How to Peel Frozen Boiled Shrimp Before Frying for Salad

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In supermarkets, shrimp are often sold already frozen. On an industrial scale, they are cleaned by hand in the same way as at home, using specialized tools. The housewife needs to know the principle of preparing crustaceans for various recipes in order to put on the table a dish with a neat appearance and pleasant taste.

How to Peel Shrimp for Serving with the Shell On

Sometimes it is acceptable to serve shrimp in the shell, and large types of seafood (for example, king ones) are more suitable for this. The food will turn out edible and tasty only if you first remove the intestinal wreath filled with sand and other ingredients that will crunch on your teeth.

It’s worth noting right away that this method is only suitable for raw shrimp, and in a cooked product the meat is quite dense and will interfere with this process. The frozen variety must first be kept on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or at room temperature in a colander.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. The first step is to curl the tail of the shrimp so that the soft joints between the head and the chitin scales become accessible.
2. Use a toothpick to pierce it at the bottom, pry up the wreath and lift it up.

3. Now you should check the integrity of the intestines. If not all of it comes out, you need to repeat the steps, making punctures in other places.

If boiling is required, the head can be left, as it contains valuable substances that will make the meat more tender and nutritious. All that remains is to hide the flesh of the sea creature back under the scales and cook according to the recipe.

Cleaning boiled seafood

Those who like to treat themselves to delicious seafood delicacies have probably thought more than once about how to clean king prawns so that they maximize their taste in the finished dish. Experts believe that boiled crustaceans retain nutrients better in their shells, and their meat remains juicier and more flavorful. It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the fact that a cooked product is much easier to clean

Principles for cleaning boiled shrimp:

1. If the cleansing of raw seafood begins from the back, then the boiled seafood is cleaned starting from the belly. The individual is taken by the head and placed belly up.
2. First, cut the shell using sharp scissors and being careful not to damage the meat. An incision is made, moving from the head to the tail, and the plates are carefully removed. It is important not to confuse them with the fleshy part, since they have the same color.
3. When working with boiled seafood, you need to prepare a bowl of warm water in advance. This measure will allow you to immediately wash off the legs, scales, intestinal veins and other interfering elements that stick to your fingers.
4. They begin to remove the intestinal vein. If you are careful, it will not tear or fall apart. Since the intestinal thread in miniature crustaceans is very fragile, it is better to cut it out. From large ones they simply pull it out.
5. If the recipe allows, you can leave the head, because it contains a huge amount of valuable substances that, during cooking, make the meat more nutritious and tender.

Whether to peel shrimp before or after cooking depends on the preference of the cook or on what kind of dish is planned. even a novice cook can cope with cleaning seafood .

How to remove a shell without cutting off the head

Peeling frozen shrimp, removing only the shell, is required when the head will serve as decoration in a dish. For the procedure you will need a knife and scissors with sharp ends.

Step by step guide:

1. The seafood product should first be defrosted in a gentle way at the bottom of the refrigerator.
2. Next, you need to grab the head of the shrimp with one hand, and bend the tail with the other, lifting all the plates above the flesh.
3. You need to place the edge of the scissors under the first scale and cut the shell using top-down movements.
4. Now you need to pick up the intestinal vein with a toothpick or use an abdominal incision and remove it completely.

Finally, you need to remove the legs and chitinous plates, constantly dipping the shrimp in warm water to avoid particles sticking to your hands.

Classic method (hand cleaning)

The sirloin part of the sea creature is often used to prepare snacks, first and second courses. You can completely clean the sea creature with your hands. For this, as in previous cases, preliminary defrosting of the shrimp is required.

Detailed description of the procedure:

1. First you need to tear off the head, picking it up with your fingers and separating it from the tail, and the legs, which you need to collect in a bun and pull it towards you.

   
   Tips on how to peel frozen shrimp are given in the article

2. Next, you should carefully remove the scales, strictly moving from top to bottom. It is more convenient to do this by separating each section of the shell in turn.
3. All that remains is to remove the intestines, and to do this you can make a cut with a knife or grab it with a toothpick and completely remove it from the meat.

This process is applicable to boiled and fresh defrosted products. It is allowed to save the shrimp tail for a beautiful serving, but you should not eat it.

Using scissors

Kitchen scissors make the cleaning process easier if done carefully while maintaining the integrity of the meat.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. The first step is to get rid of the head and legs, which are easy to tear off with your hands.
2. Now you need to take kitchen scissors and make a small cut in the middle of the shell, starting from the top side.
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3. You should slowly separate the plates, trying not to cut off the meat with them, which is already small.
4. Next, you need to make another cut (about 5 mm), but this time on the soft part of the back. A dark stripe should appear - this is the intestines and stomach of the shrimp. You need to pick it up with something sharp and pull it out with your fingers.

All that remains is to rinse the sea creature under the tap and begin cooking.

How to clean frozen ones

You can peel frozen shrimp only after some manipulations. The nuances must be observed, since proper preparation will affect the taste, aroma and appearance of the dish.

Instructions for cleaning large specimens:

1. The frozen product must first be placed in a colander and rinsed with cold water from the tap.
2. Next, you need to dry the shrimp with napkins, transfer to an enamel bowl and sprinkle with a little salt to speed up the process.
3. After a few minutes, you need to put the crustaceans back into a colander and keep them under a cold stream until the carcasses become limp.
4. If the product is purchased with the head, then it must be torn off with your hands along with the paws.
5. Now you need to cut the shell with a knife and carefully remove the plates one by one, rinsing your hands from sticky mucus.

6. Frozen shrimp may have more difficulty removing the intestinal vein as it may rupture. Therefore, be sure to make an incision and gently pull with your fingers.

Before cooking, be sure to rinse the carcasses again in cold water.

The described method is not suitable for small individuals, since the finished product will lose its beautiful appearance, and the carcasses will be severely damaged. It is better to remove the shell by pulling the tail.

How to clean boiled

Peeling boiled shrimp, unlike frozen shrimp, is much easier, but there are a few tricks that will help make this process easier.

Procedure:

1. You need to take the carcass by the head with your fingers so that the belly is on top, and separate the legs first.
2. Now you should separate the head by simply tearing it off from the body.
3. The shell must be removed by pulling the tail.

Something may go wrong the first time and several carcasses will be ruined. Everything comes with experience and, with a little training, the hostess will quickly cope with the task.

Cleaning with a fork

This method is suitable for already prepared king prawns (small specimens are inconvenient to peel with a fork). Step-by-step algorithm:

1. Take a headless shrimp. Look at where the head used to be to see a black stripe, just under the shell, on the upper side.
2. Take a two-pronged kitchen fork and place it over the strip.
3. Hold the shrimp firmly and begin to push the tine of the fork into the cavity. The shrimp will begin to straighten as the prong moves upward. Due to pressure, the shell is easily separated from the meat.

Once you've peeled them, it's time to cook and eat them. There are many recipes for preparing shrimp, and you can also eat them raw with cocktail sauce. Remember that the shrimp do not cook for long, only 2-3 minutes.

You can tell when shrimp are ready by the pink color of the meat.

How to clean royal

King prawns are much larger in size; more often they arrive on the counter from special farms already in processed form.

If the owner is lucky enough to purchase a valuable product, then it is worth studying some of the nuances that will help to properly prepare the sea creature:

1. Shrimp must first be defrosted at room temperature or immediately rinsed under cold running water. Next, you need to blot each with a napkin, collecting all the moisture and mucus. This way they will be easier to hold in your hands. The head should be removed first, and then, by pulling the tail, remove the entire shell and remove the intestines.

2. Sometimes there is a small pouch on the paws that contains caviar. It is very tasty, nutritious and suitable for food. You just need to remove it very carefully so as not to damage the shell.
3. If you have special kitchen scissors on hand, you can use them to peel already defrosted shrimp. To do this, you first need to cut off the legs with them, and then make a cut along the outer bend of the shell. Now you need to open it, first cut out the crown, and then take out the meat, which must be rinsed before cooking.

Gourmets resort to an easier method. It involves a sharp change in temperature after boiling. To do this, remove the carcasses from boiling water immediately into ice water for a couple of minutes. During this time, the shell will burst and can be easily removed.

Delicious shrimp appetizer for beer

Seafood is a great appetizer to go with beer. You can cook shrimp for beer using the method described above. But we suggest you try cooking them in the same drink.

Required components for 1 kg of fresh frozen product:

• 1 liter of beer (preferably dark);
• 50 g salt;
• 4 things. bay leaves;
• 10 pieces. black pepper;
• a handful of parsley leaves;
• spoon of dill seeds;
• half a lemon.

1. We defrost the semi-finished product in the usual manner described earlier.
2. Pour beer into the pan and heat it at medium temperature. Add all the seasonings to it, add some salt and add half a lemon. Bring to a boil.
3. Place the crustaceans into the boiling beer mixture and boil for approximately three minutes. Remove from the stove, close the lid and keep in the resulting broth for some time.
4. Place on a plate, garnish with herbs and lemon slices. A wonderful snack for a foamy drink is ready.

The ability to cook shrimp correctly is the key to ensuring that the food will be perfectly tasty and healthy. We hope that the recommendations we have prepared will help you master the technology of their production to perfection.

Carcasses of delicious, aromatic crustaceans can be served as a main dish or as one of the components of salads, cold appetizers and much more. You should familiarize yourself with the information on how to properly clean shrimp in order to preserve the unique taste of this exquisite, beloved seafood product.

What's the best way to clean before frying?

There are 3 ways to peel frozen shrimp before frying. The choice of option depends on the recipe and the method of serving the finished dish.

Detailed description:

1. If the recipe calls for the use of only pulp, then the sea creature should be completely freed from excess. To do this, you first need to tear off the head by hooking it with your fingers and turning it to the side. Next, you need to remove the legs and remove the shell by cutting it in the middle of the back. The scales can be easily removed by hand or with kitchen scissors.
2. When the shrimp are served on their own or serve as a decoration, it is worth leaving a tail, by which guests will subsequently hold the carcass. A widely known method for preparing a sea creature called Butterfly. For it, it is necessary to cut the belly at the end so that during the frying process the carcass opens up like a butterfly.

3. But more often shrimp are fried unpeeled. All you need to do is wash them and remove the paws and intestinal veins of large specimens. When cooked together with the head, the meat will retain all its beneficial properties, juiciness and taste.

For the last cooking method, it is not necessary to defrost the purchased product. Just choose carcasses with the least amount of ice.

For the salad

In order for the salad to turn out with excellent taste and appearance, it is necessary to properly prepare shelled sea crustaceans.

There are some tricks that will make the process easier so it won't be tedious:

1. Frozen large shrimp must be kept at room temperature, placed in a colander and placed on a plate. This way, the thawed liquid will not come into contact with the product and make it watery. Small carcasses can simply be washed under the tap.
2. Now you should rinse everything and boil it in a salted mixture. The crustaceans need to be removed from boiling water immediately into ice water to make cleaning easier.
3. You need to start the main process with the head and paws, which you simply need to tear off or cut off with scissors. It is better to remove the shell by hand so as not to damage the flesh. A few pieces can be left with tails to decorate the dish on top.
4. Next, you need to find a dark stripe on the back (intestines), which you pick up with a knife and carefully pull out with your fingers, being careful not to damage it.

The last step is to rinse the seafood product again and chop it for salad.

What can you combine peeled shrimp with in salads?

Ready seafood should be served immediately. Shrimp can be added to any salad and we will give several options for every day.

• A good salad for any feast is a vegetable one. Just add peeled boiled shrimp to the tomatoes and the dish will be transformed. Add chopped greens to the salad, drizzle with olive oil and serve.
• Pairs very well with avocado shrimp. Cut the avocado into long slices and place whole seafood on top. Complete the salad with your favorite greens and season with oil.
• Shrimp can be combined with other seafood. Rapana, mussels, and squid go well with sea crustaceans. You can make both cold and hot salads from these ingredients.

Simple salads from peeled shrimp Every home cook now knows how to peel shrimp at home and will cope with this task with a bang.

How to choose shrimp

How to fry shrimp in a frying pan

How to cook squid correctly

How to cook vegetables for salad

How to clean in a restaurant

There are etiquette rules that must be followed in a restaurant.

It is worth familiarizing yourself with how to peel shrimp prepared in different ways in a public place:

• Boiled crustaceans are often served unpeeled. The first step is to get rid of the head using your thumb and index finger, turning it to the side. Next, taking the middle of the body, you need to pull the tail. This way the shell should come off easily, and all that remains is to tear off the legs. You can eat with your hands or with a fork.

• Large shrimp in soup or fried should be served peeled, but with tails, by which it is convenient to pick them up, dip them in the sauce and eat them.

Special etiquette instructions in a restaurant when eating seafood. Next to the main shrimp dish, waiters are required to place 2 more plates.

The first empty one is needed for waste, but if you don’t have it, you can use a napkin, which is not entirely aesthetically pleasing. Clean water with lemon juice is poured into the second so that the visitor dips his fingers there when cutting the carcass, getting rid of the specific smell and juice.

Frozen product processing

Not only do you need to avoid making mistakes in choosing valuable seafood, you also need to know how to peel shrimp. Frozen and unpeeled crustaceans are usually light pink in color.

Subject to storage conditions, the integrity of the seafood product should not be compromised. If the shrimp have white spots on the shell, are covered with a thick layer of ice and are difficult to separate, then you should think about their quality.

It is quite possible that such products were subjected to repeated freezing. It’s clearly not worth buying, much less cleaning, such shrimp.

Expert opinion

Zakharov Igor Vyacheslavovich

Consultant at a furniture store. 5 years of experience.

Of course, many housewives will say that it is better to boil frozen seafood first and only then clean it. However, when implementing a specific culinary idea, sometimes you cannot do without a raw and refined component.

To figure out how to peel frozen shrimp, you need to read the following instructions:

1. Large elements. It’s not hard to guess that the first thing you need to do is defrost them. It is better not to leave frozen seafood in the refrigerator or place it on the table, as this may result in spoilage of the product. It is much easier and faster to rinse the shrimp under running warm water. By cutting the abdomen or back, the intestine is removed from the body of the individual. It is customary to freeze seafood without the shell, but when these conditions are not met, you will have to tinker a little with removing it. The workpieces are thoroughly washed with water and dried with napkins.
2. Small elements. According to experienced chefs, it is better to clean small crustaceans following the same procedure as in the case of a boiled product, otherwise the whole process will take a very long time. In addition, when cleaning it is easy to damage the product, which will lead to the loss of its appetizing appearance.

If prepared as an independent snack

Peeling frozen shrimp is necessary for independent snacks; if they need to be fried in batter, there is no time or skills to remove the scales during lunch. Otherwise, everything depends on the recipe of the dish and family preferences.

If you need to pre-boil the crustaceans, you should remove only the legs. Add a little citric acid or any spices to boiling water, and when ready, place on ice to make it easier to remove the shell later.

The cleaning process can be done before serving on a beautiful platter, or you can let guests do it themselves. Only in the latter case is it necessary to install additional waste plates next to each.

Fried shrimp are also offered in different forms. If the scales are to be left, then it is better to remove the intestinal wreath and cook in a frying pan only until the shell darkens.

What does the market offer?

You can use both raw and frozen unpeeled shrimp to prepare various dishes.

On store shelves you can find the following options:

• Raw.
• Raw frozen. They are grey.
• Boiled-frozen, unpeeled. These have a pinkish tint.
• Boiled-frozen without shell. A great option if you don’t have time to bother cleaning the product, because it’s a long and monotonous process.

Rules for cleaning red Argentine shrimp

Such crustaceans are often sold in boxes together with the head in an unpeeled form. The shell of the product is red - this is a natural color. It is worth studying the description on the packaging to make sure there are raw or already boiled sea creatures inside.

The contents of the box must be placed in a colander and held under a cold stream until the shell softens. Next, you must remove the head by tearing it off the body with two fingers.

Now remove the chitinous plates, which should come off easily in this type of crustacean. Whether to leave the tail or not depends on the method of cooking chosen by the hostess, or preferences for serving. Even if the black stripe is not visible on the carcass, you should make a cut on the tail from the back and remove the intestine, which is sometimes not visible due to the fact that it is empty.

The last step is to rinse the product under cold running tap water.

Rules for cleaning fresh and boiled shrimp

For recipes that require pre-cleaning of shrimp, it is better to purchase fresh seafood.

It is this ingredient that lends itself more quickly to all manipulations:

1. The first step is to rinse the crustaceans in cold water and be sure to dry them with kitchen napkins.

2. After removing the head and legs, carefully cut the chitinous plates with a knife or scissors, moving towards the tail. Next, remove the scales, being careful not to catch the meat, which may not differ in color on fresh shrimp.
3. Now you need to find the intestinal vein, pick it up with a toothpick and pull it out with your fingers, and finally inspect its integrity. There is no need to rush at this moment.

The cooked ingredient is even easier to clean, but only if the heat treatment has been carried out correctly. It is enough to remove the head of the crustacean, remove the legs with eggs and, holding the tail with your fingers, remove the entire shell.

How to clean langoustines

Langoustines are often classified as a member of the shrimp family, although they are related to lobsters, but the principle of preparation is very similar. Having purchased this product for the first time, the housewife wonders how to clean the seafood product for different types of recipes.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. To fry or boil the whole langoustine, it is enough to remove the intestinal vein by rolling up the carcass, picking up the dark strip inside the meat between the scales with a toothpick and carefully removing it.
2. If the recipe calls for pulp, then it is necessary to make an incision along the entire length of the shell, remove the chitinous plates by pulling the tail, and remove the intestines.

3. For appetizers, the tail is often left to make it convenient to eat langoustines, holding it and dipping the carcass into the sauce.

The last preparation option is also suitable for decorating dishes on a holiday plate.

HOW TO CLEAN SEAFOOD COMPLETELY

Pure fillet is used in salads, first and main courses. At the same time, the head, tail, and shell are removed and the flesh is protected from the entrails. It is convenient to do this with your hands with partial use of a knife.

The algorithm is as follows:

1. First, the head is removed by tearing it off from the tail with your fingers;
2. Then remove the shell, moving from head to tail, while grasping the legs of the crustacean with your fingers and removing each scale in a circular motion;
3. If necessary, the last scales near the tail are left if shrimp are cooked on the grill or in a frying pan as an independent snack;
4. Using a sharp knife, make an incision along the back and pull out the wreath.

This method is suitable for fresh and boiled crustaceans.

Why are shrimp difficult to peel?

Sometimes the housewife is faced with a situation where shrimp are difficult to peel.

The table shows common errors that led to this problem:

If your family loves shrimp dishes (frozen or fresh), then you should purchase a special cutting tool that will make the preparatory steps easier and faster. Also, after cleaning, the product will completely retain its integrity and neat appearance.

Adviсe

• If you purchased boiled frozen shrimp, then in principle they are already ready and can be eaten. However, to achieve a more refined taste, we still recommend boiling them a little.
• If the shrimp are cooked correctly, the cooked meat should be tender and soft, taste a little sweet, and have a pleasant aroma.
• To avoid the hassle of peeling shrimp, buy peeled ones.
• You can peel, that is, remove the shrimp from the shell before or after cooking.
• It is better to buy large shrimp. Not only do they have more meat, but it’s also a little tastier.