19 hours Ago
A crustacean-based discourse rages on. On Feb. 20, TODAY weatherman and co-host Al Roker sat down with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” to chat about cooking, green screens and the .
After the pair of television veterans discussed “Al Roker’s Recipes to Live By,” his , they engaged in a playful debate over whether or not cooks should leave the tails on shrimp. “I love the book. It’s a beautiful book,” Colbert told Al, who thanked him for the compliment before the talk show host ripped the shrimpy bandage off, so to speak.
“Here’s my problem. Take a look at this,” Colbert continued. “Shrimp tikka masala.
Delicious recipe. Look at those shrimp. Look at that.
They still have the tails on the shrimp. What the hell, Al Roker?” Al immediately grabbed the book to point out that there are shrimp tails pictured in a number of recipes throughout his cookbook. “In the front, I’ve got tails on these shrimp too!” Al said, holding up the cover of the tasty tome.
Colbert pointed out that Al’s recipe for shrimp and grits also violated this perceived faux pas. “What the hell is going on? Am I supposed to roll up my sleeves, put on a poncho and de-tail the shrimp myself?” he asked. “They’re like toenail clippings,” Colbert continued, unabated.
“Al, what, would you leave a hoof on a burger?” Al argued that the tail is “like a little handle.” Roker and Colbert then mimed a playful fight with their respective cookbooks to end the argument on a draw. This isn’t the first time Colbert has revealed his distaste for shrimp tails.
Back in September, while to promote their cookbook “Does This Taste Funny?,” he told “chefs around the world” that there is “no reason to have a tail on a shrimp.” On TODAY Feb. 21, Al to add to the “tails on” side of the aisle.
“There’s a little more flavor in the tails,” Al told co-hosts Laura Jarrett, Willie Geist and Emilie Ikeda during the morning PopStart segment, all of whom didn’t seem convinced. "I'm sorry, I fall on Stephen's side here," Ikeda said. There is precedent for this view, though.
Food writers and chefs have explained that leaving the tails on shrimp while cooking , prevents shrimp from drying out from overcooking and retain its shape and look better, too. The world may not agree on this debate, but if you’re having Colbert over for gumbo, maybe take off the tails before you give him a bowl. Washington, D.
C. native Joseph Lamour is a lover of food: its past, its present and the science behind it. With food, you can bring opposites together to form a truly marvelous combination, and he strives to take that sentiment to heart in all that he does.
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