If there's one type of seafood that Ree Drummond's family enjoys, it's shrimp! The best part about shrimp is that they are so easy and quick to cook.
There are so many ways to cook up shrimp. You can make flavorful grilled shrimp skewers on the grill and bacon-wrapped shrimp skewers in the oven, or sauté them and stuff them into a shrimp and veggie quesadilla. You can poach shrimp for a flavorful Shrimp Cocktail, coat them in sweet coconut flakes to make crispy coconut shrimp, or fry some up and tuck them into a shrimp po'boy. Plus, there are so many delicious shrimp pasta recipes to try. The possibilities are endless!
Read on to find out how to cook shrimp in a few different ways, and some easy shrimp recipes to use them in.
Should shrimp be washed before cooking?
If you buy shrimp that are not deveined already, it's best to devein them then give them a quick rinse before cooking. If you bought your shrimp cleaned already, then there's no need to wash or rinse them before cooking.
What is the best way to cook shrimp?
There's a ton of simple, easy ways to cook shrimp like grilling, sautéing, roasting, and frying.
One of the easiest methods of cooking shrimp is poaching, which tastes great hot or cold. Here's a super simple way to poach shrimp in a flavored poaching liquid (you can also just skip the poaching liquid and poach them in salted water, in a pinch). If you've never tried cooking shrimp before, this is a great place to start!
- Fill a large pot with cold water. Squeeze in the juice one one lemon, then add the lemon halves. Add 1 roughly chopped onion, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, a bay leaf, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon peppercorns. Simmer over medium heat and cook for 20 minutes. Scoop out the solids and return the liquid to a simmer.
- Add 2 pounds large peeled, deveined, thawed shrimp to the pot with the simmering liquid (or skip step one and just bring a pot of salted water to a simmer here). Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let sit until the shrimp are pink, curled and opaque throughout, 3 minutes for smaller shrimp and 4 minutes for larger shrimp.
- Remove the shrimp from the liquid and chill. Serve with cocktail sauce or on top of pasta or a salad.
What should you use to season shrimp?
Shrimp already have a salty, briny taste, so be sure not to over-salt them when seasoning.
Spice mixes with a little kick to them like Cajun or Old Bay seasoning always pair well with shrimp, as does citrus like lemon or lime, and fresh herbs like dill or parsley.
How long should you cook shrimp?
Shrimp cook very quickly, usually four to seven minutes total, depending on the cooking method and recipe. The good thing is that you'll never have to wait too long for shrimp to cook!
