by Jennifer Goodwin Haigler

Created on: July 24, 2009   Last Updated: July 27, 2009

How to Devein Shrimp

Whether cocktail or scampi, deep-fried or grilled Shrimp is an all-time favorite in the world of crustaceans. Shrimp are succulent and flavorful but lurking in side this tasty treat is a dark thread of sand and grit that for some is unappetizing and dish-ruining: the intestine. The intestine is easily removed and can be done by your fish monger for a nominal fee, but for those of us who have time and a sense of what our dollars are worth; doing it ourselves is well worth the money saved.

Deveining can be accomplished in a relatively short amount of time unless you are serving a mountain of them which will be a bit more time consuming. However the more you do it the faster, more efficient, you will become. Practice definitely makes perfect here. So once you have decided to do this task yourself there are a few things you will need.

First of all you will need to set up your operation where there is running water. It is the best way to ensure the cleanliness of the shrimp. Next you will need a vessel to hold your cleaned shrimp, preferably placed over ice to keep the shrimp as cold as possible. You will need a vessel for garbage if you are also shelling the shrimp. Your shrimp to be cleaned should only be removed from refrigeration at the last minute and also placed over ice to keep them cold. Now choose your tool. There are many gadgets out there both pricey and cheap but my philosophy is to skip them and use the paring knife you already have.

You are all set up and ready for the task at hand so pick up a shrimp. With the top facing you and starting where the head was removed run the tip of your knife down to the tail making sure not to go too deep unless butterflying is your goal. Open the little flap you just made to unveil the intestine and pull it out. Rinse the shrimp clean and place in your clean vessel. Repeat!

You will find a lot of advice out there as to cooking the shrimp first then deveining or deveining then cooking. The choice is yours by preference or your recipe. I've done it both ways myself and prefer to devein then cook. I just feel it is a cleaner process than rinsing away the intestine after cooking. Again, my personal choice and you will find yours.

Now that we've gone to all this trouble making sure our shrimp are squeaky clean we need to ensure that we cook them properly which is to not overcook them thus wasting our precious time and more importantly those precious dollars.

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