How to Boil Shrimp

Delicious boiled peeled shrimp are perfect for serving with shrimp cocktail, but I often serve them as a main course, with drawn butter for dipping.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Rest time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 199kcal

Author Vered DeLeeuw

Ingredients

2 lb. large shrimp peeled and deveined, tail on
1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt for the cooking water

Instructions

If you need to defrost the shrimp, place them for 10 minutes in a large bowl filled with cool water. After 10 minutes, replace the water with fresh cool water and allow to soak for 10 more minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a colander and rinse with cool water.
While the shrimp are thawing, fill a large stockpot with water. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the thawed shrimp to the boiling water. Gently stir. Cover, remove the saucepan from the heat, and allow the shrimp to cook in the residual heat until pink and opaque. If using large or extra-large shrimp, this should take about 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spatula, transfer the cooked shrimp to a platter. Cover and refrigerate them for 2 hours.
Serve with cocktail sauce or drawn butter.

Video

Notes

Nutrition info is for shrimp only.

As you can see, this is a very simple recipe. You can spruce it up by adding aromatics to the boiling water. Interesting options include lemon wedges, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. These additions will subtly enhance the flavor of the shrimp. Truthfully, though, I rarely bother.

Nutrition