How to Clean Shrimp or Prawns

To peel raw prawns start by pulling of the head if there is one, then peel away the shell from the thick end working down to the tail. The little legs will come off with the shell. The very end of the tail can be left on for appearance, however to remove the tail, simply squeeze it and pull out the meat. Removing the tail makes the prawns easier to eat if there in a sauce. But presentation wise, it’s much nicer to leave them on. And next we need to cut and devein the prawns. Using a sharp knife, make a cut down in the middle of the outside curve about a third of the way it through. This is so that we can remove the digestive track from the prawn and you can see it here.

In some prawns, you won’t be able to see it. That’s okay. Just move on. Cutting the prawns also looks nicer once they are cook as they tend to curl and open up slightly. When shelling the prawns yourself, keep the shells and make a stock or fried them in butter to create a beautiful prawn butter. Just fry the shells until they turn pink, strain and store the butter into the refrigerator. The butter can then be used to fry fish or seafood.