Smoked Shrimp questions

[SmokinMoe]

I am wondering if I am cooking my shrimp too long.  I tried the large shrimp, which in my opinion was a mistake.  Too chewy.
I have done the medium shrimp now for the last two smokes.
I am scared to death to eat undercooked shrimp, so I think I am cooking them too long.  
When you cut one open, do you see a faint pink color?  I mean, it is opaque in color, just a very slight tint of opaque pink.  It looks cooked through but wasn't sure about the pinkish color.  My husband says it is fine, but I keep cooking until the whole thing is white throughout and I am wondering if this is actually overcooking it.  
Like I said, it is not clear like when it is raw, it just looks pink like the turkey looks when you smoke it.
What do you think and how do you determine when yours is done?

[bsolomon]

SmokinMoe,

Small and medium shrimp are definitely easier to smoke-cook becasue they are, well, smaller...  That being said, they are not so thick that they don't cook fully through by the end of the smoking time.  Large shrimp are more problematic because they are much thicker at one end, but still taper down at the other.  Smoke long enough to cook them through at the thick part, and they will probably be rubbery and chewy further down the tail.

My advice is to cold smoke large shrimp.  40-60 minutes of cold-smoking will give them a wonderful flavor and color, but they will still effectively be raw coming out of the smoker.  Then, heat up some olive oil/butter in your favorite skillet and pan saute until cooked to your desired amount.  Since the saute will only take a couple of minutes, you can control the process precisely, watch them carefully, and pull them from the pan when they are perfect without all the guesswork.

As to using the color as a guideline, I don't think that is your best bet.  Different varieties of shrimp will change colors at different rates, so depending on what you get from the store each time, you may be trying to reach a degree of color (or lack of color) that is unobtainable without turning the shrimp into a pencil eraser.

[Sesh]

Like bsolomon said, the small/medium shrimp don't take long to cook through.  I haven't smoked them yet but it takes very little time in a skillet or pot of boiling water for them to cook through.  Also, compared to certain other seafood, meat and poultry, I believe the risk of food-born illness from raw shrimp is very low.  Someone else please correct me if I am wrong about that.

[SmokinMoe]

In case anyone is reading this from a search:
I figured out what I was doing wrong.
I was using a BBQ guru to keep the temp. stable but it was in the "RAMP ON" mode, meaning, the temp was low, for a long cook, and as the meat temp gets nearer the desire setting, the guru would bring the cabinet up to the desired heat setting.  This was why the shrimp were taking longer to cook than Smoke and Spice was suggesting.  So, I was pulling them out and of course, since the box never got to the right temperature right at the beginning, they were not cooked fully.  I have since taken the "ramp on" setting and turned it off. The smoker got right to the desired temp and the shrimp took way less time to smoke/cook.  This made a huge difference. At the time, I was very new to smoking and really only had the great guys on this site help me.  So, if you have any questions after this, post.

[watchdog56]

This sounds interesting. What temp did you cook these at and for how long? Also what type of wood did you use? I wonder if using the already cooked shrimp and applying smoke to them if that would work?

[SmokinMoe]

So I used the book, Smoke and Spice, a ton for recipes.  It is a great purchase that you will not regret.
This is from the jalapeño lime shrimp on page 237.
You marinade the peeled shrimp (leave the tails on), put the smoker on between 180 degrees to 200 degrees F. 
Put the shrimp near the top, furthest away from the heat source and smoke approximately 25 minutes.  Says they are ready when opaque, slightly firm and lightly pink on the exterior.
I used pecan or maple when I have done this.  NOT a ton of smoke flavor but they are very rich tasting and I can really only tolerate about 3 or 4 and my family is just grateful because it leaves more for them.   Just too rich tasting for me but I love the 3 or 4 that I do eat.  I have never tried with any other flavor smoke although cherry or alder would work, too.

[watchdog56]

Any idea on how long it takes to get them pink?

[SmokinMoe]

around the 20-25 minute mark.  Not sure for the bigger shrimp. You just watch the tail (shell still left on it) I only put one puck in and then I still get smoke when I go to open and check on them, but not nearly as much since the puck has been in the water bowl for about 5 minutes.  You can always pull at that time and saute in garlic butter on the pan if you needed to.

[watchdog56]

Thanks I will have to give this a try sometime.