Let's Cook Shrimp
It's relatively easy to cook shrimp. There are right ways and wrong ways, the same as in cooking anything else, but cooking shrimp is fairly straightforward and there are many ways to do it. In general, the main consideration is not to cook shrimp for too long, but to cook them long enough so they're not still raw. Shrimp cook quite rapidly, especially the smaller varieties, so you won't be standing over the stove for protracted periods of time.
If it's the first time you're going to cook shrimp, you might simply boil them with a little salt and lemon juice, and that's it. Not a big deal and they'll taste great. If you want to be a little adventuresome however, there's a huge number of recipes on the Internet, including many people's favorite, Cajun or New Orleans style. Or, you can learn how best to cook shrimp for use in a shrimp cocktail.
Shrimp can also be prepared in casserole dishes or baked, they can be pan fried, and more and more people these days cook shrimp on the grill. Smaller and medium shrimp cook in boiling water in 2 minutes or less, while the jumbo shrimp can take up to 5 minutes, and occasionally longer for the "monsters". If you steam shrimp instead of boiling them, it takes a little longer, about 7 minutes for medium sized shrimp. You can tell when they're cooked, as they begin to turn pink and opaque. If you love shrimp but don't care for the fishy taste some can have, add a little vinegar to the water they're boiled in. It takes that fishiness away. Also, if you're not yet ready to delve into Cajun cooking, just adding some hot pepper flakes to the water will give the shrimp a little extra zing.
What size shrimp to purchase? - They are almost all good tasting, and it's really a matter of personal preference. Some will tell you that the very small shrimp are a little sweeter tasting, and best in shrimp cocktails or in salads. The jumbo shrimp seem to be best when grilled or prepared Cajun style, and eaten one at a time by holding onto the tails.
Shrimp you purchase on the market range from extra small at one extreme, about 65 shrimp to the pound, to the extra colossal size which runs about 5 shrimp to the pound. As noted above, the extra small are often best for salads, and medium shrimp or medium large shrimp, running about 45 shrimp to the pound, and 38 shrimp to the pound, respectively, are good for shrimp cocktails. For grilling, jumbo and extra jumbo, 23 and 18 to the pound, are nice sizes and won't be so apt to fall through the grill. Of course skewers can be used, and probably should be. The best way to grill shrimp is to coat them with olive oil first, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic salt or Cajun spices, your choice. Cook then for about 3 minutes, turning them once during the cooking time.
Deveining Shrimp - If you purchase frozen shrimp, which is how most of them come to market, they have often been deveined. The vein is a black threadlike organ running along the back of the shrimp and is the shrimp's digestive track. The vein is perfectly edible, but sometimes can be a little gritty or dirty tasting. Some remove the vein, "deveining", and some don't. It's a matter of personal preference. The smaller sizes of shrimp are seldom deveined, while jumbo shrimp more often than not are deveined.
The way shrimp are eaten, naturally depends on how they are prepared, whether you use a small fork, a toothpick, or your fingers. Once rule - when eating jumbo shrimp served from a shrimp plate with a sauce, don't double dip, no matter how large the shrimp!