How do you remove veins from shrimp?
Chef's answer
Using a small paring knife, cut along the outer edge of the shrimp's back, about 1/4-inch deep. If you can see it, remove and discard the vein the runs along right under the surface of the back, with your fingers or the tip of your knife. If you can't see the vein, don't bother with it..
Frequently asked Questions 🎓
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To ensure the lobsters are clean, scrub the shell only, not the exposed meat. Do not submerge the tails in water as the meat can absorb the liquid, creating a watery tasting lobster. It depends on where you purchased lobster tails, they may or may not be deveined. The vein is running through the center of the tails..
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Sometimes when you buy raw shrimp you will notice a thin, black string down its back. Although removing that string is called deveining, it is actually not a vein (in the circulatory sense.) It is the shrimp's digestive tract, and its dark color means it is filled with grit.
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The "white vein" on the inner crescent side of the shrimp is the blood vessel. It's white, rather than red, because the blood of shrimp is clear. There's no food-safety reason to remove this one, but you can if it seems more appetizing to you..
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The first "vein" is the alimentary canal, or the "sand vein," and is where body wastes like sand pass through. You remove it, partly because it's unappetizing, but also so you don't bite down on the sand and grit. The "white vein" on the inner crescent side of the shrimp is the blood vessel..
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You probably won't get sick from eating shrimp with veins, but the taste of veined shrimp may be slightly grittier in texture compared with shrimp that's been deveined. You likely won't fall ill from eating fully cooked shrimp sand veins, as any bacteria in them should be destroyed during the cooking process..
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Some chefs prefer to cook shrimp with shells on, to retain the shrimp's flavorful juices, as in Deviled Shrimp. The trick is to remove the digestive vein along the back of the shrimp without peeling off the shell..
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* You can't eat shrimp that hasn't been deveined. If you were to eat the shrimp raw, the thin black "vein" that runs through it could cause harm. That's the shrimp's intestine, which, like any intestine, has a lot of bacteria. But cooking the shrimp kills the germs.27 Jun 1999.
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