The Genius Shrimp Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner

If you love shrimp, you already know about how important (and tedious) it is to devein them, but if you're new to shellfish, you may not know about this process. The dark vein in shrimp is the crustacean's digestive tract. It runs along the back side of the shrimp and is usually visible as a dark line, especially in raw shrimp. This "vein" contains partially digested food and waste, which is why you should remove it before cooking or eating the shrimp.

To be clear, the vein isn't harmful to eat, but many prefer to remove it for better texture because the partially digested waste can be gritty (and the thought of eating it is a bit gross). The process of removing this vein is called deveining and it isn't always easy to do. Most people use a small paring knife or a special shrimp deveiner tool to accomplish the task, but if you don't have one of those tools, follow content creator @feedthepudge's lead and grab a skewer. When we saw this tip we couldn't believe we hadn't thought of it sooner.

Related: Al Roker's New Orleans-Style Shrimp Moves a Classic Dish To the Grill

How to Devein Shrimp With a Wooden Skewer

All you need is a wooden skewer and raw shrimp. You'll take the skewer and stab it between the fourth and fifth abdominal segments, close to the top of the curve of the shrimp. Insert the skewer through the shell and meat to make sure you go under the vein. Then pull upwards with the skewer and the vein will pop right out!

"That’s fantastic!" someone commented on the Instagram post. It really is a great hack to have in your back pocket for the next time you have shrimp. It makes cleaning them so much easier.

"WHAT HARRY POTTER SORCERY IS THIS?!" another person asked. It does seem like a magic trick! We can't get over how easy it is.

"I won't eat shrimp without de-pooping it myself," someone else added.

"I’ve spent endless hours doing this the old-fashioned way will definitely try it," someone chimed in. This is a great time saver that we can't wait to try the next time we make shrimp scampi.

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