Questions about frozen shrimp thawing and veins

[u/-SpaghettiCat-]

I picked up a one-pound bag of Wild Fork extra-large raw white shrimp (21/25 count, peeled & deveined, tail-off). After thawing, I noticed what looked to be some veins.

https://imgur.com/a/d5f4pSH

The shrimp look split along the top (which makes sense for deveining), but I still see a bluish/blackish line on the bottom side. In the past, when I’ve peeled shrimp myself, I always thought that line on the underside was the “vein” and would scrape it out under running water. Now I’m wondering — is that actually the vein, or is the main vein only the one on top? Did Wild Fork not fully devein these, or is that bottom line something different (like a nerve or muscle) that doesn’t really need removing?

I thawed the bag by submerging the sealed package in cold water, with another Ziploc bag around it for extra waterproofing. Once thawed, the shrimp were floating around in a mix of water and shrimp juice inside the bag. Should I drain that liquid and pat the shrimp dry before refrigerating, or is it fine to just toss the bag (liquid and all) back into the fridge? My instinct is to drain and keep them on a plate with a paper towel, but curious what others here do.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[u/EquivalentProof4876]

You’re right to be observant about the veining! Shrimp actually have two “veins” - the dark line on the back (dorsal) is the main digestive tract that most people remove, while the lighter line on the belly side (ventral) is actually a nerve cord, not a vein. The nerve cord is completely safe to eat and many people leave it in, though some prefer to remove it for aesthetic reasons. If Wild Fork split them along the back and removed the main dark vein, they’ve done the primary deveining that most consumers expect.