Devein shrimp and find orange gunk

[insomniac]

Hi all! So there I was deveining a pound of shrimp for dinner, when I come across a nasty sight. His "sand vein", and really his whole back area it seemed, was full of icky orange gunk.

I have actually run into this a couple of times and I just throw the whole shrimp out. Anybody have an idea what this orange gunky stuff really is? My only thought is diarrhea lol

[VeraBlue]

Originally Posted by insomniac

Hi all! So there I was deveining a pound of shrimp for dinner, when I come across a nasty sight. His "sand vein", and really his whole back area it seemed, was full of icky orange gunk.

I have actually run into this a couple of times and I just throw the whole shrimp out. Anybody have an idea what this orange gunky stuff really is? My only thought is diarrhea lol

it's jello....that particular shrimp was caught and killed in the midst of a jello eating contest. I'd throw it out, too....

Seriously..whatever else was going on in that shrimp's life...something about his digestion just wasn't 'right'.

[insomniac]

Thank you for confirming my suspicions! My husband wanted to "just wash it" YUK! Although I hope to never see that again I'm sure I will, and I will continue throwing them out.

I find it strange that I tried searching google as well as these message boards, and was not able to find anything. Maybe I wasn't using the right combination of words

[auntdot]

Are you sure that orange gunk was not the roe? Apparently the roe of shrimp is often colored and the ovaries are under the back.

Just an idea. Am not an expert on shrimp roe.

[Clienta]

Is it like a thick "string" of orangey gunk? Sort of jell like? If yes, this is in almost all the fresh shrimp I devein here in Isla Mujeres. I just take that & the poop vein out & that's it. They are edible & quite delicious when cooked!

[babetoo]

life is to short to eat orange gunk. i would throw it away too.

babe

[simplicity]

Don't throw the whole shrimp out. The orange gunk is easily removed. The shrimp will be fine. Orange gunk is common in the shrimp I buy. Roe makes sense. I had no idea.

[AllenOK]

The "orange goo" is either shrimp fat (there's a nugget of fat between the head and the tail), or the roe, as previously mentioned. Most of the shrimp I get at work, 16/20 count Tiger shrimp, have black roe. I've also seen orange and pink roe from gulf shrimp.

One of these days, I may try sauteing some shrimp roe (NOT the intestinal tract). Think "lobster coral".

[BubbaGourmet]

The orange "gunk" is definitely roe. We occasionally catch our own shrimp here and always look to see if they are carrying the roe. Roe shrimp and crabs are always thrown back if you catch them yourself. The commercial guys just don't have time to do that so you will see them from time to time. Usually in the larger shrimp as most of them are female. By the way, the roe is edible.

[BreezyCooking]

Agree with BubbaGourmet here - definitely just roe. Completely edible, but if you didn't want to include it in you dish, all you needed to do was wash it out. No need to discard the shrimp.