I've tried to cook shrimp tons of times...it never turns out like it does in the restaurants. Our frequent problems are:
1) they taste fishy
2) they're too chewy (which I think is overcooking?)
I'd love to cook seafood better for my family. Kids are finally expressing interest in trying it, and I haven't had much success so far.
I have a great cod recipe with homemade breadcrumbs. I make that a fair amount of time. The trouble is the fish breaks up. The recipe calls for it to be cooked in a pan and flipped. Broken pieces of fish turn my DH off, he sounds like a kid doesn't he ;) Any idea why this happens?
Thanks to any seafood experts out there.
For shrimp high heat and short cook time like you would for octopus or squid unless it's supposed to be raw. I wouldn't do squid unless you score the heck out of it first then maybe blanch. The best way to buy shrimp is the bagged frozen anything you buy thawed at the counter is the bagged stuff anyhow. Can you all do eggs? Doesn't matter you can take the taste by marinating it a short time in a mild wine, ginger and pinch of salt before sauteeing. I keep the shell on when cooking because a lot of the flavor is in the shell.
For fish tilapia is rather mild, affordable and low mercury. It's hard to beat bass on taste though. Can you have soy?
Shrimp is extremely easy to overlook, and that is what makes it rubbery. The second it turns pink, take it off the heat. Dont worry about undercooking, just overcooking. Depending on size, it could be as little as less than a minute. The biggest shrimp, the huge ones that look like small lobster tails (and are very hard to find and expensive, so you won't cook with them very often, if ever) still only take a few minutes.
I used to cook tilapia in a parchment packet--tilapia topped with herb butter and julienned veggies. It was very good.
Similar to the parchment, i often do tilapia in a foil packet on the grill. drizzled with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. I would season it more, but dd likes it rather plain. I like the Montreal Steak blend on most fish and beef. I use that on salmon and swordfish. Just that with some lemon and olive oil, on the grill.
And yes, shrimp need a very quick cooking. They are done as soon as they are pink.
Thanks ladies! Keep those tips going!! Getting tired of constantly eating meat around here...