by Pat Rapacchiano

Created on: July 31, 2010

It is important to choose the right kind of shrimp for a recipe.  It is important to never overcook shrimp.  Overcooked shrimp can become hard and it may lose a great deal of taste from overcooking. 

 When choosing shrimp for a recipe depends largely upon what kind of dish you are preparing.  For example, if you are preparing shrimp Creole you are better off using medium shrimp.  Medium shrimp is easy to cook and it seems to be more reasonably priced when compared to jumbo shrimp.  In addition, medium shrimp tends not to shrink significantly when cooked.  Medium shrimp makes a great shrimp Creole.  Also, a dish like shrimp Creole is covered in a rich white sauce therefore, the dinner guests won’t be able to tell what kind of shrimp you used in the recipe. 

 If you plan to make shrimp cocktail it is probably better going with jumbo shrimp.  Remember, presentation is important and jumbo shrimp looks best when serving as a shrimp cocktail.  Jumbo shrimp will cost a great deal more than the medium or small but it is well worth the cost.  I tend to serve shrimp cocktail on special occasions only.  Jumbo shrimp tastes great with fresh lemon and homemade cocktail sauce.  When preparing shrimp cocktail, you want to place the shrimp in about 2 inches of water, bring to boil, remove and peel and clean.  Chill about two hours prior to serving.

 When preparing a seafood chowder or seafood bisque soup, I always use small shrimp.  Small shrimp is perfect for soups and chowders because you normally add other types of seafood to the recipe it is not necessary to spend a fortune on shrimp alone.  In addition, using smaller shrimp is ideal for grilling purposes.  Shrimp kabobs are tasty when combined with peppers, onions and mushrooms.   Normally when you simmer small shrimp in a chowder or soup it usually will not become hard or lose much of its taste.

 It is best to purchase fresh seafood and surprisingly buying fresh seafood costs about the same as if you were to purchase it at your local grocery store.  In addition, with my experience I have found that in some cases buying shrimp at a grocery store is not always fresh.  Basically, the store will keep the shrimp and other seafood for a few days until it is sold.   Again, you want to choose your shrimp according to how you will be using it or the kind of recipe you are preparing.

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