Piri-piri prawns

Ingredients

Prawns

• 1.2 kglarge raw tiger prawns, shell on, heads on, about 12–16 pieces
• 1 tspcoarse salt

Marinade

• 8fresh red piri-piri chillies, finely chopped with seeds
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tspsweet paprika
• 1 tspcoarse salt
• ½ tspblack pepper
• Juice of 3 limes, about 90 ml
• 60 mlolive oil

Basting butter

• 100 gbutter
• 3garlic cloves, grated
• 2 tbspof the marinade
• 1 tbspchopped coriander

To serve

• 2limes, halved and grilled cut-side down
• Molho de piri-piri, in a dish
• Hand-cut chips or plain rice
• Cold beer

Directions

1. Butterfly the prawns: lay each on its side and cut down through the back of the shell from head to tail with kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, stopping short of cutting through, then open it out flat and lift out the dark vein.
2. Rinse briefly, pat completely dry and toss with the coarse salt.
3. Mix the chillies, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil. Reserve 2 tbsp for the butter, then toss the prawns in the rest, working it into the cut backs.
4. Marinate for 45–60 minutes in the fridge, no longer. The lime juice will start to cure and toughen the flesh past an hour.
5. Light charcoal and let it burn to a fierce even bed of grey-white embers. Prawns want the hottest fire you have and the shortest possible time on it.
6. Melt the butter with the grated garlic, the reserved marinade and the coriander in a pan at the edge of the grill.
7. Lay the prawns cut-side up, shell down, on the bars first. Cook 3–4 minutes, brushing the exposed flesh generously with the garlic butter twice, until the shells turn from grey to orange-red.
8. Flip them flesh-side down for 60–90 seconds only, just to mark and caramelise the surface. Grill the lime halves cut-side down alongside for 2 minutes.
9. They are done when the flesh is opaque white right through with no grey jelly at the thickest part of the head end, and the tail has curled into a loose C rather than a tight O. An overcooked prawn curls into a tight ring and squeaks.
10. Pile them onto a platter, pour over every drop of the remaining garlic butter, squeeze the charred limes over, and serve at once with piri-piri sauce, chips and the shells eaten or sucked as you like.

Technique

• Shell on, head on. The shell shields the flesh from the fire and the head holds the fat that makes the sauce, which is exactly why Mozambican prawns are never peeled before grilling.
• Cook shell-side down for most of the time. The shell is the pan; only the last minute goes flesh-down.
• Do not marinate in citrus for hours. Acid denatures prawn protein and you end up with grilled ceviche, dry and mealy.
• The Mozambican channel prawns of Beira and Quelimane are famous enough that Portuguese and South African visitors travel for them, and the classic order is a kilo of prawns, chips and a beer, eaten with your hands.

Substitutions

• No charcoal: use a ridged cast-iron griddle preheated until it just begins to smoke, and expect the same times. A very hot oven grill also works, prawns 8 cm from the element.
• Frozen shell-on prawns are fine; thaw them slowly in the fridge and dry them thoroughly, or they will steam instead of grilling.
• Langoustines, crayfish tails or large split squid can all take the same marinade and timings.

Variations

• Camarao a la Laurentina, prawns grilled and finished in a piri-piri and butter pan sauce.
• Prawns cooked in coconut milk with piri-piri, the Zambezia treatment.
• Whole prawns fried in garlic and piri-piri oil rather than grilled, the standard bar snack in Maputo.

Frequently asked questions

What is Piri-piri prawns?

Piri-piri prawns is a main from Mozambique: famous Mozambican prawns grilled with piri-piri, garlic and lime.

How long does Piri-piri prawns take to make?

Piri-piri prawns takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr marinating plus 10 min grilling of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Piri-piri prawns?

Yes, within limits. No charcoal: use a ridged cast-iron griddle preheated until it just begins to smoke, and expect the same times. A very hot oven grill also works, prawns 8 cm from the element. Frozen shell-on prawns are fine; thaw them slowly in the fridge and dry them thoroughly, or they will steam instead of grilling. Langoustines, crayfish tails or large split squid can all take the same marinade and timings.

What is the most important thing to get right in Piri-piri prawns?

They are done when the flesh is opaque white right through with no grey jelly at the thickest part of the head end, and the tail has curled into a loose C rather than a tight O. An overcooked prawn curls into a tight ring and squeaks.