How these beautiful shrimp got to my kitchen is the subject of another post ... probably the next post ... if nothin' don' happen.
This is my SOP for heading shrimp.
- A bowl of shrimp still wearing their little heads.
- An empty bowl to receive their little punkin heads.
- A bowl with ice to receive their little headless abdomens.
I must have headed 6 or 7 bowls this size ... 5 gallons in all.
Here's the end product, one giant blue bowl full of headed shrimp ready for freezing and one bowl full of shrimp heads ready for the compost pile.
I kept out a big pile of shrimp for a boiled shrimp supper and froze the rest in quart bags that contained a half teaspoon salt, 70+ shrimp, and water to fill the bag.
FRESH shrimp frozen that way stay delicous for YEARS.
Last week we ate shrimp from a bag that was frozen in 2006. They tasted like they were just caught.
Encasing them completely in water is the secret ... to be honest, I'm not sure the salt does anything, but it is tradition and what could it hurt?
Soon come ... a post about catching shrimp.
Are you raising anything right now in your big tanks outside?
ReplyDeleteWe never seem to keep shrimp around long enough to freeze - but this is good to know in the event I ever actually DO have shrimp to freeze!!!
ReplyDeleteHi FC great post. Dumb question, how do you take the heads off? Just pull them or cut with a knife?
ReplyDeleteThanks- fairly new Floridian, 12 years here.
Hey FC,
ReplyDeleteI thought for a minute that you were actually going to show the beheading.
Want a REALLY good and easy recipe for stuffed shrimp? Let me know!
P
PS There is a restaurant over here called The Patio. I should go!
Now this is what this inland gal calls seafood. Yumm. I could work over a serving of these little creatures.
ReplyDeleteNoes, don't throw away shrimp heads! Boil with carrots, celery, onion, etc. for the finest stock you will ever taste.
ReplyDeleteI've got a mess of shrimp to deal with today too. Anonymous, we usually just pop them off with our thumbs.
ReplyDeleteBack when all my spare time was spent breathing underwater, we used to freeze our fish and lobster in ziplocs with water-no salt added-too.It kept for as long as needed and as an added bonus if the power went out the fish cubes kept the freezer cold!
ReplyDeleteDani,
ReplyDeleteI have one big ol prawn hanging on to life in the outdoor tank.
I plan to make him an aquarium pet in my classroom this year.
Sayre,
Even I can't eat 5 gallons of shrimp at a sitting. We had to freeze em!
Anon,
It's a simple thumb-finger pinch movement.
Patio,
Feel free to email any great recipe to me!
Yes, you better check out the Patio!
Lisa,
Oh they got worked over pretty well, believe me!
Stacy,
I actually was going to do just that, even kept them on ice as I deheaded, but alas, I was just to tuckered out after 4 hours of sleep and a day of casting nets.
Sharon,
They are as thick as fleas this summer, only tastier.
Myamuh,
Sorta killing two fish with one stone.
Treebeard fed me fish that had been frozen for 10 years - they, too, were frozen encased in water and were quite tasty. The 15 year-old beans that he fed me were not frozen in water but they were still edible.
ReplyDelete