Shrimp is by far America’s favorite seafood. With an endless amount of recipe combinations for shrimp, people find themselves asking, do they need to peel shrimp before cooking?
I’m going to answer that question for you today with all the shrimp knowledge I have amassed over the years.
Yes, for most recipes involving shrimp you will need to peel them before cooking. Most shrimp recipes involve the shrimp being cooked with a variety of other ingredients and it would make it difficult to peel the shrimp once the recipe has been cooked.
That is not to say that there is no recipe that involves cooking shrimp in the shells. One of my all time favorite meals is boiled shrimp. You can check out how I boil my shrimp with our complete guide.
I’m going to go over the reason why you would want to peel the shrimp before cooking them in most types of meals. Be sure to read along and leave your favorite shrimp based meal in the comment section.
Ease of consumption
When preparing a meal made of shrimp you would like it to be easy to consume. When leaving the shells on the shrimp it causes the meal to be difficult to eat for a lot of people.
You would have to peel shrimp every time you were to take a bite out of the meal. Imagine making a shrimp jambalaya and before every bite you had to peel the shrimp.
Loss of Flavor
Many would argue that cooking the shrimp in the shells adds flavor and cooking them without will cause your meal to be less flavorful.
The best way around this is to save the shells and the head and make a stock by boiling them in water and using that water in your recipe.
I myself do this for many recipes by making my own shrimp stock with leftover shells and head from the shrimp I peeled for the recipe.
Avoiding a Messy Situation
When you leave the shells on the shrimp for a meal you are creating a messy situation for yourself. People will have to use their hands to peel the shrimp.
So people will have to dig their hands around in their meal just to be able to enjoy their meal.
This can cause a very unpleasant experience when eating shrimp for most people. That’s why I find it best to peel shrimp before cooking.
Best Meals for Peeled shrimp
There are a lot of great meals that used peeled raw shrimp and I’m going to list a few of them below. Go get you some wild caught domestic shrimp and get to cooking some of these great meals and figure which one is your favorite.
- Shrimp Gumbo-It’s a great meal and is a holiday favorite on the Gulf Coast.
- Shrimp Jambalaya- This is an all time classic meal on the Gulf Coast and easy to make.
- Fried Shrimp- Nothing beats a good fried shrimp with some homemade cocktail sauce.
- Shrimp’n’Spaghetti- This meal is often served on shrimp boats for the ease of preparation.
- Banging Bayou Shrimp Tacos- Tacos with fried shrimp and banging bayou sauce, what else could you ask for?
If you love shrimp as much as I do! Check out our awesome shrimp hats and show your support for the American Shrimping industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it easier to peel and devein shrimp before or after cooking?
It is easier to peel and devein shrimp before cooking. It’s also more convenient because the shrimp are bigger before cooking and you can use running water to wash away the veins.
When trying to peel cooked shrimp, you can often over cook the shrimp making it difficult to peel and devein the shrimp.
Can you grill raw peeled shrimp on the grill?
Yes you can grill peeled shrimp on the grill. I recommend using metal or wooden skewers when grilling shrimp as they can fall through the grate on the grill if you’re not using skewers.
Should shrimp be peeled and deveined before boiling?
No, most boiled shrimp are boiled in the shells. One of the most common traditions on the gulf Coast is hosting a shrimp boil where friends and family gather around and peel and eat fresh caught gulf shrimp.
Check out our complete guide to boil shrimp.
You can boil shrimp that have already been peeled and deveined for a quick easy meal but boiled shrimp are best enjoyed boiled in the shell locking in some great flavor in the shell.
Final Thoughts
Shrimp is the fruit of the sea with an endless combination of ways to prepare this wholesome food. You will find that peeling the shrimp before cooking is best for most recipes.
That is not to say you can’t cook shrimp in the shells, there are some great and creative ways to cook the shrimp in the shell that make for a delightful meal such as Bayou BBQ shrimp and Boiled Shrimp.
Whether you cook the shrimp in the shell or peel them before cooking, it is best to use wild domestic shrimp with your meal and enjoy it with friends and family.
Shrimp and the seafood industry are stables in the communities here on the Gulf Coast. Many traditions on the Gulf Coast involve cooking shrimp, and now you too can start making some classic meals and start a new tradition in your community.
If you enjoy the seafood information from Alabayou please support us by browsing our shop and get yourself one of the many products we have to show support of “keeping traditions” alive of the Gulf Coast.
If you would like to know more about shrimp or just the culture and traditions of the Gulf Coast, please call me at 251-508-7234.
