Tiger Prawn

Other Names
Family
Penaeidae (penaeid prawns).

Description, Location, Habitat and Harvesting Information
Tiger Prawns are pale brown to bluey green with distinct grey, blue or black stripes; Black Tiger Prawns are the most common aquaculture Prawn in Australia. Brown and Grooved are available wild-caught, while Black and Kuruma are almost exclusively farmed, though Black and Brown are both found around the northern coast of Australia from central NSW to Shark Bay, WA, and Grooved are found from Rockhampton to Augustine, WA. Tiger Prawns are both marine and estuarine, preferring sandy and muddy bottoms in coastal waters usually less than 30m deep, but found at up to 150m. Juveniles are found in estuaries among seagrass and mangroves. Black and Kuruma are farmed mostly between Cooktown and Brisbane, Queensland, with some in NSW and NT. Brown are mainly trawled off NT and Queensland, with some off NSW, and Grooved are trawled off NT and Queensland (as far south as Rockhampton), plus in the Timor Sea off WA.

Season
Farmed Black are available year round. Farmed Kuruma are available from February to September with peak supplies from March to May. Brown and Grooved are available year round, with peaks from February to May; NT and WA fisheries are closed December to March, and NT again in July.

Size and Weight
Black are commonly 20-30g and 10-13cm body length, but, as one of the largest Prawns in Australian waters they can reach 150g and 35cm. Others are commonly 35-50g and 11-20cm.

Price
High priced.

Relations
To Buy
Look for brightly coloured, firm, intact, lustrous shells, without any discolouration, particularly at joints, and a pleasant fresh sea smell. Prawns are highly perishable in their raw state and so are often frozen or boiled at sea as soon as they are caught. If cooking with Prawns, buy green (raw) Prawns, as cooked Prawns will toughen if reheated.

To Store
Leave Prawns in their shells until just before using and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months below -18ºC. Once thawed, frozen Prawns should not be refrozen.

To Cook
Average yield is 45%. Has a sweet, medium flavour, low to medium oiliness and moist, firm flesh. Flesh is translucent when raw and white to pink with pinkish bands when cooked. Farmed Prawns are more distinctly marked than wild, and are a brighter red when cooked. After removing the head from a green Prawn, hold the Prawn straight and gently pull the end of the digestive tract (from the head end), it will usually come out in one go. If it breaks off, use a thin skewer to hook it out from the back. In cooked Prawns, cut the back open to remove the digestive tract.

Cooking Methods
Steam, poach, deep-fry, pan-fry, stir-fry, grill, barbecue. The firm flesh holds together well in soups and curries and threaded on skewers for kebabs. Like all seafood, Prawns require very little cooking. Undercook, rather than overcook, them, as they will continue cooking in the residual heat.

Goes Well With
Butter, chilli, garlic, ginger, herbs, lemon, lime, mayonnaise, olive oil, salad greens, soy sauce, tomato.

Alternatives
Other Prawns, Bugs, Marron, Redclaw, Rocklobsters, Yabby.

Imports
Recipes