Lots of people love to eat shrimp, but few know how to shell them properly. Note: These instructions are for a cooked shrimp (however the method is also applicable to raw shrimp). The advice is to practice on the largest shrimp and then move on to the smaller ones, after having perfected the technique.
Steps
Step 1. Hold the shrimp in one hand, between the thumb and forefinger
Hold it from the sides, so that the legs are pointing down. With your free hand, grab the sides of your head between your thumb and forefinger.
Step 2. Remove the shrimp head with a quick motion, applying downward force
Throw your head. With the hand that supported the head just thrown, remove all the legs of the shrimp in a single move, you will favor the detachment of the carapace from the pulp.
Step 3. With your thumb, detach the carapace from the body of the shrimp, starting at the point under the belly where the legs were removed
If the shrimp contained eggs at the time of capture, this step may not be the best for your kitchen. Pull the tail to detach it from the shrimp flesh. If the previous step has been done correctly, the tail and carapace should come off in one piece, leaving no edible pulp residues inside the tail section.
