Food - Drink
The Timing Rule That Will Make Or Break Marinated Shrimp
By EMILY BOYETTE
Marinating not only improves the texture of meat and seafood, but also infuses your food with any flavors you'd like. However, the amount of time you let the protein marinate is just as important as the ingredients you use, and timing is especially vital when it comes to shrimp, whose texture can be quite finicky.
No seafood should be allowed to marinate for longer than 30 minutes, and smaller seafood like shrimp should be watched especially closely. Marinades often have an acidic component such as citrus juice or vinegar, which can either make the shrimp mushy, or "cook" its proteins and make it tough once it actually meets a heat source.
Acid denatures the protein in shrimp very easily, and if your shrimp is partially "cooked" by the acid in your marinade, it will be overdone once it's time to actually cook it. If your marinade doesn't have much acid, you can marinate the shrimp for up to one hour, but you should always set a timer and don't let it go for too long.