Should i eat prawn tails

Not only do the tails make the dish look good, they enhance the flavor of the dish and can be used as handles to hold the shrimp. They had a dramatic appearance but also you were able to hold the tail while you ate the shrimp, instead of the greasy breading. Sometimes even with a shrimp cocktail — you are eating that by hand — sometimes the tail is left on is just to facilitate eating the thing.

For dishes that are consumed with forks or other utensils, such as pasta, stir-fry or risotto, chefs are likely to remove the tails. There is another reason to keep the tail on a shrimp: to eat it. Several people have remarked on it. My family used to express shock, too. From an early age, I would just eat my way all the way down to the tail and eat that too.

My two sisters and my parents never ate shrimp shells. Another part of shrimp that Stein likes to eat is shrimp heads, but says they are not always offered. It comes out with its eyes bugging and the antenna sticking out. Most often people eat shrimp tails when the shrimp is deep fried and the tail is crispy. Stein, Leson and Mattel all said that even if they peel the shrimp and take off the tails, they save them and freeze them. Head-off, shell-on, tail-on shrimp are what you usually see in the frozen seafood section of the grocery store.

But if you're ready for the next chapter in your journey, head over to the fish counter and buy those shell-on shrimp head-on instead. You don't need to eat the heads to appreciate them: think of shrimp heads as the lid of a pot, holding all the juiciness and flavor of the shrimp inside until you're ready to dive in. Then, when you're ready to eat, just give the heads a twist and if you want to slurp the delicious juices within, no one's going to stop you.

Of course, if you're a shrimp lover, you've probably already peeled your fair share of shrimp at shrimp boils and the like. And that pile of discarded shrimp shells might seem like nothing but fodder for the compost heap. But throw those self-same shells into your next pot of stock, and they'll enrich the broth with even more umami.

Or cut to the chase and make an even faster stock just with the shrimp shells themselves. One way or another, those shells deserve to get eaten.

But wait, you can't really digest shrimp shells, can you? Just make sure you get all of the meat out. To do this, pinch the shrimp where the tail and the body meet and pull; this should release it all. Just be gentle! There is no real reason to leave the shrimp tails on when cooking a dish except for aesthetics. Shrimp tails make dishes look more appetizing. The tails add visual interest to a plate. If you are looking for a photo for Instagram, leave them on, and snap away.

Restaurants leave them on because they look so appealing. Will you try shrimp tails? Comment below and let me know. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Sign up for the Chalkboard newsletter. Want to learn more about whether or not you can eat shrimp tails?