~ Brining

Appears in
Cooking One on One

By John Ash

Published 2004

  • About
I almost always brine “green” (uncooked) shrimp before cooking them. It doesn’t take long and it adds a succulence and firm, juicy texture that I think is fantastic. You can use a liquid brine made of ⅓ cup kosher or sea salt and ⅓ cup brown sugar dissolved in 1 quart of water. Soak the peeled or unpeeled shrimp in it for any-where from 5 minutes to 1 hour. Or you can use the “dry method” and simply coat peeled, uncooked shrimp with a generous sprinkle of kosher or sea salt and let it sit for up to 10 minutes. With either method, be sure to rinse the shrimp well before you cook them to remove any excess salt. They won’t be noticeably saltier, for those of you who are concerned about your salt consumption.