Sous Vide Shrimp

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This Sous Vide Shrimp recipe is the easiest way to achieve perfectly plump, juicy and succulent shrimp! This butter poached style shrimp can be served with rice or pasta as a main meal, or served as an appetizer with a side of crusty bread!  

You know we love shrimp around here! They’re tender and juicy, and so quick and easy to prepare. This easy Thai shrimp curry is one of our favorite recipes, and this flavor packed shrimp lo mein is ready in under 20 minutes! 

The tricky part about cooking shrimp, however, is how quickly they go from plump and juicy to tough and chewy. The window of time for perfectly cooked shrimp is very small!

That’s why the sous vide is so perfect for cooking shrimp! You no longer have to worry about that small window of time. You’re able to cook the shrimp slowly in the sous vide water bath, letting them infuse with flavor, while they maintain their plump and juicy texture.

Even with a longer cooking time, you still only need a little over an hour for this recipe!

And, if you love shrimp cooked sous vide style, you’ll definitely want to try this sous vide octopus or this sous vide lobster tail recipe!

Check out the sous vide shrimp story!

Why this recipe works

1. The sous vide allows you to cook shrimp more slowly than traditional cooking methods. This time allows the shrimp to infuse with flavor without overcooking and getting tough or chewy. 
2. Tossing the shrimp with a little baking soda and letting them sit for 30 minutes before putting them in the water bath helps keep their texture firm and plump while cooking.
3. The shrimp are sealed in a bag with butter, garlic and a few other seasonings, resulting in butter poached flavor with less effort!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 16 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 4 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

Other sous vide recipes

• Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
• Sous Vide Pork Loin
• Sous Vide Salmon
• Sous Vide Halibut

Ingredients

For a full list of ingredients and quantities, refer to the recipe card below.

You’ll need 1 pound of shrimp for this recipe, and you'll want it peeled and deveined. If you only have shrimp with the shell-on, you can peel and devein them yourself. Here’s a short tutorial on how to peel and devein shrimp. 

The shrimp are cooked in the water bath with 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. I prefer to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt added to the shrimp.

Garlic is the perfect flavor pairing with buttery shrimp. I used 2 cloves of minced garlic but you can add more for extra garlic flavor.

For a light, herb flavor, you’ll need ½ teaspoon of dried tarragon. If you don’t have tarragon, you can substitute with dried basil or dill.

Step by step instructions

Toss the shrimp with salt and baking soda and let sit for 30 minutes.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 132F degrees.

Place the butter, shrimp, garlic, mustard and tarragon in a bag and vacuum seal.

Cook for 30-45 minutes. Remove and pour the bag juice in a saucepan.

Bring the juice to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Pour over shrimp and serve. You can also serve the shrimp with this seafood butter sauce that we have fallen in love with.

Expert tips

1. Please don’t skip the step of tossing the shrimp with baking soda as this helps prevent mushy shrimp and keep a firm texture.
2. You can change up the seasoning for the shrimp, but keep in mind that the shrimp are cooking in their own juices, so they don’t need a huge amount of seasoning to be flavorful.
3. For even cooking, the shrimp should be sealed in the bag in a single layer (as much as possible).
4. Be careful not to leave the shrimp in the water bath too much past the 45 minute cooking time as they may start to get mushy.
5. Whether you’re using a vacuum seal bag or ziplock bag, it’s important that you properly remove the air from the bag as this keeps bacteria out.
6. For safe and even cooking, the bag of shrimp should be fully submerged in the water bath. If the bag starts to float, you can open it, let the air out and reseal it.
7. To prevent the bag from floating, you can also use a sous vide sinker weight.

Common questions

Storage and reheating instructions

Shrimp are best enjoyed just as they’re cooked. If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

To reheat, place shrimp in a skillet with some oil or butter and reheat on the stovetop until just warmed through. Be careful not to reheat them for too long as shrimp can get tough and rubbery.

Other shrimp recipes

• Instant Pot Shrimp
• Sweet Chili Shrimp
• Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi
• Easy Shrimp Tacos
• Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!