The sashimi quality of our mountain prawns allows purists and gourmets to enjoy them in their purest form: raw. The many fine nuances of taste are not only revealed to the experienced palate – from sweet and nutty to salty and mineral.
An intensely aromatic experience that can also be enjoyed grilled, roasted, cooked, boiled or steamed. However, the mountain prawns should be prepared as a whole. As with all crustaceans, the head and shell are the main flavor carriers. One reason why we always deliver our freshly caught mountain prawns HOSO – with head and shell.
Tips for cooking
Storage
Mountain prawns are packaged in a protective atmosphere and will keep unopened for several days without loss of quality if stored in a refrigerator at 2 °C. For frozen mountain prawns, we recommend consumption within 6 months!
Prepare mountain prawns for cooking
In principle, mountain prawns taste best prepared as a whole, as there are many flavors in the shell that are transferred to the meat when heated. When preparing in the shell, remove the intestines, wash thoroughly under cold running water, drain on a tea towel or kitchen paper and continue to process dry. Depending on the type of preparation or dish, however, this is not always possible or desired.
Mountain prawns are easy to peel
To peel, the head end of the mountain prawns is lifted at the back and the head part is pulled downwards. Now carefully pull away the lower part including the feet, without breaking off the piece of tail meat, which is anchored in the head. Finally, the mountain prawns are cut open on both sides from the head to the end of the tail and the shell is broken off with the fingers. The tail piece can be left out or peeled as well. The general rule is: Only peel immediately before preparation.
Remove intestine
The intestine can be removed in several ways:
If the mountain prawns is prepared whole, with the shell, cut open the shell on the back with shrimp scissors – from the head end to the tail. Then carefully cut the meat slightly with a knife and pull out the casing with the tip of the knife or a toothpick.
Grab the mountain prawn with one hand and bend it in the middle. With your free hand, insert a toothpick between the armor plates that become visible when you bend them. Now pull out the intestines with it.
In the case of peeled mountain prawns, carefully cut the back and remove the intestines with a knife tip or toothpick.
Preparation
No matter what preparation, never cook, fry, deep-fry, grill or steam the mountain prawns for too long, as the meat becomes firm very quickly and loses its great taste as a result. The meat is tastiest when marinated raw or at a core temperature of approx. 55 °C.
Spice up
For purists who want to enjoy the pure, nutty, slightly sweet, full flavor “pure”: salt, pepper and possibly a bit of garlic and lemon juice. Otherwise, the full range of herbs and spices harmonizes with the unmistakable taste of the mountain prawns meat.
Those who are more adventurous can reach for cumin, cinnamon, ginger and mustard. There are almost no limits to epicurean creativity!
Marinate
Placed in a marinade overnight or for a few hours and prepared for the grill or the pan, tasty harmonies open up with the delicious mountain prawn meat. Oily marinades are ideal here. The prawns should definitely be tried marinated raw. But freshness is particularly important.