Why do some shrimp need more cleaning than others?

[WiscoNole]

I wasn't sure which forum this goes in, and to be honest I need a quick answer and this forum has the most traffic, soooooooo...

Otherwise, the subject pretty much says it all. Thanks in advance.

[madtowner]

I think this is related, but when I've gotten live crayfish before, I think they said to feed them cornmeal for a day to "clean them out". I don't think I've seen live shrimp for sale before, however.

Of course, I have a shellfish allergy and don't often look to buy live shrimp. (the crayfish were for the restaurant I work at)

tim

[emilyr]

Farm raised versus wild might have something to do with it. The diets would probably have something to do with what's in their digestive tract. Opr maybe some shrimp were caught and held alive longer, so had more time to digest.

Or do you mean different kinds of shrimp, like tiger shrimp versus prawns?

[Hiroyuki]

I agree with emilyr. From my experience in preparing shrimp before tempura'ing, I can say that wild ones require considerable de-veining while farm raised ones require much less.

[jayt90]

I think this is related, but when I've gotten live crayfish before, I think they said to feed them cornmeal for a day to "clean them out".  I don't think I've seen live shrimp for sale before, however.

Of course, I have a shellfish allergy and don't often look to buy live shrimp. (the crayfish were for the restaurant I work at) 

tim

←

That method will not work for shrimp as they are dead on arrival. But many old timers, including James Beard, recommended a 12-24 hour flour finishing feed for wild mussels and clams I tried this with mussels, and lost most of them. I didn't know how much flour to add to the water, and how salty to make it to approximate their habitat. No wonder they died.

[deltadoc]

It all basically boils down to how long since they ate and how long since they "went". The "vein" is really the shrimps intestines and colon (if they have a colon!)

doc