How to Buy Shrimp
Shrimp is the most consumed shellfish in the world. There are several species of shrimp on the market that come in many different forms. It is available whole, fresh, cooked, frozen, tail-on, peeled and easy peel. These seemingly endless choices can be a bit overwhelming if you don't know what it all means. That's why I decided to put this guide together about how to buy shrimp.
A few of the most common species available in America include white, pink, brown, tiger and jumbo shrimp. The best species to buy depends on how you plan to serve them. For example cold water varieties are very tiny and are your best choice for shrimp salad. For in-depth information on the many species, including uses, colors and other characteristics please refer to the accompanying shrimp varieties article.
Of the various forms shrimp comes in, unfrozen fresh shrimp is the most rare. This is because shrimp is usually flash frozen at the supplier before shipping. The shrimp for sale at supermarket seafood counters is usually just frozen shrimp that has been thawed and put on ice. Many times it is nearly spoiled by the time someone finally purchases it. It is always best to buy frozen varieties. Please refer to my article about frozen shrimp for more information.
Preparing shrimp used to be a very tedious process of peeling, deveining and cleaning. These days suppliers have made it easy on us. Although you can still buy whole shrimp, if you want to save yourself a lot of work you can now buy processed varieties. My favorite variety is easy peel shrimp. Sometimes labeled EZ-Peel, they come deveined with split shells for easy removal. You can also buy shrimp completely peeled and deveined or with tail-on for shrimp cocktail.
You have the choice of uncooked or cooked shrimps. Uncooked shrimps are great for recipes and can be boiled, grilled, broiled, pan-seared, etc. Cooked shrimps are ready to serve and are commonly served as appetizers or shrimp cocktail.
When buying shrimps you will find numbers on the bag that indicate how many shrimps are in the bag per pound. For example 26-30 means there are 26 to 30 shrimps per pound in the bag. Obviously the lower the number, the bigger the shrimps.
When it comes to where to buy shrimp, I recommend buying shrimp wholesale online from a reputable mail order seafood supplier. There are several advantages to buying seafood online. The number one advantage is freshness. When you buy shrimp at a local store it has already switched hands several times, spent several days in transit and who knows how long it has been in the store. However when you buy online, your shrimp will be shipped overnight directly from the supplier. There is a much larger selection of shrimp online and it is very convenient to buy frozen seafood from the comfort of your own home. The shrimp price is also better online because there are no distributor or retail markups.
When making a seafood purchase online you will be able to choose the delivery date. On the date you choose it will be shipped overnight in a temperature controlled box to ensure freshness. Just make sure you're home when it arrives.
Most online gourmet seafood shops even include a cookbook or preparation guide with their products. However, if you need shrimp or prawn recipes you can find several of the most popular ways to serve shrimp on this website. These include my favorite shrimp sauces and shrimp scampi recipes.
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