Are you a fan of frozen shrimp too? No worries, you are not alone. If you live on the sea-side, probably frozen shrimp is the only thing you eat. Eh? Don’t lie! However, frozen shrimp can be found in supermarkets as well as in seaside markets. But when you’re a fan of shrimp, no matter where to find those babies, you’ll always get your way.
No matter if you’re craving some seafood, frozen shrimps would be the best easy-to-go solution for you. It’s also healthy nonetheless.
However, we can’t overlook that frozen shrimp might cause weight gain and high blood pressure. Shocked enough? They might be hiding some salty facts about frozen shrimp. The frozen shrimp contains sodium content (Why not? They live in salt after all!) which is unhealthy for human health.
Why Is Frozen Shrimp So High In Sodium?
Before reducing sodium content from frozen shrimps, let’s take a look into why these shrimps contain sodium in the first place!
Shrimps naturally live in salty water. But some frozen shrimps which we get from the supermarkets or grocery stores contain more sodium or salt. Why? – to keep them fresh for a long time, they are kept in salt, and of course, they freeze the shrimps with sodium tripolyphosphate. It is used to preserve them, which is used in preserving poultry and red meats.
Don’t get scared; sodium, to an extent, is healthy for your body. You can consume it. But the excess amount of sodium leads to high blood pressure and obesity.
So, if you like frozen shrimp and want to stay in perfect shape, you should also read the rest and try out these methods about reducing sodium from frozen shrimp at home!
How To Remove Sodium From Frozen Shrimp?
Before we dive deeper into the salty world of shrimp and explore how to reduce sodium from them, let’s check what we need to accomplish the task.
What Will We Need To Reduce Sodium From Frozen Shrimp
Every battle requires artillery to win. Likewise, to win the fight of removing sodium from frozen shrimp, you need some essentials that include-
- Basin
- Tap water
- The shrimps
Removing Sodium From Frozen Shrimp: Step By Step
Do you want to know how do you make shrimp less salty? Why don’t you follow the steps with me?
Check The Freshness Of The Shrimp
Your shrimp must be refrigerated at a temperature of 32 to 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw shrimp have a limited shelf life; however, frozen shrimp can keep for 6 months.
If your shrimp is firm and pinkish-white, with no distinct fishy odor, it is still fresh. Ensure to defrost the shrimp overnight before removing sodium from your frozen shrimp.
Rinse The Shrimps
Next, you’ll rinse the shrimps, only that’s when you will be able to reduce some sodium in them.
Get your shrimps into a colander, and place them under the tap. Let the cold water run through them, and make sure to inspect and wash each shrimp separately to look for any signs of spoilage.
Make sure to wash the shrimps under cold water only. The water should not be warmer than the room temperature. Because they cook quickly, and hot water will be the reason your shrimps get rubbery. And also, make sure to look out for any discolored, smelly, or slimy shrimp; if you find any, discard them.
Washing shrimp in this way only reduces some sodium in shrimp; it does not eradicate sodium.
Clean Them Properly
After going through the cold water process, your shrimps should have considerably less Salt and sodium content. But if you want to reduce more sodium, you should follow the “all-cleaning” method too!
After washing them with cold water, remove the heads, legs, shells, and tails. Also, don’t let out the veins; they might help you to reduce the sodium from your frozen shrimp more. While removing the heads, just pinch and twist, and voila! It’s done.
While removing the legs, grab the legs firmly with all of your fingers and rip towards the tail. Peel back along the sides and from where you removed the legs while removing the shell. You may easily get rid of the tail by just pulling it off. Stretch the vein out with the point of the knife, grip with your fingers, and pull towards the tail to remove it.
Storing The Shrimp
After rinsing & cleaning the shrimps properly, you can if you want to refrigerate them again. Just put them in a sealed container and store them in the freezer for about 32-38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinsing is the only technique to eliminate, or at least minimize, salt from frozen shrimp. This helps you remove the sodium used over the shrimp when frozen. However, you should not expect to remove them entirely because some of them have most likely already been absorbed into the seafood.
If you really like shrimp and you don’t want sodium tripolyphosphate to be in your shrimps, try to avoid the packaged shrimps. Try to get the fresh ones! As fresh as you can.
But actually, this is hard if you don’t live near the sea. In that case, you can buy frozen shrimps and remove or at least reduce the amount of sodium from the frozen shrimp.
The Alternative Method To Remove Sodium From Frozen Shrimp
Without the above method, you can use some more techniques to reduce the amount of sodium in frozen shrimp. These methods include
| The Alternative Methods To Remove Sodium From Frozen Shrimp At A Glance | Check The Products Here |
| Defrost the shrimp under ice-cold water | Try Midea Freezer for a quick ice |
| Rinse The Shrimp with Lemon Juice | Try Realemon 100% Lemon Juice for the best outcome |
| Peeled potato technique | Try OXO Swivel Peeler and peel faster |
| Boiling Method | Try Instant Pot Pressure Cooker when you need quick boil |
Defrost The Shrimp Under Ice-Cold Water
As mentioned earlier, you can rinse it with cold water. But defrosting it under ice cold water reduces the sodium from frozen shrimp is quicker, without ruining the shrimp.
Rinse With Lemon Juice
You can also rinse the shrimps with lemon juice to reduce sodium. You can use homemade lemon juice to do this, or you can buy it from here too.
Peeled Potato Technique
While baking, you could just peel a potato, keep it in the middle of your shrimps, wrap it with aluminum foil, and bake it under 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. It will reduce the amount of sodium from the frozen shrimp.
Boiling Method
Though it’s not a very convenient way, it is the most effective. With this method, you can reduce up to 40% of the sodium from frozen shrimp.
A pressure cooker may also be used to remove excess salt. If you no longer wish to use the frozen shrimp in its original recipe, consider chopping it up and incorporating it into another meal, such as soups or salads.
FAQ;
- How do you make shrimp less salty?
By following one of the upper methods – rinsing, cleaning, boiling, etc., you can make your frozen shrimp less salty.
- Is frozen shrimp high in sodium?
Yes, they are high in Sodium. The preservation method they use to preserve shrimp needs a lot of salt. They generally live in saltwater, but frozen shrimp sometimes contain more sodium than fresh shrimp – almost twice.
- Is Cooked shrimp high in sodium?
As frozen shrimp can contain high sodium levels, cooked shrimp can contain more sodium if cooked in a very salty sauce. The sodium content of shrimp depends on the environment and the method to preserve or process the shrimp.
Take Away
I know it’s hard and pathetic to know that you consume chemicals with your food. But no need to worry about it. Now you can use any of these methods to remove sodium from your frozen shrimp. These processes are easy to perform and take only a minute or two to reduce the sodium levels.
Moreover, knowing how to remove sodium from frozen shrimp makes it an excellent complement to a low-carb diet or anyone attempting to reduce sodium consumption. If you do not live on the seaside, you can always order frozen shrimp from Amazon here.
