Never overcook your shrimp again with this sous vide method. It is really is the best and easiest way to cook perfectly plump and juicy shrimp for the shrimp cocktail. You will never have to worry about rubbery and unpalatable shrimp ever again. Shrimp cooks very fast and really goes from being sweet and tender to turning into chewy shoe soles in a flash. And once they are overcooked there is no going back. Not with this technique.

Sous Vide is French for ‘under vacuum’, is a method of cooking in which shrimp is placed in a plastic pouch and cooked in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times at an accurately regulated temperature. The temperature is much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 to 60°C (131 to 140°F) for shrimp. The intent is to cook it evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and to retain moisture. Sous vide device provides a heating element, and when placed in a pot of water it gradually warms up the water to the desired temperature that is controlled. The result is perfectly cooked shrimp every time. It is a no-fail method.

You can use both shell on or peeled shrimp as long as they are deveined. Shell on shrimp will have more flavor but cleaned shrimp works great as well.

I also recommend adding a couple of lemon slices and a bay leaf together with shrimp into the sous vide bag. You also need to make sure it is submerged by adding heavy butter knives to the bag to keep from floating or simply place a heavy bowl over the sous vide bag. Bag should be large enough to have the shrimp in a single layer. Follow the instructions below for the best cooked shrimp.