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I spend quite a bit of time preparing shrimp whenever we have it at home, peeling (relatively easy) and deveining (an irritating, slow, messy process) As I enjoyed the S&P shrimp at LTH, I realized that there's no way in which this shrimp had been deveined as it is whole, and it's delicious.

How necessary is this step? Sometimes, the veins are clear, but more often than not, they're quite full. Does this step really matter? I estimate that doing away with this step will increase my shrimp consumption about twofold, which I'm eager to do. Joy of Cooking suggests that you can take or leave the vein, but that it might impart a bitter taste - other cookbooks are adamant about removing the vein. I've never found anybody pro-vein, but, then, I've yet to find a pro-shell cookbook...

I'm pro-uncooked and pro-shell shrimp. Last week, along with a trip to Marketplace on Oakton, I stopped in Aldi and got frozen, raw, shell-on shrimp for a gumbo. They were a little smaller than I'd have liked (31-50s), but at $3.99 per one pound package, I could live with that.

More to the point, they were labeled "E-Z Peel" shrimp, which means they were slit down the back of the shell, in most cases removing the vein in the process. For the few that still did have bits of vein, the bits were easy to see and pick out.

The Wife got some big shrimp at Costco recently, and although I don't think they were labeled "E-Z Peel," they did have the slit up the back which made cleaning and shelling very, very easy. I noticed no problems with cooking or off-flavors. That's the best kind of progress.

I de-vein shrimp if they're medium sized (36-40) or larger. I do it for aesthetics as well as taste. Nine times out of ten, you won't taste anything from the digestive tract, but that one time can put a bitter, sandy taste in your mouth that is unpleasant. Also, I don't want to pick out little black strings out of my teeth.

Preparations that involve a whole, fried shell-on shrimp often skip the cleaning, which I consider to be no big deal and just part of the dish. You take the good with the bad.

When I buy shrimp to have at home, I often buy shell on, raw shrimp from Whole Foods which are already de-veined (the shells are split along the back).

Why do I bother with the shells? Shrimp stock is very useful.

Best,
Michael

When I want to cheat, I find the frozen, pre-cooked shrimp at Aldi are very good for what they are - I've never tried their uncooked, because I'm enamored of the $5.99/lb shrimp at H-Mart, maybe 16-20 size? They are delicious, and the shells do make lovely stock. Sigh. I was hoping for a shortcut (other than yet another kitchen appliance.) Shelling isn't the problem, but picking out the vein X 30 is tedious, annoying work. I'll have to try the Aldi uncooked next time I'm there...

Of course, maybe that's why shrimp are designated by the Almighty to be a special-occasion dish...

Well, I do use a couple of tools that make the job easier.

Have you tried one of these sheller gizmos? I find it makes short work of shelling and deveining in one step. There may be some bits to pick off, but you can usually just rinse them out. And they're certainly cheap enough.



For shrimp that are already peeled, but not deveined, this tool (repurposed for kitchen use) is faster and easier than a paring knife.

I've wondered about those - Alton Brown made me feel guilty about buying one, but H-Mart shrimp are in our diet often enough that, with a recommendation, I'll reconsider...