Wondering how to cook shrimp? Cooking a batch is perfect for a shrimp cocktail and turns out tender and juicy every time.
Why cook shrimp when you can cook them on the stovetop in no time? Turns out cooked shrimp is a thing. And be very good. The most popular way to use cooked shrimp is in a shrimp cocktail, but you can cook them for any type of preparation. (Of course, you can also boil shrimp, but that’s a completely different recipe.) The benefit of boiling? It keeps well at room temperature, making it perfect for sitting and chatting on a shrimp cocktail platter. Wondering how to cook shrimp? Here is our simple method.
How to cook shrimp
First things first: how long do you cook the shrimp? The cooking time is only 2 minutes until pink and cooked through! That’s about the same time it takes to cook on the stovetop. However, you must consider the time to boil a large pot of water. And if you’re using peeled shrimp (which we recommend), you’ll need to remove the shells after you’ve cooked them. The total time required for the entire process is approx. 15 to 20 minutes.
Here are the ingredients you will need to cook the shrimp:
- 1 pound large shrimp (more details in section below)
- Kosher salt
- lemon
You bring a large pot of salted water to a boil with fresh lemon juice. Once cooked, add shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Place the shrimp in an ice bath, which is a bowl of water and ice. This will stop the cooking immediately and keep the shrimp perfectly tender. If you’ve cooked the shrimp with the shell, remove them – but if you’re serving for a shrimp cocktail, we like to leave the tails on. You can season the shrimp with a little more kosher salt and lemon: then it’s done!
What Are the Calories of Cooked Shrimp?
Shrimp are a low-calorie food. Here are the calories in cooked shrimp:
- 1 medium shrimp = 7 calories
- 1 king prawn = 14 calories
Which shrimp to use for cooking?
It all depends on how you want to use it. If you want to make a shrimp cocktail, use large tailed shrimp for the most stunning presentation. The shrimp pictured here range in size from 16 to 20.
We recommend cooking the shrimp with the shell on for the best flavor. It also makes sense to buy shrimp that have already been deveined. (If your shrimp aren’t deveined, learn how to devein shrimp here.)
Cook frozen shrimp
What about cooking fresh or frozen shrimp? Fresh or frozen works for this recipe! The shelf life of fresh shrimp is only a few days, but frozen shrimp will last for several weeks. Another myth about fish is that “the best is the best”. As soon as an animal dies, it begins to decompose; Freezing suspends this process. If a fish is frozen when caught and stays frozen until it reaches your kitchen, it’s of better quality than a raw fish that took a week to reach your plate.
If you’re using frozen shrimp for this recipe, what’s the best way to thaw them? Here are some of the best options:
- Place the frozen shrimp in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Or,
- On the day of service, place the frozen shrimp in a bowl of cold water. Run a small trickle of cold water into the bowl to keep the water moving. The shrimp should defrost in about 15 minutes.
Buy sustainable shrimp
Are you planning to buy sustainable shrimp? Here are some tips for buying sustainable seafood:
- If possible, look for wild fish. If you live in the United States, look for the united states taken if you can 90% of the seafood we eat in the United States is imported. Imported seafood is at risk of being overfished, caught under unfair labor conditions, or farmed in environmentally harmful ways.
- It matters how your fish is caught. Seek hook and line as an example of a type of durable equipment. Bottom trawling is considered to be the most destructive and least sustainable method.
Fancy some shrimp cocktail sauce?
If you’re looking for a shrimp cocktail, we’ve got a killer cocktail sauce! A great option as a healthy appetizer recipe, shrimp cocktail is perfect for celebrations like holidays or New Year’s Eve. Here’s our treat Homemade Shrimp Cocktail Sauce!
Want a shrimp porridge recipe?
Well, that’s a whole different matter! The cooking method is the same, but a shrimp boil uses potatoes, corn, and shrimp together in the same pot with spices (usually Old Bay). We’re working on a recipe for a simmering shrimp recipe that you can use for entertaining and a skillet version for weeknight dinners. Stay tuned!
This recipe for cooked shrimp is…
Pescetarian, gluten free and dairy free.
The description
Wondering how to cook shrimp? Cooking a batch is perfect for a shrimp cocktail and turns out tender and juicy every time.
- 1 16-20 lb large shrimp (we prefer tail-on and deveined)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt and more for serving
- 1/2 lemon
- Lemon wedges for serving
- Thaw the shrimp (keep them in the fridge overnight or overnight, or place them in a colander and run a steady stream of cold water through them to thaw them for about 15 minutes).
- Bring 12 cups of water to a boil with the kosher salt and the lemon juice from ½ a lemon.
- Prepare a bowl of ice water.
- Add the shrimp and cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes (more or less depending on the size of the shrimp). Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and place directly into the ice water bath to stop cooking.
- Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving the tail shell. Throw away the clams.
- Pat the shrimp dry and sprinkle with extra kosher salt and a few squeezes of lemon wedges. (If you’re serving it as a shrimp cocktail, see our shrimp cocktail recipe for the sauce.)
- Category: seafood
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: How to cook shrimp, recipe for cooked shrimp
Looking for more shrimp recipes?
Cooking aside, here are some of our favorite ways to cook:
