How are you supposed to eat shrimp with the shell still on?

Question

. . . when served in a Mexican restaurant and covered in sauce?

Answer 1

You really need to peel the shrimp.  The shells can cause tears in your esophagus and stomach and bowels and cause a whole host of gastrointestinal problems>>>the gastric juices in your stomach can't break down the shells.

Answer 2

you can easily remove the shell with fork and spoon. remove all the "legs" first, then you will be able to remove the shell easily.

Answer 3

i just eat shrimp and shell..especially the barbecued ones...crunchy...mmmm....

only the ones in soups i bother to un-shell them....

Answer 4

Peel and eat shrimp. Good stuff. Those types of foods are meant to be eaten with your hands so don't be afraid to get messy. If you're concerned about sauce, just suck the sauce off before you peel. Yum. ;-p

Answer 5

It'd be sooooo much easier if they shelled them first, doncha think!?!?! But since not all restaurants do, or even have the courtesy to crack the shells, here's a how-to on how to shell shrimp at the table.

First of all, decide if you're going to be the "pick it up with your hands" crowd or the "I like utensils" group.

Naturally, the "hands" crowd is the easier option.  Pick up a shrimp with one hand, grasp the legs with the other, and pull.  All the legs should come right off.  Then take the body of the shell, now without legs, and crack it open like a clamshell, splitting the shell down the back.  A whole shrimp should now pop out, and you can just pop that in.

With utensils, this gets a little trickier but is easy if you get the hang of it.  Use the fork to hold the critter down, push the legs off the body with the knife, and then insert the knife into the shell to loosen the meat out of the shell.  Same diff, no sauce on your face.

A last word of caution - if you're eating Mexican food, DO NOT rub your eyes while eating.  Hot sauce in the eyeball is no fun at all.