Originally written in 2013, this post has been updated and republished in 2026.
Prawns are plentiful on the west coast and can be caught relatively easily with the right gear, bait, and setup. Once you’ve obtained a catch of prawns there are a myriad of prawn recipes available to prepare them.
Before you start any of the prawn recipes you want to make sure your catch is fresh, and cleaned. Fresh prawns, like all seafood, should smell like the ocean. If the prawns smell like fish then its likely not been kept on ice effectively. Once you have got some prawns in good condition then you can prep them by removing the shell and deveining, or just cutting through the shell to devein. Once that is all done then your raw prawns are ready for cooking.
There are many great cooking techniques, some of the easiest are right on the barbecue grill, or, using a heated skillet. Prawns do not take long to cook, only a few minutes as you will see in the videos. Ideally you want to turn the prawns once if you are cooking them on the barbeque. Skewers are perfect for cooking prawns and they make it easy to turn them. Using a double skewer will prevent the prawns from rolling on the skewer and this will ensure you can turn them easily to grill both sides. My FishinBC.COM crew would also recommend cedar plank prawns as a delicious twist on the barbecue salmon favourite.
To enhance the flavour the most common ingredients are garlic and butter. Cutting the butter into cubes and watching it melt gives a handy time-lapse for gauge how long to cook for. Spices can be added to add variety or to spice up the prawns. Parsley adds a nice green color to the bright red dish and the flavour will infuse into the prawns. Hot sauce like Franks Red Hot is another great prawn dip to enhance any of the prawn recipes.
Recommended ingredients to have on-hand:
butter
garlic
fresh parsley
coarse salt
spices
hot sauce
Note that shrimp and prawns are basically the same creatures. Prawns are a type of shrimp found in the Pacific northwest. Both prawns and shrimp are found around the world. All prawn recipes will work for shrimp and any shrimp recipe for prawns.
Here are a few great prawn recipes from folks on YouTube. If you have any of your own favorites let me know with the comments box below.
Cheers!
Prawn Recipes
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef demonstrates how to properly shell, devein, and thread raw spot prawns onto double skewers. This essential structural trick locks the giant, juicy prawns firmly in place and completely stops them from spinning or rolling around when you turn them on the barbecue grill grates—ensuring every single piece gets that flawless, flame-kissed sear that will make your mouth water.
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef preps the signature garlic-butter base by slicing the butter into small cubes. Watch as these rich cubes melt uniformly into a bubbling, golden pool alongside freshly minced garlic, releasing an irresistible aroma that fills the kitchen and creates the perfect visual gauge to track when your prawns are cooked to tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef tosses raw prawns into an intense, high-heat skillet and watches them instantly transform from translucent grey into a striking, vibrant red. The chef seasons the dish with coarse sea salt, custom West Coast spices, and generous splashes of Frank’s RedHot sauce, creating a sizzling, deeply savory glaze that coats every single succulent prawn and leaves you craving a massive plateful.
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef cooks the prawns over roaring open flames and highlights the golden rule of barbecue seafood. This sequence shows the exact split-second timing needed to flip the double skewers just once, trapping all the sweet, natural juices inside and achieving a gorgeous outer char while keeping the delicate meat incredibly plump, tender, and absolutely delicious.
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef lays fresh spot prawns across a pre-soaked, heated cedar wood plank on the barbecue. This step reveals how the rising, aromatic wood steam cooks the prawns thoroughly while infusing a deep, rich, smoky profile directly into the meat—mimicking our favorite classic salmon techniques to create an ultimate West Coast seafood feast you can almost taste through the screen.
🎥 Watch: In this video, the chef pulls the piping-hot, bright red prawns straight from the heat and styles them for a beautiful final presentation. The chef finishes the dish by sprinkling finely chopped fresh green parsley over the top, letting the herb’s subtle earthy notes melt into the bubbling garlic butter for a picture-perfect meal that will have everyone running to the dinner table.
1 thought on “Prawn Recipes – 6 Ways to cook Prawns and Shrimp”
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