Australian Prawns
Thaw, Peel & Devein Prawns
Australia’s prawn fishers and farmers work hard to supply top quality prawns from ship to store, from water to waiter, and it’s easy to choose the best and keep them in top condition to enjoy at home.
Here’s how to thaw, peel and devein Australian Prawns.
How to thaw prawns?
Quick Method:
How to quickly thaw prawns in brine.
A quick and simple way to defrost prawns while keeping their flavour and texture is to fill a bowl or bucket with cold water and add salt until it tastes like the ocean (roughly 2 tablespoons per litre).
Place the frozen prawns in this cool water brine until they are firm, not hard, (10-15 minutes should do it) then drain and cook or serve.
Once defrosted, return the prawns in a sealed container to the coldest part of the fridge until you need them.
Thawing at low temperatures helps maintain quality.
Alternate Method:
Thawing Australian prawns in the fridge.
The easiest way to thaw frozen prawns is to put them in an airtight container in the fridge 24 hours before you need them.
Make sure you keep them out of their own juices. Keeping them in a sealed container prevents unnecessary cross contamination, dehydration and oxidisation.
Thawing at low temperatures helps maintain quality.
How NOT to thaw prawns!
Do not leave prawns out at room temperature or put them in the microwave to defrost. Microwaving can partially cook the prawn and leave the inside raw, which will make the prawn tough and unpalatable. Thawing at room temperature can result in uneven thawing and create an opportunity for bacteria. Prawns may be added to dishes like soups and curries without being thawed as the heat of the cooking with thaw them and any juice they give off will add to the flavour. If you are not going to cook green prawns immediately after defrosting, it is best keep defrosted green prawns in a salted ice brine (1 part ice 2 parts salted water) for no longer than 3 days. If stored longer than this, they are in danger of developing black spot.
How to peel & devein prawns?
Cooked Prawns:
How to quickly peel a cooked prawn.
It’s really quite simple – twist off the head, peel the body sections off one segment at a time and “pop” the tail off by squeezing the last segment.
The whole prawn is edible, so you can leave the tail on for more impressive presentation. A prawn with the tail on is called a cutlet.
It’s optional if you want to remove the vein, or digestive tract, that runs along the back of the prawn. Cooking prawns removes all the bacteria, so it’s safe to eat a cooked prawn that hasn’t been deveined. The easiest way is to straighten out the prawn and run a sharp knife along its back and then simply lift out the vein.
Raw / Green Prawns:
How to peel and devein a green prawn.
Same as the cooked prawn – twist off the head, peel the body sections off one segment at a time and “pop” the tail off by squeezing the last segment.
The whole prawn is edible, so you can leave the tail on for more impressive presentation. A prawn with the tail on is called a cutlet.
It’s optional if you want to remove the vein, or digestive tract, that runs along the back of the prawn. Cooking prawns removes all the bacteria, but with green prawns, deveining is a better choice.
The easiest way is to straighten out the prawn and run a sharp knife along its back and then simply lift out the vein.
On a green (uncooked) prawn, this deveined section is a perfect place to put some marinade before cooking.