Can You Eat Cooked Shrimp After 5 Days? How Long Does It Last?

If you’re a seafood fan, shrimp might be one of your go-to items on the menu. The term shrimps are often interchangeably used with prawns. But are they actually the same?

Well, since both prawns and shrimp have so much in common, it makes sense to get confused. Having exoskeletons, 10 legs, natural habitat, and overall appearance(raw and cooked) are very similar. However, they are actually different.

You can find shrimps in saltwater and prawns in freshwater. The physical anatomy of both specie is different from each other. Therefore, next time you should know if you’re eating a shrimp or a prawn. From eating, it’s an often asked question how long you can store cooked shrimp.

Many people are found asking:

Can you eat cooked shrimp after  5 days?

How long does it last?

How to store cooked and raw shrimp?

And a lot more.

This article is going to answer every question, from cooking shrimp to trying different variations and storing raw or cooked shrimp. So let’s get into it without further ado.

What is shrimp?

A nutrient-rich favorite of American households, shrimp, is seafood. It’s actually a type of shellfish that is abundant on all continents. In their meals, you will see Americans enjoying broiled, boiled, fermented, fried, grilled, sauteed, stir-fried, and poached shrimp.

It doesn’t end here because shrimps are used in curries, salads, soups, kebabs, Thai curries, appetizers, and a diverse range of cuisine. So it’s not hard to estimate the Americans’ love for all types of and any type of shrimps.

If we talk about the scientific side of shrimps, it’s a type of shellfish found in saltwater and freshwater. China is the largest exporter of shrimp, and America is probably the largest importer with more than 760,000 tons per year. But the commercial-purpose shrimps are commonly bred at shrimp farms.

How to cook shrimp?

Here is the basic American question. How to cook shrimp? You can roast, fry, boil, broil, grill, poach, or ferment the shrimps. But we are going to share an absolute way of cooking shrimp at home. So let’s get into it.

Boiling is the most common method of cooking shrimp, so we will talk about it. So here is what you need to do to enjoy the freshly-cooked shrimp on your dinner table.

1. After cleaning the shrimp, put it into a pan of boiling water. Also, add salt to your taste.
2. As the water has started boiling, reduce the heat and cover it.
3. Let the water return to boil, and the shrimp stars simmer. Simmer the shrimps until the glossy appearance of the flesh is no more there.
4. On average, boiling shrimps should not take longer than 8-10 minutes for a jumbo shrimp. The large and medium-size shrimp take even less time.

Pro Tip: If you plan to use shrimps as an ingredient in a recipe, you should plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process. However, if you just let them cool down in the boiled water, the cooking process won’t stop, leading to hardened shrimps.

You can also grill the large-sized shrimps, and all you need to do is prepare the grill by maintaining a distance between the skewer ad shrimp. Apply olive oil to the shrimps with a brush. Also, sprinkle salt, garlic, and pepper. 3 to 4 minutes to grill a shrimp will be enough or else look for the shrimps to get pink in color.

Can you eat cooked shrimp after 5 days?

Now to the hot question: can you eat cooked shrimp after 5 days?

The answer can be yes or no, depending on how you have stored and cooked it. If you have properly cooked and stored the shrimps, it can last for around 4 days.

The fridge-thawed shrimp is fit for eating for 3 to 4 days after cooking. However, if you have thawed your shrimps in a microwave oven, they should be eaten immediately.

The best practice for eating cooked shrimp kept in the refrigerator is up to 3 days because bacteria might start to grow after it. However, you have stored shrimps in the freezer; they are fit for eating after 5 days as well.

How long does it last?

It’s a technical question to answer about how long shrimps can last. It depends on where you are storing it, how you are storing it, and shrimp’s cooking state. So the answers vary according to conditions. The shrimps can last for varying times in different states as follows:

• Cooked and stored in the refrigerator, shrimp should last for around 3 to 4 days.
• Cooked and stored in the freezer, shrimp should last for around 10-12 months.
• Raw and stored in the refrigerator, shrimp should last for 1 to 2 days.
• Raw and frozen, shrimp should last for 3 to 6 months. However, it’s important to store the shrimps properly in the aluminum foil or freezer bag.
• Cooked and kept at room temperature, shrimps should last for two hours. You must store them properly if you don’t want to eat them immediately.

Storing Cooked Shrimp

Now you know how long the shrimp can last in your refrigerator or freezer when cooked. But it’s also important to store it in the right way. Here is what you need to do to properly store cooked shrimps.

Freezing

You have to cook shrimps, place them in freezer bags, and store them in the freezer. You can keep them in the freezer bags for freezing cooked shrimp to prevent shrimps from freezer burn. Although frozen cooked shrimps can be eaten after 10-12 months it’s not recommended.

Shrimps stored for such a long period retain a lot of water and are not as soft and flavored as freshly cooked.

Refrigeration

Refrigerated cooked shrimps can stay fresh for up to 3 or 4 days. It’s better to wrap the cooked in aluminum foil and refrigerate to retain the flavor and freshness.

Besides, you can also store the cooked shrimps in storage containers. Keeping food in storage containers is more favorable as the content does not get contaminated.

Storing Raw Shrimp

What if you want to store the raw shrimp in a refrigerator or freezer. Here is what you need to do.

Freezing

Freezing is the best option to store raw shrimps if you don’t plan to cook them immediately after purchasing. You can transfer the raw shrimps to the freezer to increase the shelf life of shrimps.

Refrigeration

Raw shrimp bought from the market can be easily stored in the fridge for 1 to 2 days. Opening the packaging and placing shrimps in the fridge increases the risks of bacterial growth. It’s better to store the shrimps in the original packaging to keep the freshness and flavor of shrimps.

What Happens If You Eat Bad Shrimp?

If you eat bad shrimp, it can result in shellfish poisoning. You might experience the symptoms like:

• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Cramps
• Bacterial infection(blood in stool or fever)

But you can only avoid the bad shrimps if you don’t know they have gone bad. How can you tell that shrimps have gone bad and are not good for eating?

Here are things to watch in shrimps:

1. A slimy layer appears on the shrimps, and you can clearly see a changed texture
2. If you can feel a bad or sour smell, it means that shrimps are spoiled and shouldn’t be taken.

Some Quick Shrimp Recipes 

We already mentioned that there is no limit to the ways you can cook shrimp and enjoy your meal. However, here are the most popular ways to cook shrimps:

• Fried Rice –Rice, eggs, grilled shrimp, onions, and veggies; the perfect way to cook fried rice.
• Summer Rolls –Vietnamese rice paper, vermicelli noodles, vegetables, and cooked shrimps-probably the best way to enjoy a hot summer day.
• Bean Salad –How if you add cooked shrimps to bean salad?
• Stews –Shrimps can be added to stews in place of meat or sausages.
• Pasta –Cook shrimps and add them to boiled pasta. You can also add olive oil, cheese, etc., to improve flavor.

Conclusion

We have shared everything you need to know about storing shrimps and how to store them in your fridge or freezer. We hope this information will help you get the best deal out of shrimps.