Grilled Spot Prawns with Garlic Herb Butter

Step 1

Preheat grill to 450ºF (med-high heat).

Step 2

Prep the herb butter. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the minced shallot and garlic and allow to cook for about 5 minutes to infuse the butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add parsley, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Step 3

Prep the spot prawns right before you're ready to grill. Once they die they start to release an enzyme that can make the flesh mushy, so you want to cook them right away after you slice them in half. To humanely kill the spot prawn, place on a cutting board, hold the tail down, and quickly place the tip of a very sharp chef’s knife right in the middle of the head of the prawn, behind the eyes. In one fell swoop, press the knife down forcefully toward the nose, slicing the head down the middle between the eyes. This will kill the prawn instantly as you sever the brain. The prawn will continue to twitch afterward, but don’t worry, it is just the nervous system. Rotate the prawn around and finish slicing through the tail with your knife. You are cutting them in half lengthwise like you see in the photos above.

Step 4

Brush the flesh side with a bit of avocado oil. When the grill is hot, place the prawn halves flesh side down on the grill.

Step 5

Grill for 90 seconds. Flip each piece over and spoon the herb butter onto prawns. Be careful because any dripping butter could cause flames to rise above the grill grate! Grill for another 90 seconds or until the flesh is just opaque. Take care not to overcook! They are better slightly underdone than overdone.

Step 6

Carefully remove the prawns to a serving platter. I like to use tongs and a spatula to prevent the herb butter from spilling out.

Step 7

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and enjoy!