ShrmpInfoSheet (2024)

FAQs

What does 31-40 shrimp mean? ›

Medium (41-50, 51-60) & Large (31-40) Shrimp Size. Medium shrimp run anywhere from 41 to 60 shrimp per one-pound bag. This is about 10 to 15 shrimp per 3 oz serving and 0.23 oz per shrimp. Large shrimp are about 31 to 40 shrimp per pound making for about 8 or 9 shrimp per serving.

Overcooked shrimp has a rubbery texture, so keep your shrimp succulent by allowing it to reach room temperature first, then reheat it on a low heat using the same cooking method as you used originally. If you are reheating in a pan, add a little water to avoid it drying out.

Undercook and they'll be mushy and translucent; overcook and they'll be rubbery and nearly inedible. The best way to tell when shrimp are cooked through is to look for visual cues: “Watch for the shrimp to curl and turn opaque,” says Kendra. Undercooked shrimp will be gray and translucent, with uncurled tails.

Shrimp is sold by size and the sizes are expressed in counts per pound. For example, 16/20 means 16 to 20 shrimp per pound. The larger sizes are expressed as U/10 or U/12 which means “under” 10 or 12. Small sizes like coldwater cooked and peeled shrimp will have counts ranging from 150/250 to 250/300.

Alkaline baking soda slightly alters the pH of the shrimp, making them as plump and succulent as lobster and resistant to overcooking. The brine also causes the meat to pull away from the shells while cooking, so you get all the great flavor of shell-on shrimp without the hassle.

You might not know this, but 30 minutes of brining ensures tender, succulent shrimp every time, regardless of the cooking method. I discovered this technique on my own after successfully brining other types of meat - mostly pork, chicken and turkey.

Shrimp Doesn't Actually Need To Be Cleaned

Granted, you shouldn't eat raw shrimp, but you also don't technically need to worry about washing it off first. It's good to go right out of the package and won't hurt you.

Cook the shrimp, stirring occasionally, until the flesh is totally pink and opaque, and you see no more grey bits. Depending on the size of your shrimp and how many you have in the pan, this will usually take 4 to 5 minutes.

The answer, it turns out, is that you probably don't need to do anything to clean it. Not only is this true for frozen shrimp, but it's true for pretty much all shrimp; cleaning is ultimately a matter of preference far more than one of necessity. Whether you want to is another matter entirely.

Can you eat slightly undercooked shrimp? ›

Raw shrimp may contain viruses, bacteria, and parasites and cause food poisoning. Pregnant women, children, immunocompromised, and older people should avoid eating raw shrimp.

How do I know when it's cooked perfectly? Check for the 'C'. As shrimp cooks, it curves into the shape of a 'C'. The flesh will turn opaque with a pearly pink hue, and the tails will turn bright red.

The best way to tell if raw shrimp is bad is to smell it and take a close look. If raw shrimp has a sour, ammonia-like smell, its coloring is dull and/or it looks slimy, it's gone bad and needs to be tossed. If cooked shrimp has gone bad, it will also have a sour, ammonia-like smell and/or slimy texture.

The vein in shrimp is entirely edible, and removing it or not is a matter of preference. That said, a dark vein can be a bit unsightly in some preparations, like boiled shrimp for shrimp co*cktail, and can also add a noticeable grittiness to dishes. For this reason it's usual to devein shrimp, but it's up to you.

Shrimp Counts and Sizes – A Correlation

The shrimp count on a bag of wild-caught U.S. shrimp is the number that denotes how many shrimp are approximately in the bag “per pound.” For example, if a shrimp bag's count reads “21/25,” then that means those shrimp are sized to be approximately 21 to 25 shrimp per pound.

So 26/30 means you'll get 26-30 small shrimp per pound. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommends eating 3 ounces of seafood - including shrimp - per serving. Knowing different shrimp sizes helps ensure a successful and delicious seafood experience.

The size of the prawn is dictated by the number of prawns per kg. In this case, 31/40 means that there are 31 to 40 prawns in 1 kg. Hence the smaller the number, the bigger the prawn.

Opacity matters - shrimp with translucent splotches are graded significantly lower. The more opaque the colors, the higher the grade will be. Older shrimp can lose a bit of color/opacity - however, this doesn't mean they don't still carry the genes.