can frozen shrimp be thawed and then re-frozen?

To save time, is it possible to buy 3 or 4 bags of raw but frozen shell-on shrimp, thaw them, de-shell them, and then re-freeze the shrimp that you don't want to use that day ?

Refreezing raw seafood is usually a recipe for disaster. The initial freezing process is well-controlled to minimize the cell damage that occurs during freezing. Your home freezer can't match that and you will incur damage, making it "mushier." Better to cook and refreeze, if you have to refreeze at all, but repeated freezing for raw shrimp (or nearly any protein) is a bad idea - especially if all you're trying to do is save a few minutes of prep. You paid good money for it, don't screw with it.

Thanks for the good advice!

Also, cooking them in the shell, then peeling, yields better flavor.

nr706 wrote:Also, cooking them in the shell, then peeling, yields better flavor.

From Cook's Illustrated: shell them, use the shells to flavor the broth, remove and add the de-shelled shrimp.

They also recommend brining them briefly to improve flavor and firm up the shrimp's texture. I think it is something like 2 tablespoons salt in a quart of water for about 30 minutes.

Regards,

It is my understanding that all shrimp we can buy locally has been previously frozen. Am I wrong?

lougord99 wrote:It is my understanding that all shrimp we can buy locally has been previously frozen. Am I wrong?

You are correct.

You can buy actual fresh shrimp from the Fabian Seafood truck when it makes the rounds up here. They're based in Galveston and come up every 3 or 4 weeks. They were last here April 9th. They don't post a schedule online but you can get on their mailing list. I go to the Elgin stop. I believe they also go to Arlington Hts and Naperville. There may be other stops as well. Depending on the weather, they will come into November. I usually stock up for the winter and the shrimp frozen in my home freezer is SOOOO much better that what I can buy at Jewel. It's firmer and sweeter. They also bring crab, shucked oysters in jars, and sometimes fish. You save 30cents/ pound if you're on the mailing list. They're nice guys and usually pretty generous on the weight.

Fabian sounds interesting, but you should know that there are many other places here that have better shrimp than Jewel. Whole Foods, for example, has very good wild-caught shrimp.

Saint Pizza wrote:To save time, is it possible to buy 3 or 4 bags of raw but frozen shell-on shrimp, thaw them, de-shell them, and then re-freeze the shrimp that you don't want to use that day ?

Yes and NO. I suspect that much of the shrimp one can purchase has the potential for having been thawed at some time and refrozen, it's impossible to tell until you suspect spoilage.
I would not do it because as Posted you will degrade the quality of the texture but your certainly won't encounter any health problems.
Cooking shrimp in the shell does not provide any better quality than shelling and then cooking and in fact many preparations call for that process.
Cook's Illustrated deals in low quality products. Any decent shrimp should not need to be brined to firm up the texture. The problem is that we have become so used to low quality farmed fresh water shrimp from Asia that we have lost sight of what fresh saltwater shrimp are like in quality. Me, I almost always use a Gulf shrimp(sans oil) whether fresh or frozen. They usually cost more and are harder to acquire but there is simply no comparison to the mushy frozen products sold in most stores.
I have never had much success making a stock from shrimp shells and discard them. Before I switched to Gulf shrimp, I noticed a lot of nasty scum resulting from Asian fresh water shrimp shells that I would not use. I also believe that Asian shrimp are almost always treated with chemical preservatives.
Note shrimp of the kind found at Mitsuwa for Sushi/Sashimi are a different type of quality.-Dick

budrichard wrote:

Saint Pizza wrote:To save time, is it possible to buy 3 or 4 bags of raw but frozen shell-on shrimp, thaw them, de-shell them, and then re-freeze the shrimp that you don't want to use that day ?

Yes and NO. I suspect that much of the shrimp one can purchase has the potential for having been thawed at some time and refrozen, it's impossible to tell until you suspect spoilage.
I would not do it because as Posted you will degrade the quality of the texture but your certainly won't encounter any health problems.
Cooking shrimp in the shell does not provide any better quality than shelling and then cooking and in fact many preparations call for that process.
Cook's Illustrated deals in low quality products. Any decent shrimp should not need to be brined to firm up the texture. The problem is that we have become so used to low quality farmed fresh water shrimp from Asia that we have lost sight of what fresh saltwater shrimp are like in quality. Me, I almost always use a Gulf shrimp(sans oil) whether fresh or frozen. They usually cost more and are harder to acquire but there is simply no comparison to the mushy frozen products sold in most stores.
I have never had much success making a stock from shrimp shells and discard them. Before I switched to Gulf shrimp, I noticed a lot of nasty scum resulting from Asian fresh water shrimp shells that I would not use. I also believe that Asian shrimp are almost always treated with chemical preservatives.
Note shrimp of the kind found at Mitsuwa for Sushi/Sashimi are a different type of quality.-Dick

Where do you get your Gulf shrimp?

Grash's in Milwaukee usually carries at least 2 to 3 type/sizes of Gulf shrimp some fresh. They also carry a fresh jumbo Florida shrimp but it's $30/#.
Sometimes our local Pick n' Save has frozen Brown Gulf shrimp on sale and when they do i purchase in 5# bags.
The main difference I find is in the shrimp is the texture.-Dick

I got some frozen at Supreme Lobster in Villa Park today. Kind of on the expensive side, $55 for a three pound bag. I'm cooking some tomorrow, I'll report back.

trpt2345 wrote:I got some frozen at Supreme Lobster in Villa Park today. Kind of on the expensive side, $55 for a three pound bag. I'm cooking some tomorrow, I'll report back.

I made a kind of cioppino with the shrimp, some scallops and a bit of squid. Very tasty, the shrimp were firm and flavorful with no hint of chemical/ammonia taste. I still have a couple pounds left, maybe some scampi with spaghetti.

Made scampi last night with some more of the gulf shrimp, very tasty over angel hair pasta.