No need to defrost shrimp before cooking. Learn how to cook shrimp from frozen, taking them straight from the freezer to the pot. It makes dinners a breeze and they taste so good!.
Remember how I said you don’t need to thaw fish or chicken breasts before cooking them? Well, you don’t need to thaw shrimp before cooking them either!
To be honest, I don’t love cooking chicken from frozen. I do that more in a pinch when I forget to take it out. It doesn’t turn out quite as good as when defrosted first. The fish turns out really good, especially thicker pieces. But, the shrimp!?!? They’re amazing cooked from frozen! They turn out even better when not defrosted first. Seriously.
Frozen shrimp can be a convenient and budget-friendly option for delicious seafood meals. However, it often lacks the sweet, briny flavor of fresh shrimp. With the right techniques, you can coax the best flavor out of frozen shrimp to make it taste great
In this comprehensive guide we will cover everything you need to know to make frozen shrimp taste delicious. You’ll learn how to select thaw, prep, cook, and pair frozen shrimp to maximize flavor. Follow these tips, and your frozen shrimp will taste just-cooked fresh!
Selecting High-Quality Frozen Shrimp
The first step is choosing high-quality frozen shrimp. Here’s what to look for:
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Shell-on – Shell helps retain moisture and flavor during freezing. Peel after thawing.
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Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) – Each shrimp is frozen separately to prevent clumping. Better texture.
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Flash-frozen at sea – Frozen quickly on the boat for freshness. Avoid previously frozen.
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Uncooked – Raw shrimp have better flavor when you cook them yourself. Avoid pre-cooked.
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Wild-caught – preferable to farm-raised which can taste bland.
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Color – Translucent with a grayish hue. Avoids yellowing from age.
Higher quality frozen shrimp will list details like the catch location and date. This ensures you get the best-tasting shrimp possible.
Thawing Frozen Shrimp Properly
The next step is thawing frozen shrimp correctly to retain moisture and texture:
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Refrigerator thawing – Place frozen shrimp in a bowl and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. No moisture loss.
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Cold water thawing – For quicker thawing, seal shrimp in a plastic bag and submerge in cold water for 15-30 minutes until pliable. Change water every 10 minutes to avoid warming.
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Thaw only what you need – Thaw in smaller portions to prevent refreezing and loss of quality.
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Avoid microwave thawing – Microwaves cook shrimp unevenly and make them soggy.
Proper thawing sets you up for the juiciest, most flavorful cooked shrimp. thawed shrimp should feel firm and cool, not mushy.
Preparing Frozen Shrimp for Maximum Flavor
Before cooking, prepare your thawed frozen shrimp:
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Peel and devein – This prevents overcooked, rubbery shrimp and allows flavors to penetrate the flesh.
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Pat dry – Blot thawed shrimp with paper towels to prevent steaming instead of browning.
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Season generously – Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, chili flakes, or cajun seasoning.
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Marinate – Soak shrimp for 30 mins-1 hour in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs for infused flavor.
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Skewer or coat – Alternate shrimp on skewers with veggies or coat with breadcrumbs/panko for added texture.
Proper prep unlocks the full flavor potential of frozen shrimp and ensures it tastes juicy and flavorful.
Cooking Methods for Maximum Flavor
The cooking method greatly impacts the final flavor. Use these flavor-boosting techniques:
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Pan fry or sauté – Cook in olive oil over high heat for caramelization and smoky flavor. Don’t overcrowd pan.
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Grill – Gets nice char marks and smoky flavor. Brush with oil and grill 2-3 minutes per side on high heat.
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Broil – For easy indoor grilling. Toss shrimp in oil, spread on a sheet pan, and broil 3-4 minutes.
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Bake – For large batches, bake at 400°F for 5 minutes with oil and seasoning until opaque.
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Stir fry – Quickly stir fry shrimp 1-2 mins in a hot wok with veggies and sauce.
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Skewer and grill – Alternate shrimp and veggies/fruit on skewers for caramelized flavors.
The key is using high heat to quickly sear and cook the shrimp, developing flavor while avoiding overcooking. This locks in juiciness.
Pairing Flavors That Complement Shrimp
To make frozen shrimp even tastier, pair and serve them with complementary flavors:
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Citrus – Lemon, lime, orange all add bright acidity to balance the rich shrimp. Squeeze over cooked shrimp or mix into sauces.
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Garlic – Saute minced garlic in cooking oil before adding shrimp. Also combines well with lemon and herbs.
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Herbs – Cilantro, basil, dill enhance flavor. Mix into marinades or garnish cooked shrimp.
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Spices – Cajun seasoning, paprika, chili flakes, celery salt, pepper punctuate shrimp flavor.
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Butter – Enrich shrimp’s sweetness with garlic-lemon butter or chili-lime butter melted over cooked shrimp.
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Sauces – Cocktail, remoulade, tartar sauce, chimichurri all complement shrimp.
Let these lively flavors shine by avoiding heavy, creamy sauces that will mask the shrimp.
Putting it All Together
Follow this process for fantastically flavored frozen shrimp:
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Select high-quality shell-on, flash-frozen raw shrimp.
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Thaw overnight in the fridge or in cold water for 30 minutes.
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Peel, devein, and pat the thawed shrimp dry.
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Season generously with salt, pepper, spices, and chili flakes.
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For extra flavor, marinate for 30 mins – 1 hour in oil, garlic, herbs, acid.
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Cook using a high-heat method like sautéing, grilling, broiling or stir-frying.
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Toss or drizzle cooked shrimp with lemon, garlic, herbs, spices, or sauce.
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Enjoy your frozen shrimp immediately while hot and full of flavor!
With the proper selection, prep, cooking, and seasoning, you can make frozen shrimp taste just as amazing as fresh.
Handy Tips for Frozen Shrimp
Here are some additional helpful tips for working with frozen shrimp:
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For better flavor, buy frozen shrimp with shells on and peel after thawing.
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Thawed frozen shrimp can be stored in the refrigerator 1-2 days before cooking.
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When baking large batches of shrimp, coat liberally in oil and seasoning for crispy texture.
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Skewering shrimp creates more surface area for caramelization and charred flavors when grilling.
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Mix some cajun spice into flour or breadcrumbs when frying or baking shrimp for a flavorful coating.
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Frozen cooked shrimp is best in cold seafood salads or dips where the texture isn’t as noticeable.
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Cook frozen shrimp just until opaque and curled – overcooking makes it rubbery.
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Shrimp freezes well. Portion raw peeled shrimp into meal-size bags to have easy dinners ready.
Follow these tips, and you’ll have flavorful frozen shrimp dishes that taste as good as expensive restaurant seafood!
Simple Frozen Shrimp Recipes
Here are 3 straightforward recipes to put your frozen shrimp knowledge into delicious action:
Cajun Shrimp & Sausage Skillet
Ingredients: Frozen shrimp, andouille sausage, bell pepper, onion, cajun seasoning, rice.
Cook sausage, onion, pepper. Add thawed shrimp and cajun spice. Serve over rice.
Coconut Shrimp Curry
Ingredients: Frozen shrimp, coconut milk, curry powder, veggies, rice noodles.
Simmer curry coconut sauce. Add shrimp and noodles. Garnish with cilantro.
Shrimp Ceviche
Ingredients: Frozen shrimp, lemon/lime juice, onion, tomato, avocado, cilantro.
Marinate thawed shrimp in citrus juice. Toss with veggies. Chill before serving.
Get Excited About Frozen Shrimp!
Don’t settle for lackluster frozen shrimp. With a few simple tricks like quality selection, strategic thawing, bold seasoning, and quick cooking, you can make frozen shrimp taste amazing.
Bring exciting flavors to life by pairing your shrimp with bright, fresh ingredients. Follow this guide, and you’ll look forward to cooking up frozen shrimp any night of the week. Dinners with delicious, flavor-packed shrimp are just a freezer away!
How Do You Cook Shrimp from Frozen?
Today I’ll show you my favorite way to cook shrimp from frozen…poaching. I’m going to roast them from frozen tomorrow on a pan with asparagus for a quick 10-minute dinner that only needs one pan.
Poaching is truly my favorite way to cook shrimp, especially for shrimp cocktail, but for almost any preparation. It’s such a gentle cooking method and it leaves the shrimp plump, juicy, and tender – never tough.
To poach shrimp that has been frozen, you do EVERYTHING the same way you do it when the shrimp has been thawed. You just leave them in the water for an extra minute. One minute. That’s all, no need for thawing.
So here’s what you do.
Get a medium or large saucepan. This depends on the number of shrimp you’re cooking. 12-15 large shrimp cook well in a 3 quart pot. You’ll need a bigger pot if you’re doing more than that. Fill the pot about 3/4 full of water.
Add salt. I use about 1/2 teaspoon for the 3 quart pot.
Then you can add other aromatic ingredients if you’d like. Half of a lemon is a great addition. Squeeze the juice into the pot before adding the halved lemon.
Peppercorns and parsley are two other things you can add. These aren’t as important as the salt but are nice additions.
Bring the pot to a rapid boil over high heat. (Cover the pot to make it boil sooner).
Remove from the heat and let it stop boiling.
Add the frozen shrimp.
Cover the pot. And let sit off of the heat for 5-6 minutes, until shrimp are opaque and pink. Yes, this is correct. The pot is not supposed to be on the heat at all anymore. The shrimp are poaching in the leftover heat of the water. If you keep boiling them, the shrimp will not be good at all!.
A couple of times when cooking shrimp this way, they looked done but were a tad mushy. Really, I don’t think they were ready yet because I left them in a little longer and they were perfect after that. So, if you’re not sure if it’s been long enough, try leaving them for another minute or two. They won’t get too done at that point because the water has cooled enough. So it’s best to leave them in for longer.
If you have more shrimp than the 12 that the recipe calls for, you’ll need more time. I have done as many as 20 in that same pot. They then take about 10 minutes. If you’re going to do more than that, use a bigger pot and more boiled water.
Set up an ice bath if you want to serve the shrimp cold (like in shrimp cocktail) or save them for later use. Put two cups of ice cubes in a large bowl and fill it halfway with cold water.
Once the shrimp are cooked, drain off the hot liquid and add them (but not the aromatics) to the ice bath. This will make them cold. Let them sit in there for a few minutes to fully cool off before draining.
If you want the shrimp to be served warm instead, drain off the hot liquid and serve immediately.
If you want to serve them plain, just squeeze some lemon juice over them and they’ll be fine.
I have a lot of great shrimp recipes for you to try, from my Easy Shrimp Tacos to the classic Shrimp Cocktail.
If the peels are still on, you can serve them that way or take them off before cooking.
Video: How To Cook Shrimp From Frozen
So, don’t buy the “previously frozen” thawed shrimp at the grocery store. They often cost more and you need to use them up right away. Instead, get a bag of frozen shrimp. After that, put them in the freezer. Now you have everything you need for a quick meal.
What kind of shrimp work best? Medium to large shrimp. And make sure they’re already deveined. It will say deveined on the bag. You won’t be able to take out the veins yourself while they’re frozen, and it will be hard, if not impossible, to do so after they’ve been cooked as well. So deveined shrimp are required. Other than that, I prefer them to be peeled but with the tail on, or easy peel. Either way, you can cook them from frozen and then serve. People can easily take the peels off after they’re cooked.
Note that the shrimp also need to be frozen separately, not in a big clump. You should hear a bunch of frozen shrimp moving around inside the bag if you shake it. If 2-3 are frozen together here and there, that’s fine. But no bigger clumps than that. If the shrimp are bought frozen from the store, they are usually frozen separately. If they’ve clumped up in the bag a bit, try banging the bag lightly on the counter. This could dislodge them.
How to Cook With Frozen Shrimp | You Can Cook That | Allrecipes.com
How do you cook frozen shrimp?
Boiling shrimp is a quick and easy way to cook frozen shrimp, making them perfect for shrimp cocktail or sushi rolls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove. Add salt, pepper, lemon wedges, Old Bay seasoning, and bay leaves to the water and stir. Add thawed shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the shrimp turns gray to pink.
Should you cook shrimp frozen or thawed?
It’s best practice to thaw shrimp before cooking it to avoid rubbery, overcooked shrimp. Thawing takes just 15 minutes in a bowl of cold water. If frozen shrimp must be cooked without thawing, the best methods are boiled or steamed shrimp: increase the cook time by 1 minute and check often to assess doneness.
Can you cook frozen shrimp in the same water?
If you boiled your frozen shrimp to finish thawing them, you can skip straight to cooking them in the same water. Bring your water to a high boil. Position the pot on one of your stove’s central burners and turn it on to medium-high heat. When the water begins to bubble steadily, it will be time to put in your shrimp.
What can I do with frozen shrimp?
You can use shrimp for making shrimp cocktail (probably their most popular use!), for an easy seafood boil recipe, or use them in our Mexican shrimp salad. While it might seem like you could just boil water and add the frozen shrimp, you want to give them a little more care so they turn out juicy and flavorful.