Tender Shrimp

Charlie S. said:

Notice that when I go out to eat at some restaurants some places have very
tender and moist baby sized shrimp. The shrimp I cook at home in a stir fry
tends to be dry and firm. Any suggestions on what I could use to marinate
it with to make it come out more tender and moist.

<SNIP>

Quoted message said:

It's not the marinade that's the problem, it's the cooking time/temp.
Add the shrimp at the very end of cooking and only until it turns pink.

Charlie S. said:

Notice that when I go out to eat at some restaurants some places have very
tender and moist baby sized shrimp. The shrimp I cook at home in a stir fry
tends to be dry and firm. Any suggestions on what I could use to marinate
it with to make it come out more tender and moist.

Also, notice the same with chicken. When I buy the marinated chicken from a
local butcher shop it comes out moist even if I over-cook it in the oven.
Any idea what ingredient(s) in the marinade that keeps it moist?

Sodium [and potassium] [pryo]phosphates.

-sw

In article <6CcHi.1795$yO2.347@trndny01>,

Charlie S. said:

Notice that when I go out to eat at some restaurants some places have very
tender and moist baby sized shrimp. The shrimp I cook at home in a stir fry
tends to be dry and firm. Any suggestions on what I could use to marinate
it with to make it come out more tender and moist.

Quit over-cooking them.

Quoted message said:

Also, notice the same with chicken. When I buy the marinated chicken from a
local butcher shop it comes out moist even if I over-cook it in the oven.
Any idea what ingredient(s) in the marinade that keeps it moist?

Quit over-cooking it.

Seriously, it really is that simple.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a [censored]" -- Jack Nicholson

"Charlie S." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:6CcHi.1795$yO2.347@trndny01...

Quoted message said:

Notice that when I go out to eat at some restaurants some places have very
tender and moist baby sized shrimp. The shrimp I cook at home in a stir
fry tends to be dry and firm. Any suggestions on what I could use to
marinate it with to make it come out more tender and moist.

Also, notice the same with chicken. When I buy the marinated chicken from
a local butcher shop it comes out moist even if I over-cook it in the
oven. Any idea what ingredient(s) in the marinade that keeps it moist?

I thank everyone for you feedback. Will try not to over-cook from now on.

I did a Google search and came up with this info in case anyone is
interested.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Any idea what ingredient(s) in the marinade that keeps it moist?

Sodium [and potassium] [pryo]phosphates.

http://www.wikipatents.com/5084286.html

You may have something there. A couple times this summer I thought I
over-cooked some store bought marinated chicken by close to 10 minutes.
Turned out moist and tender. Not quite as good as if I hadn't overcooked.
Yet, still quite acceptable. There must have been some sort of tenderizer
in this chicken.

From this site I found the following information.
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/articles/marinades-flavor-tenderize.aspx

The key is to use the correct strength acid for the food you're marinating.
For shrimp, I use a low-acid marinade (perhaps one part mild acid to four
parts oil) to avoid toughness. For example, I might use two tablespoons each
of vinegar and caper juice and one cup of oil.

This site uses milk to tenderize the shrimp.
http://thehot1.com/Recipes/ShrimpDiablo.htm

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1997/vp970720/07180511.htm

This site concurs with the advice everyone is giving me. Don't overcook.
I'm going to listen. Thanks!

``That's the biggest mistake people make with seafood - cooking it too
long,'' Whitehead says. ``If you put shrimp in a pot of water, then turn the
heat on, just let the water come to a boil - then cut the heat off right
then. You can still let the shrimp sit in the pot of hot water for a few
more minutes and it'll cook a bit more.

``But as soon as they turn pink, that's enough.''

Another person wrote.

Tillett says his favorite way to eat shrimp is fried in egg batter. But he
recommends soaking shrimp in milk for a half-hour or so before cooking them.
``That'll tenderize 'em, and it won't change the flavor one bit,'' he says.

Other Outer Bankers pour a bottle of beer into the water they're going to
boil the shrimp in. They say it softens them. And it certainly adds flavor.

Charlie S. said:

Notice that when I go out to eat at some restaurants some places have very
tender and moist baby sized shrimp. The shrimp I cook at home in a stir fry
tends to be dry and firm. Any suggestions on what I could use to marinate
it with to make it come out more tender and moist.

Also, notice the same with chicken. When I buy the marinated chicken from a
local butcher shop it comes out moist even if I over-cook it in the oven.
Any idea what ingredient(s) in the marinade that keeps it moist?

It is not the marinate. It is the cooking time. Shrimp and chicken should
both be tender and juicy, but get dry and trough when overcooked. Shrimp in
a stir fry should cook in about a minute, and thin strips of chicken in the
same or a little more.

Keep an eye on the shrimp. They have a build in thermometer. The turn pink
and start to curl when they are cooked. When the are over cooked that curl
gets tighter, and the shrimp get dry and tough.