Shrimp Veins
Have had some arguments about what the veins are that run down the back and/or under sides of shrimp. What are they exactly? Do you need to take them out? Is it gross to eat them?
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13 Comments:
the black stuff is the digestive tract. i always think the shrimp should be deveined before eating but the internet says other wise.
jaf at 5:20PM on 10/23/07
I always devein the shrimp when I peel them and clean them. The idea of eating the whatever the shrimp is digesting grosses me out.
Eroca at 5:23PM on 10/23/07
I eat it. (shrug)
plasticspoontraveller at 6:26PM on 10/23/07
I prefer the shrimp to be deveined. If it is a very small shrimp I can deal with the vein but it is a extra large, jumbo or collosal shrimp it has to be deveined. Actually, I thought the black vein was the poopy sac and if it is that's gross and maybe I won't eat the small shrimps after all.
sweetthang1018 at 8:49PM on 10/23/07
I'm not a crustacean eater, but according to my shrimp-eating friends, it is indeed the Hershey Highway. Ick.
charm city cupcake at 11:26PM on 10/23/07
Yup, its the digestive tract. Not like its going to kill you or anything, I mean you are eating the shrimp so in essence your eating what it was eating. I've seen a few farm raised shrimp being sold as being purged, meaning the farmer starved them for lets say a day or so before killing them so that the tract is empty and there is no need to take it out.
kitchenlove at 11:41PM on 10/23/07
One more vote for digestive tract. If shrimp are not deveined and you get one with a full digestive tract, it feels like dirt in the mouth. I devein all my shrimp, even if they're U1,000's. (An exaggeration...LOL.)
Occasionally, I get a shrimp that has a yellowish/orangeish streak down its back - which I assume is a female shrimp with either roe or the makings of roe.
chiff0nade at 8:17AM on 10/24/07
Wow. Gross. Got a shrimp de-vein-er last night as a matter of fact. So no more shrimp poo for me.
Thanks everyone!
srbrooklyn at 10:54AM on 10/24/07
LOL!
flootsmith at 4:32PM on 10/25/07
I've been eating shrimp all my life and saw something tonight I've never seen. In a bunch of tiger shrimp I was deveining, about half of them, instead of having a black vein, had something that looked like orange puss. It was the color of salmon. Anyone ever see this or have any ideas? I also noticed that those shrimp had legs that were a salmon color as well, where as the other half had legs the same color as their shell. It is just what they are eating that make the contents of the digestive tract orange-ish? I was worried they might have a disease or be infected with something. I know that the salmon fish, and flamingos, are the colors they are because of something they eat. Think it's the same situation?
LoveTheHollandaise at 10:05PM on 09/04/08
The "vein" running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive track; the one running underneath is their nervous system.
@LoveTheHollandaise - it's likely the orange stuff in the veins is actually shrimp eggs. Nothing wrong with them other than a good case of reproduction.
jenilowrance at 10:25PM on 09/04/08
I see that orange stuff all the time in my shrimp. I devein because it looks gross otherwise, but I don't get too fussy about it. I slit the backs with a sharp nice and pull out the vein. It makes them much more receptive to brining and or rubs or seasonings, and also much easier to peel.
renzata at 11:16PM on 09/04/08
I pull out the top and bottom. I figured the dark thing was poop, but never confirmed. I pull out the bottom as well so I can straighten the shrimp out so it's not as curled. All I use is a fork tine to dig in and pull them out.
Cassaendra at 12:17AM on 09/05/08