Impressively sized, delicate in taste, and super versatile; King Prawns are arguably Australia’s favourite prawn. An Aussie staple for a reason, from freshly caught and peeled on the beach to tossed through a linguine or curry, you can do a lot with this delicious crustacean.
Don’t forget – we’re hosting a super fun activation by Tassal on site on Saturday 15th March to celebrate National Prawn Day. Check out the details here.
Did you know there are three different types of King Prawns?
All King Prawns have a light brown coloured body. The Western King Prawns have a distinctive, bright blue in the tails, where as the Easterns have more of a creamy blue. Redspot King Prawns have, yep you guessed it, a bright red spot on each side of the tail.
These wild-caught Prawns spend their time as juveniles in estuaries and shallow marine areas before moving offshore on a range of bottoms (rock, sand, mud and gravel) to depths of over 220m.
Western King Prawns have the widest distribution with stocks around the Australian coast except for NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. They are mainly trawled at night off SA and WA, but also off NT and Queensland.
Eastern are found from Bass Strait east to Rockhampton and are an important fishery off Queensland, NSW and, to a lesser extent, Victoria. Redspot are found around the northern Australian coast from Rockhampton to Shark Bay, WA. They are usually found near coral reefs and are trawled at night, mainly along Queensland’s coast as far north as Cape York.
Season
Available year round with peaks from February to June. The NT fishery is closed from December to March and again in July.
Size and Weight
Commonly 40-50g and 10-21cm body length, with Eastern the largest and Redspot the smallest. Eastern can grow to 30cm.
Price
High priced, with larger prawns fetching the highest prices and Western and Redspot generally cheaper than Eastern.
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 COOK
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. Here are some must-try recipes.
Prawn Cocktail
Prawn Rolls with Herb Mayo