People can be particularly apprehensive about cooking seafood, as sometimes it can be risky to cook with, given its highly perishable nature and high risk of food poisoning. But by following the right steps, you really have nothing to worry about. So with that in mind, we’re here to answer the question, “can you cook prawns from frozen?” and give you some pointers to cooking the perfect prawn.
Can you cook prawns from frozen?
It’s not unsafe to cook prawns from frozen, whether they are pre-cooked or raw but doing so can affect how well the prawns are cooked as a final result. When you cook prawns straight from the freezer, it can cause them to overcook easily.
We recommend defrosting frozen prawns thoroughly before cooking.
How do you safely defrost prawns?
To safely defrost your prawns you should leave them to thaw at room temperature. They should take around 20 minutes or so. You can also put the prawns into a colander and run them under cold water to defrost them – never use warm water.
Never use a microwave to defrost prawns as the microwave warms up the interior of raw food which can lead to an unevenly cooked dish. Frozen prawns should be used as soon as possible after they are fully defrosted and always within 24 hours after being thawed as they are highly perishable.
Can you refreeze prawns?
You should never refreeze your prawns once they’ve been defrosted.
Not only do the thawed prawns develop bacteria faster than fresh ones, which can lead to an increased incidence of food poisoning, when you refreeze thawed prawns, the process breaks down cells, takes away the moisture, and changes the integrity of the protein making them a wholly inferior product.
Looking for some inspiration for your next prawn dish?
We have a range of delectable prawn recipes to suit all tastes. From prawns with garlic and piripiri and prawn laksa skewers to a prawn and broad bean lasagne and classic prawn cocktail, head on over to our recipe section for inspiration on your next prawn dish.
Buy fresh & frozen prawns online
We have a range of high quality fresh and frozen prawns to make your menu pop. We carefully clean our prawns and devein them, keeping them fresh and preserving their quality flavours without any additives. Our processing treatment ensures that all of our prawns remain juicy, fresh and delicious. Our prawns are frozen at sea through soaking in a cold brine to provide a better glaze and to render an easier sorting of the prawns while thawing.
