Learn how to make Poached Shrimp at home any day! You'll be making the most tender shrimp at ¼ of the price of those expensive shrimp rings at the grocery store. Don't forget to make a batch of cocktail sauce for dipping.
Want to serve an amazing homemade shrimp cocktail platter for your next party, date night, or like me - just love to eat shrimp.
Well, I have got the easiest recipe for you to learn how to make the best shrimp. You will never need to buy an overpriced seafood platter again.
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❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- This is a great base recipe for shrimp to pair with amazing dipping sauces that are always a hit.
- It's affordable to purchase fresh shrimp and make your own platters at home.
- You'll be able to make about 3 pounds of shrimp for 1 pound of the store made platters!
Ingredients
- Fresh raw shrimp, use either jumbo 21/25 or extra large shrimp 26/30 size
- Fresh garlic cloves, parsley, lemons, black peppercorns, Kosher salt, and a bay leaf all add flavor to the stock.
Instructions
This is an overview of the recipe. The full instructions are below in the recipe card.
If the shrimp is not already cleaned and deveined, do so! Here is a great tutorial if you aren't sure how! I try to purchase already clean and deveined shrimp.
- In a large saucepan or pot, add the cold water, lemon juice, lemon halves, bay leaf, salt, and black peppercorns
2. Bring the water to a rapid boil. Add the shrimp to the water. Remove the pot from the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Let the shrimp poach about 3 minutes. Once the shrimp turn pink, they are ready to eat.
3. Move shrimp to an ice bath to cool about 10 minutes before serving. The shrimp in the refrigerator to cool.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven, I love and use this one often and it's quite affordable!
- Platter: Shrimp is an awesome treat and I love keeping it cold on this platter.
FAQS
I always keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer. To defrost quickly, in a large bowl, add the frozen shrimp and run cold water on the shrimp. Stir occasionally, after 5 - 8 minutes, drain the water and add more cold water. Stir shrimp, they should be defrosted in about 15-20 minutes.
On a rare occasion, I plan ahead, and I want to defrost frozen shrimp. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl in the fridge. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. In the morning, shrimp are ready to cook.
In cooking, poaching always means the food will be quickly cooked in a liquid, such as water, milk, or wine that is flavored with spices or citrus. The food is generally used in various other recipes. It's very common poaching shrimp, chicken, salmon are all popular foods that can be poached for delicious results.
Expert Tips
Eileen's Tip: To avoid rubbery shrimp, remove the shrimp from the poaching water as soon as they turn pink.
- For many shrimp recipes, such as our tasty Baja Taco Shrimp Bowls, remove the tails, however, for this recipe, leave the tails on for a gorgeous presentation.
- Be sure to devein the shrimp before cooking. For a shortcut, purchase already cleaned shrimp.
Storage Tips
Whether you are defrosting shrimp or keeping fresh shrimp in the fridge, use within 1-2 days. In other words, once you have defrosted the shrimp, be ready to cook and enjoy.
Similar Recipes to Enjoy
Easy Shrimp Scampi and Spaghetti is a quick family dinner that everyone will enjoy!
A family favorite is this tasty Baked Coconut Shrimp with Spicy Orange Dipping Sauce
Lighter Linguine with Clam Sauce is another less than 30 minute dinner.
Love shrimp? Try our Low-CarbJambalaya is full of flavor without being full of calories.
Instant Pot Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo, another fabulous quick family dinner.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve poached shrimp with dipping sauces like Homemade Cocktail Sauce.
- Poached shrimp goes well in this arugula salad.
- Champagne Vinaigrette is a great topping for a shrimp salad
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Thank you for the continued support. I am forever grateful.
Eileen xo
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars and we would appreciate it so much! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
xo! Eileen
First published Septemer 4, 2018. Last updated July 16, 2021 for a better reader experience.
How to Make Poached Shrimp
Equipment Needed:
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Ingredients
- 1 pound extra large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined see note 1
- 5 cups cold water
- 10 whole black peppercorns see note 2
- 5 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1 large lemon, cut in half
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 bay leaf
- homemade cocktail sauce
Instructions
- In a large pot, over medium-high heat, add water, black peppercorns, fresh parsley, lemon juice, lemon halves, Kosher salt, and bay leaf.
- Bring the water to a rapid boil.
- Add the shrimp to the water. Remove the pot from the heat and cover with a lid.
- Let the shrimp poach in the liquid about 5 minutes. Shrimp will be cooked through and pink in color.
- While the shrimp poaches, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Set aside.
- Use a wire mesh strainer or slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to the bowl of ice water.
- Let shrimp cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the ice bath with a slotted spoon.
- Serve shrimp with a dipping sauce such as cocktail sauce, make shrimp salad, add to pasta salads, etc.
Notes
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Don’t forget to shop at the Everyday Eileen store on Amazon
- Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
- Weight Watchers 0 point
Susan
Easy and very yummy!
Eileen xo
Wonderful, Sussan. Glad you enjoy the shrimp.
Molly Kumar
These were so easy to make and we loved the flavors.
Eileen xo
Fantastic. I hope you make these shrimp often.
Jade
This is perfect for one of our favorite pasta salad recipes. I've always done crab in this salad but I really like it with this shrimp.
Eileen xo
Great, enjoy the shrimp
Whitney
Such an easy recipe to have on hand! I love the seasonings you used, perfect flavor to either enjoy on it's own or in a dish!
Eileen xo
Thank you so much Whitney. I hope you enjoy the recipe often.
Lathiya
Poaching shrimp is something new to me. Never heard of it. You explained in detail.
Eileen xo
Awesome, glad you understand and I hope you make it soon.
Mark Robertson
Love this recipe Eileen. I always bought my shrimp. Your recipe is so easy and delicious. Saves me a lot money cause I make this myself now f
Eileen xo
You made my day Mark! Glad you are saving money and enjoying great shrimp too!
Amelia Fletcher
we are huge shrimp lovers right here in Florida and consume it very frequently . that is cool to poach it then use it for making cocktail shrimp which i love!
Eileen xo
I am glad you enjoy the poached shrimp. I have a recipe for cocktail sauce coming out soon! Enjoy!
swathi
Poached shrimp looks delicious, I haven't tasted poached shrimp. I need to . It looks really easy.> beast dish for gathering or game day.
Eileen xo
Swathi, you must make poached shrimp! I think you will enjoy!
Jenni LeBaron
I like that you poached the shrimp directly in the peppercorn an lemon juices so that they get perfectly seasoned as they cook. These sound super tasty and I'd love to try your technique!
Eileen xo
Thank you Jenni! I am so glad you enjoy the poached shrimp recipe!
Veena Azmanov
Poached prawns are great - must-have kinda think in my freezer. I keep them for times when I need to add a quick something to my salad and make it a main dish. Or my quick noodle soup. Thanks for the step by step. So helpful. Looks amazing.
Eileen xo
Your welcome Veena! I am glad you enjoy the tutorial!
Marisa Franca
We love our shrimp any way we can get it!! We've made boiled shrimp quite a lot because we think it makes a great appetizer. You give some great tips so that the shrimp is tasty and doesn't turn out to be rubbery.
Eileen xo
Thank you Marisa! I am glad you found the tips useful!
Claudia Lamascolo
We are big shrimp lovers here in Florida and eat it very often . This is cool to poach it then use it for makiing cocktail shrimp which I love!
Eileen xo
I am glad you enjoy the recipe Claudia! Poaching is so easy and enjoying with cocktail sauce is delish!
Michelle
such an easy recipe for an impressive dish! I have a feeling those grocery stores are thinking they can swindle us by making poached shrimp seem much harder to make than they actually are 😉
Eileen xo
You got that right Michelle! Poaching shrimp is so easy! Enjoy!
Dahn
oh my yes, this is definitely a tailgate winnner!! I love how fast and easy it is to cook shrimp and your instructions are solid.
Eileen xo
Thank you Dahn! Yes, these shrimp are perfect for tailgating! Enjoy!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
I so very rarely make shrimp, but your step by step photos make me think I should make the effort more often. Looks amazing, Eileen!
Eileen xo
Thank you Kylee, I hope you use the tutorial and enjoy the poached shrimp!
Eileen xo
Thank you Kylee! Yes, do make the shrimp! You will remember how easy it is to make and enjoy!