# The shrimp shells are sticking to the flesh!



## JustJoel (Mar 15, 2018)

I made some NoLa BBQ shrimp last night, because I found some heads-on shrimp at our local Hispanic market. I used the recipe that I’ve used countless times, with two differences. At Alton Brown’s suggestion I bribed the shrimp in a solution of of salt and sugar for 15 minutes, and I used ghee instead of butter.

The shrimp melded to their shells! It was near impossible to peel them without totally mangling the shrimp. It was like that one hard boiled egg that just won’t peel, and gets relegated to egg salad.

I don’t think this has ever happened to me before, and I’m at a loss as to how to explain it. Could it be the age or time frozen for the shrimp, the breed of shrimp, or did I mess up something in the cooking?


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## medtran49 (Mar 15, 2018)

You probably cooked them too long.  We occasionally get stone crab claws that have been cooked a bit too long and they'll stick to the shell and cartilage.


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## Cheryl J (Mar 15, 2018)

I'm confused.  I understood your post from the "Ghee" thread to mean that it was a success...?

_*"I made some New Orleans bbq shrimp last night, and I used ghee instead of butter. The result was delightful. Not only did the ghee add a lovely, nutty flavor, but it’s smoking point is much higher than butter, so there was no burned taste to the dish.* For that very reason, I find that it’s very useful in sautés and slow cooked sauces. And I love the way the kitchen smells while it’s cooking!"_


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## salt and pepper (Mar 15, 2018)

Cheryl J said:


> I'm confused.  I understood your post from the "Ghee" thread to mean that it was a success...?
> 
> _*"I made some New Orleans bbq shrimp last night, and I used ghee instead of butter. The result was delightful. Not only did the ghee add a lovely, nutty flavor, but it’s smoking point is much higher than butter, so there was no burned taste to the dish.* For that very reason, I find that it’s very useful in sautés and slow cooked sauces. And I love the way the kitchen smells while it’s cooking!"_



  Ghee is clarified butter.


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## TATTRAT (Mar 16, 2018)

Overcooked is my guess. It doesn't take much with shrimp.


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## buckytom (Mar 16, 2018)

That's happened to me when I've overcooked shrimp on the grill. They were really tough to peel. I ended up eating a lot of charred shell.


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## dragnlaw (Mar 16, 2018)

I've never done shrimp in the shell - either stove top or grill so have never had the problem.  I was considering trying them on the grill this summer because so many people rave about it but now reading this...  I just might have second thoughts.  

Main reason for not cooking in shell for me has been the peeling of hot shrimp has just never 'a-peeled' to me.  
I only want to get that little sucker in my mouth as soon as possible!


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## dragnlaw (Mar 16, 2018)

salt and pepper said:


> Ghee is clarified butter.



S&P -  Cheryl knows what ghee is - I think she meant that she thought his post about the *shrimp* was a success having used the ghee, etc...   and now he's saying the shrimp were a mess ...


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## JustJoel (Mar 17, 2018)

The shrimp weren’t a mess, they were actually delicious, just a bit hard to get to. They never came close to a grill; I make mine in a cast iron skillet in the oven. The sticky shrimp showed no other sign of being overcooked, no rubbery texture and not dry. I suspect the reason may be that there was residual sugar from the brine that fused the flesh to the peel. I didn’t notice any particular benefit from the brine, so next time I won’t use it. And feel free to tell Alton Brown! (Maybe his recommendation for brining was only for peeled shrimp...)


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## buckytom (Mar 17, 2018)

My reference to the grill was that I had overcooked them that way. The point was overcooking at a high temp. 

I wish I knew what the marinade was for Korean grilled shrimp, aka Saewoo Gui. I can oinly find restaurants that serve it.


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## Cooking Goddess (Mar 17, 2018)

JustJoel said:


> ...I bribed the shrimp in a solution of of salt and sugar for 15 minutes, and I used ghee instead of butter...


I've never heard of brining shrimp with salt and *sugar*. I have, though, used a salt and baking soda dry brine on peeled shrimp with great results. This article from Serious Eats might help you for next time:

*Easy Techniques to Improve Any Shrimp*


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## JustJoel (Mar 17, 2018)

buckytom said:


> My reference to the grill was that I had overcooked them that way. The point was overcooking at a high temp.
> 
> I wish I knew what the marinade was for Korean grilled shrimp, aka Saewoo Gui. I can oinly find restaurants that serve it.


I hope you don’t mind; I did a bit of research for you. I found this recipe among several others. This was the only one that included the words SaeWoo Gui. I haven’t made this, so I can’t recommend it. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/06/gochujang-saewu-gui-spicy-grilled.html


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## JustJoel (Mar 17, 2018)

Cooking Goddess said:


> I've never heard of brining shrimp with salt and *sugar*. I have, though, used a salt and baking soda dry brine on peeled shrimp with great results. This article from Serious Eats might help you for next time:
> 
> *Easy Techniques to Improve Any Shrimp*


I’ve used this brine! But like you, on peeled shrimp. I’ve also used the same ingredients in a wet brine. I usually peel and devein my shrimp, but N’awlins BBQ shrimp practically _requires_ that you cook them in the shells with the heads on. And I’ve tried it with peeled shrimp; it loses a ton of flavor and isn’t nearly as fun to eat!


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## JustJoel (Mar 17, 2018)

Cooking Goddess said:


> I've never heard of brining shrimp with salt and *sugar*. I have, though, used a salt and baking soda dry brine on peeled shrimp with great results. This article from Serious Eats might help you for next time:
> 
> *Easy Techniques to Improve Any Shrimp*


Oh, and the sugar and salt brine came from an episode of Alton Brown’s _Good Eats._ But he was using peeled shrimp to make shrimp cocktail. It was my idea to try it with my unpeeled shrimp.


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