Gunpowder Prawns
David Bowes, executive chef at the Laughing Oyster restaurant on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, had a hand in developing the menu for Tyee Lake’s Osprey Restaurant and now supplies the lodge with the seasonings for some dishes, including these spicy prawns cooked in beer butter. The prawns are a top seller at the lodge, but today they taste as though they were destined to be eaten on a lakeshore in the sunshine.
Fishing at Tyee Lake Resort
Recipe: Gunpowder Prawns
Summary: Spicy prawns cooked in beer butter. Courtesy of David Bowes, the Laughing Oyster, Powell River, B.C.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh live prawns (or 2 pounds prawn tails)
- 1 / 3 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon Garden Gate Gunpowder Blend*
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 6 ounces lager-style beer
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1 large tomato, diced
Instructions
- Prep all ingredients before cooking.
- Rinse the whole live prawns in fresh water and cook whole, in their shells.
- If using tails, peel away the shells, leaving the last three shell sections and tail fluke.
- Melt the butter in large skillet on high heat, add the garlic and spice, then the prawns.
- Toss for 30 seconds, then add the beer and remaining ingredients.
- With whole prawns, cover for 2–3 minutes until they are pink and just cooked.
- For prawn tails, don’t cover, just stir-fry until they are pink and opaque, and just barely cooked.
- Serve with a couple of slices of diagonally cut baguette about 3/4” thick and 6” inches long, dipped in crushed garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Grill the oiled bread, oil-side down, then flip to the dry side to toast. “This gives a great, buttery mouthfeel with only the good fat,” says Bowes. “The salt is important to give a butter-like taste.”
- *Available at gardengatespices.com in Canada only. You can substitute 1 tablespoon of Cajun-style seasoning plus 1/2 teaspoon rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon cracked chili flakes.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 3 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4