There are a huge number of recipes calling for pre-cooked shrimp, often in cold applications like salads. And, there are many variations on how to cook shrimp. I'm posting this as my go-to method, it came from an ATK recipe for Shrimp Remoulade. I like that it calls for a specific amount of water and it uses a thermometer to measure the water temperature, which combined make for a consistent result. However this is slightly negated by the fact that it uses 1-1/2 lbs shrimp; shrimp is sold in 1 lb bags, and most recipes I use call for 1 lb. Also, the method is specific for jumbo shrimp and smaller shrimp will require less resting time than the suggested 5 minutes, although the recipe also says to let sit until shrimp are completely pink and firm.
I'm also including an optional method of pre-treating the shrimp. Lots of recipes have various ways of doing this, usually involving salt and sometimes cornstarch (Chinese cooking especally). The method I'm including is from my recipe for a shrimp pasta salad, which itself was also derived from ATK, specificially a Cook's Illustrated cookbook.
Ingredients
1-1/2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined.
3 cups cold water
1-1/2 tsps salt
(Optional) Ingredients for Pre-Treating
4 to 5 tsps minced garlic
2 to 3 tbls olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
(Optional) Instructions for pre-treating shrimp
Combine garlic, olive oil and salt in a medium bowl. Add the shrimp and stir. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Instructions for cooking shrimp:
1. Combine water, salt and shrimp in Dutch oven (if you pre-treated the shrimp, simply dump it all in, marinade and all). Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until water registers 170 degrees and shrimp are just beginning to turn pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let sit until shrimp are completely pink and firm, about 5 minutes. Drain shrimp in colander. Rinse shrimp under cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Transfer shrimp to large bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.