In the mood for something new for dinner? Think about bypassing the butcher counter and opt for some shellfish instead. Shellfish cooks up quickly and its versatility is impressive.
Although there are several choices, I’m sticking to three tasty varieties in the following recipes: scallops, shrimps, and mussels. My rule is to cook fresh shellfish on the day it is purchased, but when it comes to raw, shelled shrimp and scallops, I often buy them frozen, which allows for more use-time wiggle room.
Buying and Prepping Shrimp: I often buy frozen head-off, peeled and deveined raw shrimp at the supermarket (it’s stocked in the frozen food case, not the seafood display). Sealed in a 2-pound bag, the shrimp are IQF (individually quick frozen) so I can take out as many as I need and leave the rest in the freezer. The majority of shrimp sold in the marketplace are deep frozen and delivered frozen. Even those in the seafood display of “fresh” shrimp you see at the counter were defrosted. Looking at them behind the glass it is difficult to know how long they’ve been there defrosted. Avoid shrimp that are limp, slimy, or falling apart; shrimp should smell fresh, not like ammonia.
A shrimp’s size is measured by the number it takes to make up a pound. The smaller the number, the bigger the shrimp. Figure 51 or greater per pound are small. Medium shrimp are 36 to 50 per pound. Large are 26 to 40, and jumbo are 16 to 25. Colossal, bless their hearts, are fewer than 15 per pound. Labels such as “medium” or “jumbo” aren’t regulated and thus can vary greatly from seller to seller.
