How to Boil Shrimps
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil.
Add 4 ounces of coarse sea salt to the boiling water.
Boil and cool
Place shrimps in a wire frying basket and plunge them into the boiling water.
Boil quickly for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on size, until they change color.
Remove the basket and shake gently to drain the shrimps.
Spread the shrimps out to cool and use as desired.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the boiling water so the shrimp take on flavor as they cook.
- Shrimps
- The main protein; they turn opaque and firm as their proteins set during brief boiling.
The step that matters
Boil quickly for 5 to 7 minutes. Shrimp turn firm and opaque within minutes, and overcooking makes the proteins tough and rubbery. Size changes timing, so watch for color change rather than relying only on the clock.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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