If you’re planning on making shrimp scampi or garlic butter prawns tonight, know that preparing the shellfish requires some cleaning and prep to keep it tasting fresh and flavorful. Even if you buy peeled and deveined shrimp from the grocery store or fish market, they may have an unpleasant, fishy smell. This smell isn’t necessarily a warning sign, especially if you can remove most of the odor before you start cooking. To get the best tips on how to do this, we spoke to Bart van Olphen, a chef, cookbook author and co-founder of Sea Tales, a sustainable seafood company based in New York.

“It’s OK for shrimp to have a slight fishy smell, but it shouldn’t be too strong or unpleasant,” explains van Olphen. “It’s also possible that the juice around the shrimp is causing the smell and not necessarily the shrimp itself.” If that happens to you and your shrimp are packed in juice or give off a fishy smell, the chef has a simple solution. “Wash the shrimp under cold running water or soak them in cold water with a tablespoon of sea salt for a few minutes,” he says. And don’t worry, there’s no need to literally scrub the shellfish clean.

If the fishy smell is still there, there are a few other methods to get rid of it. But first, remember that this is fresh shellfish, so expect a subtle smell even after rinsing, similar to other seafood. However, you can soak the shrimp in an acidic ingredient to further remove the smell. A marinade with lemon juice, lime juice, or even buttermilk should achieve the desired effect in 30 minutes or less. Soak and then cook according to your favorite recipe.

A strong, unpleasant odor that goes beyond a fishy smell is a sign that shrimp is spoiled. If your shrimp smells sour or similar to ammonia and not fishy, ​​your only option is to throw it away as the shellfish is probably no longer fresh. (Sorry about the food waste.) The same goes for shrimp that have a slimy appearance or a color that seems odd. There are many other mistakes everyone makes with shrimp, such as buying old shrimp that may smell bad, so be sure to check the expiration date on the package. Otherwise, it might be impossible to remove the fishy smell for cooking.