Grilled Prawns with Lemon
By Joe
Source: America's Test Kitchen.
Large prawns are briefly brined in cold salted, sugared water, then grilled shell-on over a very hot gas fire until the shells char and the flesh turns bright pink. The short brine firms the flesh and seasons it through, so the prawns stay juicy even over blazing-hot direct heat.
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Method
- 1
Brine the prawns. Stir the very cold water with the fine salt and sugar in a large bowl until completely dissolved. Add the prawns, shell-on, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 2
Shell and devein. Drain the prawns. Snip the shells open along the back with scissors and pull out the vein if you want to devein them, then toss the prawns with the olive oil in a bowl to coat.
- 3
Heat the grill. Turn all the burners on a gas barbecue to high, close the lid and let it heat until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape the grate clean with a wire brush and leave the burners on high.
- 4
Skewer the prawns. Thread the prawns onto pairs of parallel skewers so each batch lies flat and turns together as one piece.
- 5
Grill and serve. Grill the prawns covered, turning the skewers once, until the shells are barely charred and the flesh is bright pink and opaque throughout, 4-6 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature with the lemon wedges.
Storage
Best served hot off the grill, or within about an hour at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers covered for up to 2 days and eat cold or reheat gently. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Free sugars
16.6 g per serving
33.2 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 66.4 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large bowl
- medium bowl
- kitchen or manicure scissors
- metal skewers
- gas barbecue
- wire grill brush
- long-handled tongs
Nutrition per serving Calculated from USDA FoodData Central
Approximate: more salt than a serving would eat is listed (fine sea salt or table salt, table salt;; a brine, rub or typo), so salt is capped at 3 g. No nutrition labels are shown for this recipe until it is fixed.
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 164 kcal |
| Protein | 11.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 17.4 g |
| of which sugars | 16.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 16.6 g |
| Fat | 5.4 g |
| of which saturates | 0.9 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 4.08 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
6.9 g High protein needs ≥ 5 g per 100 kcal (20% of energy) and ≥ 10 g per serving
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
