There are numerous ways to prepare spot prawns.
The key thing is not to cook too long. 1-2 minutes a side is plenty and you'll want to preserve the sweet, supple flavor, and the buttery mouthfeel of spot prawns by not cooking much longer.
Some customers cook with the shell on and then pick away at the meat. If you prefer to shell the spot prawns, we recommend preparing our frozen-at-sea spot prawn tails with the below method:
Working with partially frozen prawns makes shelling the prawns easier. Put the frozen prawns in cold water. Pat dry. Use 2 separate bowls to separate the spot prawn meat from the shells.
A pair of good kitchen shears will work. But we recommend curved seafood scissors, if you have them, that can help making the cut around the shell much easier.
Start on the outer top of the spot prawn (where the top of the head would be), and cut through the shell down to the tail. Insert the scissors into the meat of the shrimp near the top of the back.
You’ll cut through 4 or 5 of the abdominal plates. Cut down the middle from top to bottom. Then peel the two sides off.
Carefully twist and pull the prawn out of the shell.
Pull out the roe with the shell and use to make this Homemade Shrimp Broth, excellent for any seafood stews. Or make a roe butter.
