Cleaning and preparing raw or cooked shrimp requires essentially the same steps. Whatever variety of shrimp you have purchased, by reading this article you will learn how to check if they are fresh and how to prepare them for whatever recipe you have in mind.
Steps
Step 1. Check the shrimp to make sure they are fresh
Whatever variety they are, they should be kept in the refrigerator at a temperature between 0 and 3 ° C. If they are raw, they will be eaten within 48 hours of purchase, while cooked ones will last up to 5-7 days. Generally, frozen shrimp can be stored in the freezer for up to 5 or 6 months.
- Cooked shrimp should be firm, pinkish-white in color and should not give off a strong fishy smell. In some cases they will still have the head, legs and shell, while in others some or all of these parts will have already been removed.
- Raw shrimp should be firm, transparent, slightly shiny, and shouldn't give off a strong odor. In most cases the legs, the shell and often the head will still be present.
- Frozen shrimp, whether cooked or raw, should be left to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cleaning or gutting. If necessary, you can remove from the freezer only the shrimp you intend to eat and let them defrost in a bowl full of cold water placed in the sink. In this case, 20-30 minutes should be enough.
Step 2. Rinse them
Transfer the shrimp to a colander and wash them thoroughly with cold water. Inspect them closely to see if they appear deteriorated in any way while you wash them. Immediately discard any that are slimy, faded, or have a very strong or unpleasant fishy smell.
To clean raw shrimp you must use only cold water, the temperature of which must not exceed that of the environment, otherwise they could start cooking becoming hard and rubbery
Step 3. Remove the heads
Grab the head of the shrimp with the index and thumb of your dominant hand, where it connects to the body, and hold the rest of the shrimp with the other hand. Pinch your head between your fingers and twist it to one side or the other until it comes off.
- Not all shrimp are sold with the head; also, some people prefer to cook them whole to give the recipe more flavor. If you want, you can eat the heads too, although the sensation may be a bit strange. However, if the thought alone bothers you, you can easily remove them as explained above.
- Immediately throw the heads in an organic waste bag and close it carefully to prevent them from spreading an unpleasant smell in the kitchen. If possible, take it immediately to the garbage cans outside the home. Alternatively, you can store them in the refrigerator and use them to make a shrimp or shellfish stock.
Step 4. Remove the paws
Once the head is detached, turn the shrimp so that the abdomen is facing up and grasp the small legs firmly between your fingers. Pull them down towards the thing to detach them from your body. They should come off quite easily, but you probably won't be able to remove them all at once. Repeat the movement individually to remove the remaining ones.
Step 5. Remove the shells
At this point you can proceed in several ways, all equally effective. The choice of method depends on whether the prawns are raw or cooked. The most used technique to remove the shell is to gently pull it from the point where the legs were towards the dorsal part to free the pulp.
- Use your fingers or a small, short-bladed knife to lift the top of the shell, then separate it from the pulp segment by segment. If you prefer, you can also start from where the body was joined to the head, pulling the shell down along the dorsal part of the shrimp; it is an equally effective solution.
- Alternatively, you can use the knife to carve the shell along the dorsal part of the shrimp, exactly where the intestine is. In this case, after you have cut the shell in half, you will be able to detach it from the pulp very easily. Since if you are cooking raw shrimp you will have to remove the intestines anyway, this method is one of the most effective and used.
Step 6. If you wish, remove the queues as well
In most cases, shrimp should be cooked with the tail, but the choice depends on the type of recipe. If necessary, you can detach the tail by simply pulling it with your fingers or cutting it with the knife in case it doesn't come off easily.
Step 7. Remove the intestines
Along the dorsal part of the shrimp runs a small dark filament which is its intestinal tract. You can get rid of it by using a small, short-bladed knife to carve the pulp just along the "back" of the crustacean, just deep enough to lift and extract it.
- There is no need to make a deep cut, you can cut the pulp lightly as the intestine is just below the top of the shrimp.
- Lift the intestinal filament with the tip of the knife, then grasp it with your fingers and gently pull it towards the tail. It should come off quite easily. Before proceeding further make sure you have removed it completely.
Step 8. Store the shrimp properly
Rinse them again with cold water to remove any shell or bowel residue stuck to the pulp. Generally if they are raw they should be cooked immediately, but you can also store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours if it is not yet time to start cooking.
