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The shells have a lot of flavor that will add to the sauce, broth oils etc as they cook. Same goes for other crustaceans. This is why people cook with the shell on. Tail on is a compromise as it provides less flavour but is less messy than full shell on.
Fun fact you can use crab and lobster shells to create a seafood broth along with other stuff. Similar to how you can use a chicken or turkey carcass to make broth.
Or atleast that's what the cooking shows say
Adding on to your last point, to make eating easier and not lose that flavor you can add those tails to any liquid you will add then strain it so you aren’t picking them out. When I make Cajun food I’ll typically be using chicken or vegetable broth at some point so I peel all the shrimp, put the shells in the broth and let it simmer for a little bit before using. It gets a lot of that flavor but I can strain it and add the shrimp directly without peeling hot shrimp later
Exactly. It's also a chemistry thing where the shells will affect the consistency of the dish, like cooking chicken soup from a whole chicken. OP doesn't know how to cook.
We only buy lobster for the stock now. The meat is almost flavorless compared to what a good lobster stock can provide. Remember the scene in Seinfeld about the crab bisque? That good.
Roast or fry in bacon grease until some of the fat turns brown/black, then simmer, strain, reduce.
That’s like saying you eat the bone when you have chicken. Yes it’s crunchy, but it’s not a good crunchy.
Do you cook your eggs with the shell, you monster??
I actually do sometimes eat the bones of the chicken (and other boned meats, and the tails of shrimp). Personal opinion, it's good, very satisfying to do. And some bones aren't all too crunchy, like chicken ribs/shoulder blades/that general area, they're just soft enough for me to be comfortable eating the chicken as if they weren't even there.
Then people peel off the shell, and eat just the egg, because it’s normal, which is the point I was making, which any human with basic intelligence could have surmised.
Incorrect. Even iceberg lettuce, which is more than 90 percent water, also has plenty of dietary fibre and vitamin K. Believe it or not you need fibre to be healthy and to have proper gut flora. Also, we do get some calories from iceberg lettuce, just a small amount.
You’re just playing devils advocate now. You know what I mean, I’m sure there is surely SOMETHING in shrimp tail as well that our bodies can use.
My point was just that something doesn’t need to be nutritious or have any nutrients in them at all for us to be able to eat it.
I believe that you mean that certain salads cannot be digested, because that is what you said. That is wrong.
Any type of normal salad with green leaves can be digested. They contain minerals, vitamins and Fibre.
Jesus Christ, read OP’s post. They’re literally said they’re talking about when people put tail-on shrimp in a dish meant to be eaten with a knife and fork.
If you would cut the tail off, you obviously have not cleaned many shrimp. You pinch them to get the meat.
You can just stick with the pre shelled and cleaned farm raised shrimp.
Yes—I read a Miss Manners (or similar) once that said the tail-on shrimp is just for cocktails so you can easily pick it up with your fingers. In a stir frat or pasta or whatever, take those suckers off.
Why would you need to pick it up with your hands just because no one cut the tail off? The tail meat is prefectly edible and tastes exactly like the rest of the shrimp. That's just a waste.
You don't need to eat the shell. You can just take the shell off and eat the tail without the shell. No need to throw the tail away just because it has a removable shell. That's just a waste.
I mean most people do that if it’s shrimp cocktail or something. But sometimes people leave the tails on and then throw it in a pasta dish or something. Most people don’t want to get alfredo sauce or whatever on their hands.
> But sometimes people leave the tails on and then throw it in a pasta dish or something
Why tf would they chop off the tail when they can just take the shell off? That's a waste of food.
I do, frequently, and I always remove the tails when I make shrimp. I get that they’re edible, but eating one part of the shell when we don’t eat the rest doesn’t make sense to me
Personally I don’t cook shrimp with the tail. Maybe if I was to do a broth (kinda like bones). People like to say it adds a lot of flavour, but imo it’s negligible compared to how annoying it is to deshell as you’re eating.
If the shrimp is cooked properly you don't need to pick it up, just a little pressure and the shrimp will slip out of the tail.
As others have mentioned leaving the tail on adds flavor to the dish but also leaving the tail on is a way to show that you're getting real shrimp and not langostino or other "lesser" substitute
The issues for banana and oranges are the pith which is the white stuff. It is bitter.
For other fruits like apples, kiwi, peaches, grapes.....you should probably eat the peel and it is good for you! But if you don't, I don't judge.
Lol unless they're super thick and tough I've always just eaten the shrimp tails. Your body can't fully digest them so you end up pooping most of it out but they don't cause any actual harm if chewed. They're also said to contain beneficial minerals such as calcium, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B12.
This! There’s meat in the tail that you miss with a knife and fork. They can remove it in the shelling process and make it easier to eat. I never got why they leave the tails on in a dish (besides fried shrimp since that’s finger food and I can pinch the tail myself)
These Asians don't get you, most shrimp in America is precooked therefore they don't need the shell for "flavor." They don't even de vane them either so they're eating shit.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The shells have a lot of flavor that will add to the sauce, broth oils etc as they cook. Same goes for other crustaceans. This is why people cook with the shell on. Tail on is a compromise as it provides less flavour but is less messy than full shell on. Fun fact you can use crab and lobster shells to create a seafood broth along with other stuff. Similar to how you can use a chicken or turkey carcass to make broth. Or atleast that's what the cooking shows say
I made some bisque the other day. Stinks the kitchen out for days, but so good.
Y'all ready for bisque!
Reminds me of fish sauce. Had a coworker who hated the smell when his wife cooked it but loved the food she made with it
My uncle takes the tails and uses them to make a broth. He then cooks the rice in the broth. Yummy.
Your uncle is a man of culture.
Adding on to your last point, to make eating easier and not lose that flavor you can add those tails to any liquid you will add then strain it so you aren’t picking them out. When I make Cajun food I’ll typically be using chicken or vegetable broth at some point so I peel all the shrimp, put the shells in the broth and let it simmer for a little bit before using. It gets a lot of that flavor but I can strain it and add the shrimp directly without peeling hot shrimp later
Exactly. It's also a chemistry thing where the shells will affect the consistency of the dish, like cooking chicken soup from a whole chicken. OP doesn't know how to cook.
We only buy lobster for the stock now. The meat is almost flavorless compared to what a good lobster stock can provide. Remember the scene in Seinfeld about the crab bisque? That good. Roast or fry in bacon grease until some of the fat turns brown/black, then simmer, strain, reduce.
Question: Does this only work if you leave the meat in the tail, or can you eat the meat and just use the crunchy part of the tail?
Some people actually eat the tail.
I didn’t know it was weird to do so, I always do it. It’s crunchy 👍🏻.
I do too.
That’s like saying you eat the bone when you have chicken. Yes it’s crunchy, but it’s not a good crunchy. Do you cook your eggs with the shell, you monster??
I eat the cartilage on chicken and crack the bones open for the marrow.
I actually do sometimes eat the bones of the chicken (and other boned meats, and the tails of shrimp). Personal opinion, it's good, very satisfying to do. And some bones aren't all too crunchy, like chicken ribs/shoulder blades/that general area, they're just soft enough for me to be comfortable eating the chicken as if they weren't even there.
In some parts of the world the shell of crustaceans is one of the main sources of calcium.
Deep fried shrimp tail shells go hard
You can take the shell off before eating the tail.
I mean it’s a good crunchy if the shrimp are deep fried. But definitely weird to me to eat the tails cooked any other way.
You mean hard boiled eggs. The thing that has a name because it's normal
Then people peel off the shell, and eat just the egg, because it’s normal, which is the point I was making, which any human with basic intelligence could have surmised.
If it pisses you off, I will eat the egg shell.
Same. My favorite part.
I don't think the tails are supposed to be crunchy.
Coming out it scratches that itch you can never quite get to!!
My friend does, he even asked my other friend if he was finished eating his shrimp. Only the tails were left…
I do it only because I don’t like the mess of putting the tails elsewhere and I don’t mind the texture and taste
The fuck, is it safe? I think stomach can't digest it
Honestly if it’s deep fried enough, I’ll eat it
If it’s deep fried that’s the only time I’ll eat the tail.
I've always done it with no problems.
Really? I eat the deep fried ones and never had problems, and my stomach isn't exactly iron strong
I'm eating boiled shrimp's shell for 30 years . Who told you you cant digest it ?
There's a difference between passing it through and actually digesting it
At that point it's just dietary fiber just like the corn i see.
Safe, and if fired actually really tasty My grandpa was from Peru and told me it was really common there
It can be but it's kinda weird as fuck
We eat a lot of stuff we can’t digest. Salad for example lol. We just throw it out again
We can digest salad, just not the cellulose.
No, some salads legit have nothing of value for us. Fine to eat still though
Incorrect. Even iceberg lettuce, which is more than 90 percent water, also has plenty of dietary fibre and vitamin K. Believe it or not you need fibre to be healthy and to have proper gut flora. Also, we do get some calories from iceberg lettuce, just a small amount.
You’re just playing devils advocate now. You know what I mean, I’m sure there is surely SOMETHING in shrimp tail as well that our bodies can use. My point was just that something doesn’t need to be nutritious or have any nutrients in them at all for us to be able to eat it.
I believe that you mean that certain salads cannot be digested, because that is what you said. That is wrong. Any type of normal salad with green leaves can be digested. They contain minerals, vitamins and Fibre.
Ok so not salad, but some salads. Say that then
My mom gets mad at me for not eating the tail.
This is my favorite part of the shrimp! Whenever we get shrimp tempura rolls my husband always lets me have the ends! So crunchy. So good.
Why would you not eat the tail? It's exactly the same as the rest of the shrimp. Op is just wasteful.
How in the world is it the same?
Why wouldn't it be the same? It's all just shrimp. Why does it matter if it's from the top or bottom?
I think someone already explained it to you. The tail is in the shell whereas the rest of it isn’t. Most people don’t want to eat the shell.
You do know there is a way to eat the tail without eating the shell, right? It literally just peels off lol.
Jesus Christ, read OP’s post. They’re literally said they’re talking about when people put tail-on shrimp in a dish meant to be eaten with a knife and fork.
What's wrong with not cutting off the tail? Why would you take the entire tail off when you can just peel the shell off?
Ah, you’re trolling. Got it.
It's a prefectly valid question. Why waste almost half of the shrimp when they literally have a removable shell?
tastes different - Chinese person here
How does it taste different? The tail tastes exactly the same as the rest of the shrimp
 What am I supposed to do? Eat them with my fingers?
I'm in the Philippines, they don't take the head or shell off anywhere I've been to yet.
I like to pick up my shrimp by the tail. You won't be fixing my shrimp anytime soon.
The shells add flavor and some people including myself like to eat the tails. I like them when they are deep fried.
If it’s in a pasta, yeah, pretty damn annoying
It adds flavor. For fried shrimp I eat them. For non-fried shrimp it’s a nice little handle to eat them.
If you would cut the tail off, you obviously have not cleaned many shrimp. You pinch them to get the meat. You can just stick with the pre shelled and cleaned farm raised shrimp.
My bf eats the tails lol
Is your boyfriend Gary or Walter Pruckler, or their uncle Danny?
No lol
This shouldn’t be unpopular
I was told if the shrimp is being served in a sauce it should be without the tail, no sauce keep the tail.
I made a shrimp salad the other day with 2 pounds of 40 count cooked shrimp. I pulled the tails off 80 shrimp. What a PITA.
Why do you pull the tail off? It tastes exactly like the rest of the shrimp and is just a waste.
Keep your hands off my tails
I'm vegan now, but I always ate the shells. They're perfectly edible.
I like to eat the tails.
They're only the best part with the concentrated shrimp flavor. They're crunchy as hell. I'd pick them up over a fork anytime.
Reduce and reuse, deep fry and season the shrimp tails then eat them like chips
Yes—I read a Miss Manners (or similar) once that said the tail-on shrimp is just for cocktails so you can easily pick it up with your fingers. In a stir frat or pasta or whatever, take those suckers off.
Why would you need to pick it up with your hands just because no one cut the tail off? The tail meat is prefectly edible and tastes exactly like the rest of the shrimp. That's just a waste.
Huh? I’m not eating the shell unless it’s deep fried.
You don't need to eat the shell. You can just take the shell off and eat the tail without the shell. No need to throw the tail away just because it has a removable shell. That's just a waste.
I mean most people do that if it’s shrimp cocktail or something. But sometimes people leave the tails on and then throw it in a pasta dish or something. Most people don’t want to get alfredo sauce or whatever on their hands.
> But sometimes people leave the tails on and then throw it in a pasta dish or something Why tf would they chop off the tail when they can just take the shell off? That's a waste of food.
No they keep the flavor in.
You don't cook, do you?
I do, frequently, and I always remove the tails when I make shrimp. I get that they’re edible, but eating one part of the shell when we don’t eat the rest doesn’t make sense to me
Personally I don’t cook shrimp with the tail. Maybe if I was to do a broth (kinda like bones). People like to say it adds a lot of flavour, but imo it’s negligible compared to how annoying it is to deshell as you’re eating.
If the shrimp is cooked properly you don't need to pick it up, just a little pressure and the shrimp will slip out of the tail. As others have mentioned leaving the tail on adds flavor to the dish but also leaving the tail on is a way to show that you're getting real shrimp and not langostino or other "lesser" substitute
I just speak them with my fork.
I only get crustaceans if I go to a restaurant. Husband hates seafood, daughter is mildly allergic to crustaceans. Sigh
WHY ARE YOU NOT USING THE CUTLERY TO REMOVE THE TAIL THEN?!??!
Use the cutlery? You gotta squeeze it to get that meat out!
Surely most people eat the tail, no?
No, I would say that is uncommon
Why is it uncommon? An what do they do? Like chop the ends off all the shrimp? That's such a waste.
To eat the shell of the tail.
You can eat the tail of the shrimp without eating the shell. There's no reason to get rid of the tail just because there is a shell on it.
I read it different than that, but yes, eat the tail, don't eat the shell
I don't understand why people don't eat the tails either. They taste exactly like the rest of the shrimp.
This is literally the first time I have ever heard of people eating the tail. The very thought is repulsive
I do if it is fried shrimp.
But it is a crunchy shell that provide better texture to the shrimp.
Yeah, just like how the peel gives better texture to bananas and oranges /s
The issues for banana and oranges are the pith which is the white stuff. It is bitter. For other fruits like apples, kiwi, peaches, grapes.....you should probably eat the peel and it is good for you! But if you don't, I don't judge.
u eating fuzzy kiwi peel ?
It’s not bad if you shave them first!
Eat the shell. They're really good.
I eat shrimp tails, nice and crunchy
I've never had a shrimp tail be crunchy. It just tastes like the rest of the shrimp. Why would it be crunchy?
I eat the shells
Lol unless they're super thick and tough I've always just eaten the shrimp tails. Your body can't fully digest them so you end up pooping most of it out but they don't cause any actual harm if chewed. They're also said to contain beneficial minerals such as calcium, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B12.
This! There’s meat in the tail that you miss with a knife and fork. They can remove it in the shelling process and make it easier to eat. I never got why they leave the tails on in a dish (besides fried shrimp since that’s finger food and I can pinch the tail myself)
personally, i like eating shrimp tails, they're like a crunchy little treat after the main bit!
Why would the tail be crunchy? I've never had a tail that tastes any different from any other part of the shrimp lol
Um, I eat the tails. I like a little crunch on my shrimps.
I think this is just an uneducated opinion, not an unpopular one.
or you can be an adult and eat the tails.
These Asians don't get you, most shrimp in America is precooked therefore they don't need the shell for "flavor." They don't even de vane them either so they're eating shit.