What Kind of Shrimp to Buy?!
Also, is does a shrimp that's already been deveined, cleaned, heads off, etc, have a name? If so, what are they called and is what they're called what I would ask for?
Answers:
Don't feel like you have to go to the seafood counter. Almost all grocery store seafood counters just thaw out shrimp that was frozen- that's the "fresh" shrimp. So avoid that unless you have a great seafood market. We're land bound, so we don't have any great seafood places. If we're down in FL or LA, then I'll buy fresh there. I've really been happy with the frozen shrimp at walmart. It's not pricey at all- $5-6 for med size, $7-8 for large/jumbo. They have the peeled, deveined and without the tails and with the tails. Just every once in a while, there will be a piece of a shell still left on. The quality is good. What's nice about frozen is that you just use whatever amount you need. I put in a colander and run cold water over it. It's thawed out in about 10mins. Just saw your additional ques- the smaller the number- the bigger the shrimp. I buy the medium most often because it doesn't cost as much- it's a 50-60 count. You would use that size in most dishes.
I would suggest you talk with the fish monger about what types they have and the price.
I am a novice also.
For a beginner I would suggest you get precooked and shelled and go dy the count unless they are the very small ones and the fist time I bought 20 that were about 30mm long
The second time the ones I bought were larger, also precooked but un-shelled ant it took me ages to pull of the heads and legs and shells off then and to de-vein and pick the guts out.
I have decided I will not buy them again.