The best way to thaw frozen shrimp is to place it in the refrigerator the night before. If you forget to do this, you can still thaw shrimp rather quickly. One way is to take the unopened bag of shrimp and place it in a big bowl of cold water. This process will take about 30 minutes. If 30 minutes sounds like an eternity, no worries. Open up the bag of shrimp and dump the shrimp directly into a bowl of cold water. This process will take anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. After the shrimp has thawed, place them on a paper towel-lined plate and pat the shrimp dry to remove as much excess moisture as possible.