Shrimp is the fruit of the sea

I thought I was all fancy and clever to procure a lot of ready-to-cook shrimp. Yes, it was frozen, but I’m pretty sure every sea item is frozen before arriving here in the middlelands.

The package said “peeled and cleaned”. I assumed that meant de-veined too – but that didn’t appear to be the case. I was frustrated that I would have to handle all these cold and slimy buggers one by one. I complained aloud – “I haven’t had to clean shrimp since I was in Girl Scouts!” That should have clued me in.

I enlisted my husband’s support, who immediately assured me that our task was really unnecessary and that I was, in fact, wrong. Being the totally awesome and supportive guy that he is, he went along with it anyway. (I’m lucky, eh?)

So this morning, I thought I should clarify the matter once and for all. It turns out we spent 30 minutes cutting out the nervous system (vs. the digestive track, i.e the “vein”) from 50 jumbo shrimp. I’m not so sure I want to eat shrimp brains any more than shrimp poo, so I’m not sure the effort was entirely fruitless. For those of you interested in actually knowing how to peel and de-vein shrimp, here’s a video tutorial: