Species
Prawns

Description

Have a cream to light brown body, with legs and tailfin a distinctive bright blue.

Available wild-caught, these are marine and estuarine-dwelling Prawns, with adults found offshore on a range of bottoms (rock, sand, mud and gravel) to depths of over 220m, and juveniles preferring estuaries or shallow coastal waters.

Western have the widest distribution, found around the Australian coast except for NSW, Victoria and Tasmania and mainly trawled at night off SA and WA, but also off NT and Queensland.

Other Names

Blueleg Prawn, Western Prawn (Western).

Family

Penaeidae (Penaeid Prawns).

Season

Available year round with peaks from February to June. 

Size and Weight

Commonly 40-50g and 10-21cm body length.

Price

High priced, with larger prawns fetching the highest prices and Western and Redspot generally cheaper than Eastern..

Relations

Other Penaeidae Prawns, such as Banana and Tiger Prawns.

To Buy

Look for brightly coloured, firm, intact, lustrous shells, without any discolouration, particularly at joints, and a pleasant fresh sea smell. Prawns are highly perishable in their raw state and so are often frozen or boiled at sea as soon as they are caught.

If cooking with Prawns, buy green (raw) Prawns, as cooked Prawns will toughen if reheated.

To Store

Leave Prawns in their shells until just before using and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months below -18ºC. Once thawed, frozen Prawns should not be refrozen.

To Cook

Average yield is 45%. Has a rich flavour, low-medium oiliness moist flesh with a medium-firm texture. Flesh is translucent when raw and white with pinkish bands when cooked.

After removing the head from a fresh green Prawn, hold the Prawn straight and gently pull the end of the digestive tract (from the head end), it will usually come out in one go. If it breaks off, use a thin skewer to hook it out from the back.

In cooked Prawns, cut the back open to remove the digestive tract.

Cooking Methods

Steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, grill, barbecue. The firm flesh holds together well in soups and curries and threaded on skewers for kebabs.

Like all seafood, Prawns require very little cooking. It is always better to undercook, rather than overcook, them, as they will continue to cook in the residual heat. King Prawns have a particular tendency to become tough if not handled correctly.