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Believe it or not, even though this post is about food, it’s also me doing a little something to make the world a better place. There are millions of people hungry or starving in the world, and I really can’t abide anyone wasting food when they don’t have to. I have seen a lot of people whose idea of de-tailing a shrimp is just to cut the whole tail off. There’s a good half inch of meat in a large shrimp tail, and that’s too much to waste. Even in smaller shrimp, you get more food if you remove the tail shell rather than cutting the tail off. That means more meal for your money, and that’s always a good thing. So here’s my little tutorial on removing a shrimp tail without waste.
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- Here’s the shrimp. I run them under cool water to thaw them, since I buy frozen shrimp. If you look or feel, you’ll find that there are three seams on a shrimp tail. One down the back and two underneath. We’re going to go after one of those lower seams.
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- Use your fingernail to pop one of the seams and begin folding back the shell. You may need to give it a little squeeze to pop it, but don’t squeeze so hard you mash the tail.
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- Now peel the tail back toward the end. It should all come off in one neat piece. It may take a little practice to get it perfect, but once you learn you can de-tail a whole collander of shrimp in no time.
See? It’s pretty easy, and you get to keep all that delicious shrimp meat. At this point you can either discard the tails or put them in a baggie and put them in the freezer to use later for seafood stock. We have quite a bag full in our freezer, since we eat shrimp so often. Now, I know you could just buy shrimp that already have the tail removed, but there are two reasons why buying tail-on shrimp is better. For one, it’s a good idea to leave the tail intact when frying so you have a nice handle to grab onto when eating. Once you’ve eaten the body of the fried shrimp, you can pop open the tail end enjoy that bit of meat too. (Don’t leave those meaty shrimp tails on your plate!) Second, tail-on shrimp are cheaper than de-tailed shrimp. Saving money is always a big bonus.
So, you save money, get more food, and produce less waste using this method. It’s a win-win-win, right? Of course it is. It’s little things like this that people need to plug into their heads. Every little thing you do can make the world a better place. When you save money on one thing, you have more to put to good use elsewhere. When you eat well, you’re happy and healthy. When you waste less, you’re being more responsible and can set a good example for others. I bet you never thought that how you deal with shrimp tails could be such a big thing, did you? Well, that’s what I’m here for, to get you really using that grey matter of yours. [smiles]
UserR
Great point about shrimp tails Bri
Briana Blair
Which one? Or do you like all the points? [grins]