Shrimp Crazy!

Americans are really crazy about shrimp. We can't seem to get enough of these succulent little creatures. As a nation we eat more per capita than any other nation in the world! If you don't believe me just observe the next time you go to a cocktail party. There can be perfectly wonderful things being served but as soon as the platter of shrimp comes out, everyone stops, goes immediately to the shrimp, devours them like people possessed and then return to whatever they were eating before.

The world of shrimp is huge. There are hundreds of species of shrimp around the world. They range from tiny to “gigantic” in size and their shells come in every color of the rainbow including some that in fact look like rainbows. A few helpful facts on shrimp:

Size: Shrimp are sold at the processor/wholesaler level according to the number in number in a pound e.g., U 10's (under 10 per pound), 10–15's (10–15 per pound), and so on. The higher the number, the smaller the shrimp.

Buying Shrimp: Shrimp (like all other fish and shellfish) should have a clean, fresh “seaweedy” smell. Any hints of ammonia means that they are old so don't buy them. I dislike the packaging of foods in plastic that many supermarkets do today because it denies us one of our best tools to evaluate freshness—the nose!

Fresh vs. Frozen: Unless you are in a place where you can buy shrimp right off the boat, all other shrimp that we see in the market have been frozen. Once out of the water shrimp deteriorate very quickly and it's for this reason that they are usually quickly processed and flash frozen. Most of what we see is sold with head removed because that's the first part to spoil. When it comes to shrimp, don't be fooled by promises of “fresh” and don't be put off by the word “frozen”.

Shrimp Shells: These are a little bonus gift. There is actually more flavor in the shell of the shrimp than there is in the meat. If you are peeling shrimp before cooking don't ever throw those shells away! Put them in a plastic freezer bag, seal well and toss them in the freezer. Next time you need a fish/shellfish stock for a soup, sauce or stew all you have to do is pull them out, add to chicken stock (canned, defatted chicken stock is fine) and simmer them for 5–10 minutes. Strain them out and discard. You've now got a delicious stock to proceed with in very little time. The more shells you have the more flavorful the stock. Much better than using bottled clam juice, which is what many recipes will suggest when a fish stock is needed.

Brining: I almost always brine “green” (uncooked) shrimp before cooking them. It doesn't take long and it adds succulence and a firmer, juicy texture that I think is fantastic. You can use a liquid brine, which is simply a combination of salt and brown sugar dissolved in cold water. You cover the peeled or unpeeled shrimp with the cold brine and let them sit for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or so. Alternately you can use the “dry method” and simply sprinkle the shrimp with a generous amount of kosher or sea salt and let sit for up to 10-15 minutes. With either method, be sure to rinse the shrimp well before you cook them well to remove any excess salt. They won't be any noticeably saltier for those of you who are concerned about salt.

The “magic” that occurs here results from osmosis. We all learned about this in science class somewhere along the way. As you may recall it is a natural process where, if you have a semi permeable membrane (in this case the shrimp), a liquid concentration will naturally migrate from the outside to the inside until it is equal on both sides. The salt is the catalyst here. It begins its migration into the shrimp pulling along with it water and sugar. The water makes the shrimp more juicy and succulent and the sugar adds flavor. Sugar is one of nature's best flavor enhancers and is why it shows up in savory dishes from many cuisines. What would typical savory Thai dishes be without palm or brown sugar? We of course don't want to leave the shrimp in the brine for too long a time or else they will become too salty. The idea is to take advantage of some of the natural osmotic movement but then get them out before the meat is totally saturated with salt and sugar. Make sense?? If not, just take my word that it does work.

Here's a simple recipe that illustrates the use of a liquid brine teamed with a fresh made salsa.

Grilled Brined Shrimp with Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa