Bbq’d Prawns, An Australian Classic

How many prawns do you need to feed a crowd?

Which prawns do I buy, king, tiger, banana, red spot, and what size?

Do not worry. If you want to throw a prawn on your barbeque, I have worked it out.

Buy large whole green king prawns size 10/15 and marinate them in olive oil, garlic, some oregano or lemon balm, lemon thyme, or a similar herb. Prawns for BBQing also come in sizes from 16/20 for smaller prawns to more significant ones, as in U10, U8, and U6, but unfortunately, the big ones get exported often from Australia.

In the recipe app below, I worked on three prawns per person or about 200 grams of prawn per person. A good amount for a bbq when you will probably have a selection of foods.

Cooking and serving whole BBQed prawns

Work on 300-400 grams (.7 lbs)per person for a main course or feast. After the prawns are cooked, discarding the head, shell, and digestive tract will reduce your yield by about 40%. Get a bowl of warm water and a slice of lemon and rip in.

Do not add lemon juice, the acid in the lemon juice will cook the prawns. It is much better to bbq half a lemon on the bbq side and squeeze the hot juice over the roasted prawns; as an added benefit the lemon turns sweet with the heat adding extra zing to your dish.

Add plenty of salt to your marinade, this will add extra flavour when you suck the juices off your fingers as you peel off the shell, if you like to peel the bbq’d shell off that is.

Some of my friends and relatives eat their bbq prawns whole, head and all. The salt helps make the prawn shell go crisp and crunchy when BBQd.

Find out about Australian Prawns