Prawns

cheese-mike, Sep 12, 1:36am
I want to try some prawns on the BBQ this year, but I don't know what kind to buy
Is it ok to just get them at the supermarket?
Can you get them deveined and ready to go?
Or is it best to do them yourself?
Are frozen ok or is fresh the only way to go?
Any brand I should buy?
Any good easy recipes for a first timer like myself?

Any advice would be great!
I just tried leeks for the first time last week and want to try cooking lots of different foods this year
davidt4, Sep 12, 1:44am
All prawns available in NZ have been frozen.The best ones are Australian - Endeavour or Banana prawns are usually around.Don't buy the Asian ones as they have been raised in dreadful conditions with growth-promoters and antibiotics.

Buy them in the shell, raw ("green prawns", thaw in the fridge, devein by making a shallow cut down the back and pulling out the black or brown digestive tract.

An easy way to prepare them is to mix them with some olive oil, finely chopped garlic and some paprika and/or cumin.Give them a couple of hours in the fridge then either barbecue them or bake them in a very hot oven for about 8 minutes.Serve with lemon wedges.
sultana0, Sep 12, 2:55am
Don't forget a little chilli (I use minced from super market) and a squeeze of lime is great just before serving
sultana0, Sep 12, 2:56am
I have learnt so much from this site (recipes) from the above mentioned and so many others... awesome place to visit when ya can't think of anything to prep for tea
uli, Sep 12, 4:25am
cheese-mike - try and get the Australian "real wild" ones - all the others come from China, Vietnam or Thailand...

Those last three countries grow them in plastic ponds with artificial everything (food, chemicals, even colour ...) and of course once they get sick (which is easy at 30 degree temps) they get fed stuff I would not even give to my aquarium fish ... needless to say that Europe does not want them ... and so we have all those "specials" here .... *blergh*
karenz, Sep 12, 4:36am
It is sad that with Australia only a 3 hour plane trip away we do not have access to a wide variety of Australian prawns, personally I find the banana prawns rather tasteless.I believe I have found an acceptable raw prawn here at last though, These are Sea Cuisine large prawn meat which are from Vietnam and "packed for and proudly guaranteed by United World Foods Christchurch".They are uniform size, peeled, thoroughly deveined and really delicious. They are around $10 for a 400gram pack.
karenz, Sep 12, 4:38am
With these I thaw them out first and toss them in a little olive oil and garlic, put them on the same griddle while I am cooking a steak, then pile them on top for a turf and surf.
cheese-mike, Sep 12, 9:01am
thanks everyone :)
macandrosie, Sep 13, 7:27am
we had barbequed prawns last Christmas & I tossed them iin a flour/ chilli 5 spice powder, then lightly cooked them on the barby. Yummy!
peter148, May 1, 2:12am
For BBQ prawns I've found it best to use Prenzel lemon or chilli oil, then as they are cooking I pour some white wine or lime juice on them to keep them soft and moist.