This delicious and easy poached shrimp recipe is cooked with old bay seasoning and fresh lemon and served with an optional cocktail sauce.
Poached shrimp is a simple, healthy, and fast recipe and takes minutes to cook. It's a crowd pleaser and a fantastic dish to serve with friends and family and around the holidays.
What is Poached Shrimp?
Poached shrimp are simply shrimp that have been cooked or simmered in liquid for a couple minutes until they are cooked through.
The liquid in this case is water with seasoning. Some other examples of poaching liquids are plain water, broth, beer, etc...
Normally, poached shrimp would be thrown directly into an ice bath afterwards to cool them down super quickly to keep them tender and so that they do not keep cooking.
Place poached shrimp in a ziploc bag first instead of dropping them directly in the ice bath. A ziploc bag ensures that all the old bay spice stays on the shrimp but that it still cools down relatively quickly instead of continuing to cook.
Use a gallon size ziploc bag per pound of shrimp to help the poached shrimp cool quicker. (see video below).
How To Cook Poached Shrimp
Poached shrimp is easy to cook. Simply toss raw shrimp in simmering liquid for a couple minutes. Add salt and a favorite seasoning like old bay.
Shrimp are done when they curl up slightly into a C shape and are no longer translucent. Don't know when it's done? Cool, grab one and cut into it and check it out.
Overcooked poached shrimp tastes chewy. Because shrimp will continue cooking until they cool down, try to get it out of the simmering water just before it's completely cooked through.
Add poached shrimp to a ziploc bag and throw in an ice bath to cool down immediately so they stop cooking. DONE!
How Long To Cook Poached Shrimp
Smaller peeled shrimp take ~ 2 minutes to poach.
Larger peeled shrimp take 3-4 minutes.
Unpeeled shrimp will take 50-75% longer to poach because of the insulation and added weight.
Fresh Vs. Frozen Shrimp for Poaching
Unless you are lucky enough to live on the coast where fresh shrimp comes off the docks (like here in coastal Charleston, SC), it doesn't matter if you buy fresh or frozen shrimp for the most part.
A lot of shrimp in the seafood section is frozen and defrosted so you may as well cut to the chase and spend less money and buy it frozen unless it truly is fresh.
The other benefit to buying frozen shrimp is that you can generally buy it deveined and sometimes with the option of peeled or unpeeled.
Some people cook shrimp frozen. I would recommend defrosting it first. But in a pinch, cook shrimp from frozen and add a couple minutes to the cooking time.
To Peel or Not To Peel The Shrimp?
Peeling or not peeling the shrimp is a personal preference. Some days, I leave the peel on and this presentation feels more festive and thoughtful. Also, people will be more thoughtful on how many they eat because you have to work for your food!
The act of making the "end consumer" peel their own shrimp is much more thoughtful eating in my opinion and can also be messy, festive, and fun at the same time.
Leaving the shell on the shrimp will help regulate or insulate the shrimp cooking which could lead to more tender shrimp. Leaving the shell on is also great for the broth should you want to use the broth later for something else like Bouillabaisse!
Having said all that, peeling shrimp before hand makes for a "cleaner" presentation, as people don't have to get their hands dirty to eat.
And lastly, sometimes peeling and deveining is necessary if the shrimp have a lot of poop in their digestive system. YUCK!
Variations on Herbs, Spices, Citrus, Etc... For Poached Shrimp
Any herb, spice, or citrus can be thrown into the poaching water of shrimp.
Think curry poached shrimp, rosemary poached shrimp, cumin poached shrimp, coconut poached shrimp, hot sauce poached shrimp.
Try orange, lemon, or lime juice for poaching shrimp. Toss in a fresh cilantro, rosemary, or thyme bundle.
Simple and Easy Poached Shrimp
This delicious, simple, and easy poached shrimp recipe is cooked with old bay seasoning and fresh lemon. Poached shrimp is served with an optional cocktail sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Coastal
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- ~12 cups water
- 2 pounds shrimp, deveined
- 1 lemon, halved
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoon salt (this is questionably too much)
- 3 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning or favorite seasoning
- ½ cup cocktail sauce - optional for dippin'
- 1 lemon for wedge garnish
Instructions
- Optional: peel and devein shrimp.
- Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil.
- Squeeze in lemon juice and throw in lemon halves, bay leaves, salt, and old bay seasoning.
- Add shrimp and cook for 2-4 minutes or until cooked through depending on the size of the shrimp. Shrimp poached with shells on will need to be cooked longer
- Place cooked shrimp in a gallon size ziploc bag and place ziploc bag in an ice water bath ~ 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooled. Move shrimp around in bag to cool down as fastly as possible. Use one ziploc bag per pound of shrimp.
- Remove cooled shrimp from bag. Serve with cocktail sauce and a lemon wedge. Happy eating! Beckie
Notes
- Defrost shrimp first if using frozen shrimp. Some people throw frozen shrimp in and just cook longer but it will taste better if you defrost shrimp first.
- Smaller peeled shrimp take ~ 2 minutes to cook. Larger peeled shrimp take 3-4 minutes. Unpeeled shrimp will take 50-75% longer to cook 'cause of the insulation and added weight.
Easy Poached Shrimp FAQS
The short answer is yes. I would defrost them first but if you forget, then just poach them a minute or two longer. See the above section for more information.
Yup! Throw shrimp shells in the freezer for a couple months in a ziploc bag.
Optional: peel and devein shrimp. Cook shrimp at a low simmer for a couple minutes until done. Blanch shrimp (cool down) in an ice water bath in a ziploc bag so the spices don't wash off. Serve with lemon wedge and cocktail sauce.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this easy poached shrimp recipe with a complementary dish like:
You May Also Like
If you like easy shrimp recipes, check out these easy shellfish / seafood dishes:
Things In My Kitchen:
- Shrimp peeler & deveiner - There's a lot of fancy & expensive shrimp peelers out there. This inexpensive, plastic one works the best for me. I am lost without it.
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