Freezing/thawing shrimp

[phagin]

My husband got a whole bunch of fresh shrimp from a work associate who told us to freeze them by taking the heads off, filling the freezer bags up with water, and freezing. So, I have these huge ice cubes in my freezer with shrimp frozen in them. NOW what?! I tried letting one thaw, draining out the water as it thawed, then putting them into a boiling pot of water. They turned out very mushy. I don't think I'm overcooking them because I can successfully boil fresh shrimp that way...Any ideas??

[NydiaC]

I'm not sure what to do with your shrimp ice cubes; however, you do not need to freeze shrimp in ice. You can freeze them in a ziplock bag or tupperware container without water and they should be ok. My family would do that every year when we went shrimping and they worked out just fine... not mushy at all.

[Beth]

I got way behind here during the tech diff times, so I just read this, but fro next time, I have frozen shrimp by popping off the heads and rinsing, then into a freezer bag or container. The water left from rinsing is probably enough. As for thawing, put them in a strainer or colander a few minutes before you need to use them and run cold water over them. They will thaw quickly and stay cold. Dump them still cold into boiling water, or whatever cooking you are going to do.

[Carolyn]

Can't help you with your shrimp ice cubes, but can tell you I have successfully frozen individual shrimp- just like the bags you buy in the supermarket. I just decapitated them, dried them and put them on a cookie sheet into the freezer. When they were solid, I dumped them into a freezer bag. They were fine when I cooked them later. For you block shrimp, why not find a recipe that uses chopped shrimp or shrimp bisque?