How To Boil Prawns (Shrimp)

It’s essential to buy raw (green) prawns for cooking, as reheated cooked prawns will be tough.

While pre-cooked prawns are a convenient standby, there’s a big difference in the texture and flavour of prawns you’ve cooked yourself.

You’ll need:

large saucepan
natural cooking salt
ice

Follow these simple guidelines for how to boil prawns and they’ll be juicy, tender and tasty every time (see step-by-step video below):

Use plenty of water at a rolling boil so it comes back to the boil as quickly as possible once the prawns are added.
Salt it well: 120g natural cooking salt to 2 litres of water.
Cook for 1 minute/25g average weight (2.4 seconds/gram) timed from when the prawns go into the boiling water. Prawns are graded by an old system referring to how many are in a pound. Medium king prawns are U12/15, meaning there are between 12 and 15 prawns in a pound, or about 30/kg. They average 33g so should be cooked for 1½ minutes.
Transfer them straight from the boiling water into a bowl or sink of well-iced water and leave to cool completely before peeling them.

Serve boiled prawns with sauce Marie Rose (cocktail sauce) or another simple dipping sauce. Prefer to grill your prawns? Here’s how to grill prawns so they’re juicy, tender and tasty every time. I’ll show you the best way to store prawns too.