These prawns are ready for scampi, cocktail sauce, fra diavolo or whatever you intend for them.
You got your hands on some great, big prawns. Now you wouldn’t want to fall into the very easy mistake of overcooking them. This is where our friends at ChefSteps come in. They suggest dry-curing the prawns then cooking them sous vide for snappy, sweet and succulent seafood. The recipe below is super simple and quick. Cut the time by having your fishmonger devein the shrimp before you start cooking. Then whip up some cocktail sauce, pasta, rice or whatever else you’re serving these puppies with.
Sous Vide Prawns
30 minutes; serves 2-4
Ingredients
- 16 prawns, large
- Ice, for chilling, as needed
- Salt, a couple spoonfuls, as needed
- Sugar, a couple spoonfuls, as needed
- Olive oil, as needed
- 2 bay leaves, fresh, optional
- 2 lemons, peels, optional
Directions
- For juicy, plump, and tender, we recommend cooking at 158 °F / 70 °C for 10 minutes. Preheat the Joule
- Grab a bowl of ice and place it next to your workstation. Remove the shell and tail from each prawn, then transfer to the ice. With a sharp knife, slice along the back of each prawn, then use the tip of your knife to remove the black, stringy stuff to devein. You can also ask your fishmonger to do this.
- In a bowl, combine a couple spoonfuls each of salt and sugar, then mix together. Sprinkle all over the prawns to dry cure them. Let them sit 10–15 minutes.
- Remove the cure by gently rinsing prawns in cold water.
- Place your prawns into the bag in an even layer—overlapping leads to unevenly cooked food. Add a glug of olive oil, then toss in some fresh lemon peels and bay leaves, or whatever seasonings you prefer.
- Cook for 10 minutes. Then serve however you’d like.
ChefSteps comprises a team of award-winning chefs, filmmakers, scientists, designers and engineers focused on revolutionizing the way people cook by inspiring creativity and encouraging expertise in the kitchen. You can also get access to all of ChefSteps’ Premium content — including paid classes and dozens of recipes available only to Premium members for a onetime fee of $39. Classes include Sous Vide: Beyond the Basics, Fluid Gels, French Macarons and more!
