Question about shrimp pasta

Kevinslady

Do you peel your shrimp before putting it in the pasta? Do you remove the tail? I've seen in several recipes and just watched Giada leave the tails on when serving a pasta meant to be eaten with a fork.

I've always removed the tail and the shell, unless it is meant to be eaten with my fingers. 

This is normal right?  What do you do?

oct11bride03

I always remove the shell. It bothers me when restaurants leave that last bit on. I get that it's for presentation but I don't want to leave any meat in there so then I have to bust out my knife and fork skills to get the meat out without using my hands (which I've gotten pretty good at). It's just inconvenient and I don't see what benefit there is to leaving it on. 

aamadore

I always remove the shell, but not always the tail. Depends on my mood and if I feel like digging my dish while I'm eating or not!

Kevinslady

See, my hubby loves eating the tail because he likes the "crunch". lol

The_Quiet_One

I remove the shell and the tails because I'm not remotely coordinated enough to get the tail meat out consistently, so I get frustrated with it. 

BridgetMc

I definitely remove the tail, as well as peel it.  I just want to eat when I sit down to eat, not mess with my food...

Irishcurls

(almost) always leave the tail on, only leave the shell on if we're boiling them, for flavor, then peel as we go. Though I don't really know why I do that, now that I think about it....

Blessed06

I always remove the shell and the tail.

maeghan21

In this case, I remove everything. I don't want to be bothered with the tail while I'm trying to eat my pasta dish

PoliticsChick

For pasta I'll take the peel and tail off. For frying or skewering, I'll peel but leave the tail on.

aamadore

Kevinslady:

See, my hubby loves eating the tail because he likes the "crunch". lol

That would be my husband as well! Does he eat the chicken cartilage too?!

Kevinslady

aamadore:

Kevinslady:

See, my hubby loves eating the tail because he likes the "crunch". lol

That would be my husband as well! Does he eat the chicken cartilage too?!

He draws the line there...at least I think. haha

mickylvr1

BridgetMc:

I definitely remove the tail, as well as peel it.  I just want to eat when I sit down to eat, not mess with my food...

This!

cnstarz

oct11bride03:

I always remove the shell. It bothers me when restaurants leave that last bit on. I get that it's for presentation but I don't want to leave any meat in there so then I have to bust out my knife and fork skills to get the meat out without using my hands (which I've gotten pretty good at). It's just inconvenient and I don't see what benefit there is to leaving it on. 

Ditto for me.  

blu-eyedwife

Most of the time I do, but sometimes I don't.  Cooking the shrimp in the shell gives it a lot of extra flavor and I'm not going to peel hot shrimp.  So if I cook it in the shell I serve it in the shell and let everyone fend for themselves.

candreco

oct11bride03:

I always remove the shell. It bothers me when restaurants leave that last bit on. I get that it's for presentation but I don't want to leave any meat in there so then I have to bust out my knife and fork skills to get the meat out without using my hands (which I've gotten pretty good at). It's just inconvenient and I don't see what benefit there is to leaving it on. 

Ditto... I always peel completely and remove the tails.

laptopprancer

I leave the tails on, I have a notion that this helps keep the shrimp from drying out but that could all be in my head.

 

groovygrl

I can't stand having to cut the tail off in restaurants either, esp if they've left so much that I lose the meat inside too... I always remove shells & tail if sauteeing but I do leave the whole deal on if I'm roasting them, then let them cool a little & remove it all to add to dish. 

Jigginjessica

I've tried to be "fancy" a few times and leave the tails on, then I realized that my guests don't feel very fancy when they're trying to remove a tail without using their fingers at the dinner table and one somehow flies across the table. From now on I'll remove the tails.

  Side note - I know I shouldn't be surprised since bones don't seem to bother locals in China, but I still can't get over how often shrimp is served HEAD on, tail on, and skin on. Makes eating a little tricky for me.