Perfectly Cooked Shrimp

There are a few "do's" and several big "don'ts" to ensure your shrimp are tender. Here are the biggies:

1. Fresh shrimp is best. Use it within 24 hours if possible. Big rule of thumb is if you start to smell ammonia, you've waited too long to cook them. Toss those out.

2. If fresh is not available, the next best is frozen, wild-caught with the shells on, but hey buy what you can and use the tips below to make the shrimp you buy work out best for you.

3. A lot of people worry so much about getting sick from undercooked food that they cook the life out of their seafood and ruin it. Use the picture guide on this post to help you decide when your shrimp have had enough cooking. Remember: raw shrimp are straight. Overcooked shrimp start to look like little "O's". What you're looking for is a nice "C" shape, where the ends of the shrimp haven't curled around and touch each other. 

4. Shrimp only take a couple of minutes! Hope this guide helps. Now test out your new knowledge with one of the shrimp dishes in my 30 minute meals section! :)