Skip The Stove: Cook Shrimp This Way For Tender Results

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Shrimp is a favorite protein of the sea, but, man — can it be challenging to cook. There's a wide, disastrous range of shrimp cooking time mistakes that can leave you, on one end, with either unpleasantly raw shrimp or rubbery curls of disappointment on the other. There's nothing wrong with a great pan sear on some seasoned shrimp, but, for perfectly snappy, tender seafood with minimal space for screwing up, what you really want is a sous vide set-up.

While it's true that sous vide shrimp takes longer than other forms of cooking, this can actually be a bonus in certain situations. Searing shrimp means watching a frying pan like a hawk and stressing over every second that ticks by, wondering if those little buggers have crossed the line into overcooked doom. On the other hand, you can simply arrange your sous vide apparatus and walk away from your lunch or dinner while you tend to other obligations.

Experts have found that the "right" temperature for sous vide shrimp lies somewhere between 125 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, held for around 15 minutes. If the shrimp is frozen, go ahead and increase that cooking time to 35 minutes. This method will work just as well for tiny cocktail shrimp as for giant prawns; you may just need to adjust the lower limit of the cooking time. On the other hand, you're fine to let the shrimp sit in the sous vide for quite a bit longer than the minimum, because there's definitely some wiggle room before the proteins start to break down. Note that this is only true for shrimp with the heads cut off, since the heads contain a compound called protease that speeds the process of mushiness.

The process of cooking shrimp sous vide is pretty foolproof and open to some culinary experimentation. Simply prep your shrimp by removing the heads, tails, and veins (here's a guide on how to devein shrimp efficiently), and add them to the vacuum-sealed bag with the seasonings of your choice. This is where your creativity comes in. Will you cook your shrimp in a simple lemon and butter sauce, or kick things up with some garlic and pepper? Do you want a mild flavor for shrimp cocktail that you'll serve in an ice bowl, or do you want to swing for the fences with curry and ginger for eye-popping, big flavor?

Regardless of your flavoring, one ingredient that you might not think to add into your sous vide shrimp is a pinch of baking soda. The sodium bicarbonate helps keep the flesh of the shrimp springy, without compromising the sweet natural flavor of the seafood. If you don't want to add the baking soda to the sous vide bag, you can brine your shrimp in a baking soda and water solution for a short time before cooking them for the same effect. The resulting shrimpies can be served hot or cold, and with any side dishes or accompaniments that you might dream up — they're versatile, delicious, and so much simpler to prepare than you ever thought shrimp could be. New to the sous vide game and not really willing to commit to a pricey setup? We like the good reviews on Wancle's waterproof thermal immersion circulator, a fancy name for a simple implement that clips to the side of a pot for effortless sous vide cooking.