled.
Take a small, sharp knife and carefully cut down the middle of the shrimp’s back, head to tail, cutting about halfway through the shrimp (less if you can see the vein and it’s more shallow.)
Look for a long, dark line. Usually, in a pound of shrimp, I’ll have two or three where I can’t find a vein–if you’re having a hard time finding one, don’t sweat it. But when you do find it, slip the tip of the knife under the vein and gently lift it out.
When it gets out far enough, you may need to remove the rest with your fingers.
And then voila! You have a perfectly cleaned, ready-to-cook shrimp.
Repeat with the remaining shrimp.
Now…what do you do with them when you’re done? My favorite way to eat them is to use your favorite oil/vinegar-based salad dressing to marinade them (30 minutes-4 hours will do the trick) and then throw them into a grill basket (no need to bother with skewers) on the grill and cook for a few minutes per side. But they also absorb flavor and cook quickly, so if you only have a few minutes, take some olive oil, garlic, a lemon or lime, salt and pepper, a handful of green onions, and 1 pound of peeled, deveined shrimp.
Heat a large skillet (cast iron if you have one) over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (I’m using Our Best Bites garlic olive oil, but lemon or rosemary would be AMAZING) and heat for about 1 minute or until very hot. While the oil is heating, season the shrimp on both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan
and then add the garlic and green onions.
Cook for 2-3 minutes per side or until the shrimp are bright pink. When the shrimp are done cooking, squeeze the juice of the lime or lemon over the shrimp, season with salt and pepper or hot sauce, garnish with a few chopped green onion stems, and serve immediately (with rice or pasta or quinoa or over a green salad).
How to Devein (and Quickly Cook) Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped plus a handful of chopped stems for a garnish
- juice of 1 lemon or lime
- kosher salt freshly ground black pepper, and/or hot sauce
Instructions
- Peel the shrimp. Using a small, sharp knife, cut from the head to the tail of the back (curved side) of the shrimp, cutting about halfway through the shrimp. Using the tip of the knife, carefully remove the vein, using your fingers to pull it out if necessary. Repeat with the remaining shrimp.
- To quickly pan fry, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. While the oil is heating, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan, then add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes per side.
- Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and season with additional salt, pepper, and/or hot sauce. Serve over rice, pasta, quinoa, alongside a steak, or on a salad.
Questions & Reviews
Friend, babysitter & shrimp devein-er…that Laura is a keeper!
Kate, you are funny. “Also, it is poo.” Hahahahaha! Not gonna argue with that 🙂
Love your simple recipe. I have been making this recipe http://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/honey-lime-shrimp for a couple of years and the family loves it. The red pepper flakes add just a little kick that compliments the honey and lime perfectly.
Okay, when I saw the words ‘devein’, ‘quickly’, and ‘shrimp’, I was hoping you had some revolutionary way of deveining shrimp that would only take a minute per pound or something. Oh my word, I hate deveining shrimp. It totally takes the flavor out of the meal for me. But you know, I just can’t eat the poo. That’s disgusting. I bought two bags of pretty pink Key West shrimp (I’m in Idaho, so frozen it is), not realizing how long it would take to remove all the poop. By the time it was all cooked, I didn’t even feel like eating anymore. I kind of felt like maybe Jim Gaffigan was right about shellfish. So I pretty much have to buy already deveined shrimp if I’m ever going to cook it again. It’s so delicious when I don’t have to touch the poop.
Thank you for teaching me something new! This is one thing that I have always wondered about but didn’t know how to learn. I always thought “de-vein” was a euphemism for “de-poo” but wasn’t sure.
Thanks for the info! The recipe looks wonderful, by the way!
Thank you for this! I love seafood and will eat practically anything that comes out of the ocean, but eating shrimp that hasn’t been deveined is gross! I remove both the one on top and the one on the underside (just because it creeps me out).
Thanks for the recipe. It looks great!
I do about the same as you, but I use a small sharp-pointed scissors. Put the tip of the scissors into the opening of the “vein” and clip along the back toward the tail end. Works pretty good with less chance of me getting cut. It also surprisingly doesn’t mess up the “vein”.
As a shrimp lover and Louisiana gal, I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS devein my shrimp, because, as you say, it is poo. :). Great post for those who don’t know how easy it is to devein shrimp. Also, that polka dot knife is so cute I bet it makes deveining shrimp easier.