If you are wondering what is the best way to cook frozen shrimp then you have come to the right place. Shrimp freezes extremely well, in fact, when you purchase it at the stores it has probably been frozen before even if it looks fresh. Cooking frozen shrimp is relatively easy, you just have to follow similar guidelines as to cooking it from fresh. Lets have a look.
*Please, keep in mind you should ALWAYS buy your shrimp in the shell as it is a lot more succulent than already peeled. There is nothing wrong with buying frozen shrimp that is peeled, but be prepared to loose more than half of the shrimp flavor!
Guidelines on what is the best way to cook frozen shrimp:
1 – Don’t use the microwave to de-freeze your shrimp. Never ever. Or any kind of meat. People do this all the time. It changes the flavor of your shrimp recipes and also cooks the flesh partially, which is a big mistake. You want to avoid this at all times. Simply take the frozen shrimps out of the freezer the day/night before and place it on a plate. Put in the fridge as it will nicely defrosted the day after.
2 – Shake off any excess of water that amount on the plate. When shrimp de-freezes, the ice that was covering it turns into water so you will find your plate filled the day after. Don’t worry about it, just chuck it out and continue with your cooking.
3 – If you are looking for frozen shrimp recipes just look for regular recipes. Treat your shrimp exactly the same as if it was bought from fresh.
4 – Sometimes you might have forgotten to take the frozen shrimp out of the freezer the night or day before. That should not be a problem. Run your tab with cold water and place the shrimp underneath. It should only take a few minutes. If, on the other hand, the shrimp are really frozen and big ones (like jumbo shrimp); place it inside a plastic bag and put the plastic bag in a bowl with cold water – note, not hot as it has the microwave effect!- Your frozen shrimp should be ready to be cooked in no time. (The best option is still to take it out of the freezer hours before; this is just a quick-solution for desperate times).
5 – If you are wondering how to cook frozen raw shrimp (as some frozen shrimp is already cooked, although I am not in favor of buying cooked shrimp), just follow the shrimp recipe guideline as if it was fresh and raw from the shop. Just make absolutely sure your shrimp is completely de-frosted.
Hope this helps. Now, get cooking! (Oh, don’t forget to take the frozen shrimp out of the freezer for your recipe tomorrow!)