Most needs are actually deep wants. I don’t need Maldon salt, but my scrambled eggs aren’t the same without the crunchy flakes. I don’t need to remove every germ from every garlic clove, but doing so can reduce bitterness. I don’t need an inflatable hot tub, but I bought one anyway. Do I need to devein every shrimp I cook and eat? I feel like I do, but technically I do not.
What is that vein anyway?
The “vein” that runs down the back of a shrimp is not part of its circulatory system. (Shrimp have an open circulatory system—their blood does not flow through veins like yours and mine.) That little tube is actually their digestive tract, and those little dark spots you see are—I am sorry to say—waste. If you were to eat it raw, the bacteria in said waste could make you a little sick. Cook it, however, and the shrimp is safe to eat, vein and all.
If you’ve ever ordered “peel ‘n’ eat” shrimp, you have probably consumed a little shrimp waste, and you may not have even noticed it. The vein isn’t always visible from the outside and—unless the shrimp is very big and its digestive tract is full of grit—usually undetectable.
So why remove it?
The ick factor is quite high here. Even though shrimp waste is one of the less offensive forms of animal waste, it’s still poop, and I will never encourage anyone to eat poop. (It’s just not in my nature!)
Besides that, and overall aesthetics, the waste can feel gritty in between your teeth. This is primarily a concern with the big boys, but luckily, large and jumbo shrimp are pretty easy to devein. (Whether you want to spend your time deveining small and medium shrimp is up to you.)
The easiest way around this whole situation is to buy deveined shrimp. It does cost a little more (because you are paying for the labor someone else is performing), and it can be hard to fine deveined shrimp with the shell still on. (The shells contribute flavor, and can also help prevent the shrimp from overcooking.)
But if you want to give deveining a go, or accidentally bought a bag of veiny shrimp, there are two ways you can do it: before cooking or after cooking.
How to devein raw shrimp
Removing the digestive tract of a raw shrimp is actually pretty easy, though a little tedious. Starting at the head end, make an incision through the shell down the back of the shrimp to the base of the tail, either with a sharp paring knife or scissor, then spread the shell and meat apart and fish out the tract with the tip or your blade or a toothpick. Pull it out and repeat with the rest of your shrimp.
How to devein cooked shrimp
The procedure for deveining cooked shrimp is pretty much the same as deveining raw shrimp. Cook and chill your crustaceans, then make that same incision down the back of your shrimp, split it open, and pull the vein out.
The smaller the shrimp, the harder this will be, but the amount of effort you wish to exert in your quest for grit-less, waste-free shrimp is between you and your god. (I personally wish to exert no effort, and will continue to buy bags of frozen deveined shrimp. Frozen is fresher anyway.)
