How (and Why) to Dry-Brine Shrimp With Baking Soda and Salt

Shrimp is one in every of my favorite sources of protein, nonetheless there’s nothing that will break a meal pretty like biting into one and discovering it’s overcooked to the aim of being rubbery or mushy.

Shrimp put together dinner shortly and will go from glorious to overdone in a matter of seconds, so you will need to not overcook them. Previous that, though, there’s a method now we have prolonged used on Important Eats to ensure plump, juicy, snappy, and delicious shrimp: Dry brine it with a straightforward combo of baking soda and salt. It’s a trick I make use of every time I put together dinner shrimp.

The Science Behind Why Shrimp Will get Mushy or Rubbery

Sooner than we dive into why the brine works, it’s needed to note what’s occurring to your shrimp when it cooks, and why it’d in all probability sort out a rubbery or mushy texture if cooked too prolonged. “When you apply heat to any protein—meat, fish, eggs—the proteins denature and coagulate, bonding with each other to form a additional steady building,” explains Important Eats editorial director Daniel Gritzer. “With extended time and elevated heat, the proteins bond tighter and tighter, which squeezes liquid out of the meat just like wringing out a sponge. This may occasionally lead to dryness, or throughout the case of shrimp, a tighter, a lot much less plump texture,” and at last a mushy one as a result of the muscle tissue breaks down extra.

Why You Must Dry Brine Your Shrimp

To keep up shrimp plump and juicy as they put together dinner, we flip to a dry brine of baking soda and salt—low cost substances all of us have available. These two substances work along with the shrimp in needed strategies—rising the pH and interacting with muscle proteins—with the final affect of accelerating moisture retention all through cooking..

“Salt and the subsequent pH (which implies, additional alkaline) can every help the shrimp retain moisture by interfering with how successfully the proteins can bond with each other so that they contract a lot much less,” says Daniel. “In meat and completely different animal protein, along with seafood, salt dissolves the muscle protein myosin, which in flip reduces the myosin’s diploma of contraction all through cooking. Elevating the pH, within the meantime, will improve the amount of hydroxide ions (OH⁻) throughout the decision; they work along with protons (H⁺) that will in every other case be on the market to participate throughout the protein bonding and decreasing the ability of those proteins to bond additional readily.”

This phenomenon occurs in all animal proteins, along with seafood and shrimp, which is why we nearly always advocate dry-brining your meat for the perfect outcomes. Every Kenji Alt-López and Daniel have employed this technique in fairly just a few shrimp recipes all through our website, along with shrimp scampi and grilled shrimp. We suggest using about one teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for every pound of shrimp, whether or not or not shelled or not. Solely about quarter-hour—all through which interval chances are you’ll prep your completely different substances—is all that’s wished, nonetheless chances are you’ll preserve it marinating as a lot as an hour; merely make sure to pop it throughout the fridge to take care of it up to date within the occasion you are planning to let it sit for varied minutes.

Kenji moreover notes that whereas this technique is sweet for attaining plump and snappy shrimp, it moreover aids in browning shrimp. That’s because of the Maillard response—the browning reactions that happen when proteins and sugars in meals work along with heat to create additional superior flavors—occurs additional shortly at better pH ranges.

Extra Assure Juiciness By Not Overcooking Shrimp

It’s needed to note that it’s nonetheless potential to overcook your shrimp even after brining it, so that you just’ll want to regulate the shrimp as a result of it’s cooking. “This is usually a method that prolongs a additional fascinating plump texture and extends the time sooner than the tightening outcomes of overcooking develop to be apparent,” says Daniel, nonetheless the shrimp will lastly overcook regardless. He moreover notes that whereas this technique is useful and makes a noticeable distinction, you could possibly not always want a additional taut texture in your shrimp—all of it comes down to non-public need.

“It’s a very specific texture, and in some strategies, the shrimp has a tautness that is noticeable,” says Daniel. “It’s plump, it’s juicy, it isn’t mushy, nonetheless it is moreover not very tender. So that you just’re dropping one factor to understand one other points.” He compares the water retention in brined shrimp to a “tightly-filled water balloon,” which is not always final. As an example, in Tim Chin’s shrimp fried rice recipe, he opts to not dry brine the shrimp after discovering that doing so would have elevated the cooking time and lowered the smoky wok hei style he was trying to achieve.

Whereas we’re in a position to’t guarantee you’ll under no circumstances encounter rubbery or mushy shrimp as soon as extra—notably outside your property—this is usually a good method to take care of in your once more pocket as an insurance coverage protection protection.