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Preparing prawns

How to shell, devein and butterfly raw prawns ready for cooking.

Points to remember

  • To shell prawns, twist the head off the body.
  • Pull the shell off in segments until you get to the tail. Squeeze and the tail should come off.
  • Take a sharp knife and score down the body of larger prawns to expose a black vein. Take the tip of the knife and remove the vein.
  • Wash before using.
  • To butterfly a prawn, shell it as before, but leave the tail in place.
  • Remove the vein as before.
  • Take the knife and work deeper into the body of the prawn.

    Push the meat apart and you are left with a butterfly prawn.

Useful tips

  • Be careful not to slice all the way through when preparing a butterfly prawn.
  • Leaving the tail in place on a butterfly prawn will give you something to hold on to.

    More about our fish expert, CJ Jackson.

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