How to Air Fry King Prawns (Raw-Peeled)

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How to Air Fry King Prawns (Raw-Peeled)

Discover my handy guide and tips for How to Air Fry King Prawns to perfection. Keeping things nice and simple, I show you how to prepare raw peeled prawns ready to air fry and how to get the best caramelisation without overcooking them.

5 from 3 votes

Prep Time: 6

Cook Time: 6

Total Time: 12

Servings

Author Chloe

Equipment

Sharp Knife - Small

Chopping Board - Small Plastic

Ingredients

24 Large King Prawns (Shrimp) - 24 = roughly 350g/12oz
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil - see notes
¾ tsp Seasoning - see notes

Instructions

Prepare the Air Fryer

If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
Place a heatproof bowl or dish into the air fryer basket underneath the crisper plate.
This will bring the prawns closer to the top of the basket and the heat source.

Prepare the Prawns/Shrimp

Thoroughly dry 24 King Prawns/Shrimp.
Prepare the prawns by making sure they have been fully deveined. This is the "poop chute" which runs along the back (outside curve) of the prawn. This is not optional - you do not want to eat this.
Removing the front vein is optional but I prefer to do this. You will see this along the inner curve of the prawn.
Use a small sharp knife to slice the length of the inside of the prawn. Don't cut too deep as you don't want to split the prawn in two.
Remove the vein which will now be exposed.
Place all the dried and prepared prawns into a bowl.
Note: I've also cut off the very tail tips of the prawns. You don't need to do this unless you wish to. I happen to find the texture objectional and my cats get a treat.
Drizzle over 1 tbsp Oil and ¾ tsp Seasoning and toss to thoroughly coat the prawns evenly.

Cook the Prawns/Shrimp

Place the prawns into the air fryer basket. Try to place them in one layer and leave a little space around each if you can.
Cook for 6 minutes at 200c/390f. If you want to turn them after 4 minutes, you can do although I didn't.
Allow to rest for a minute before tucking in. Spoon over juices that have collected in the bottom of the air fryer (or bowl) for extra flavour.

To Cook From Frozen

Cook for 6 minutes at 200c/390f.

Notes

Oil - Choose your oil to match your flavouring. For example use garlic, salt and rosemary with olive oil or for a more neutral flavour, sea salt and black pepper with vegetable oil.
Seasoning - Choose any seasoning mix, spices or dried/fresh herbs. Make sure that salt is included in the mix. You can also add a little citrus juice.
I used vegetable oil with a 50/50 mix of garlic salt and paprika.
The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (‎CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
For this recipe, I can just fit 24 king prawns in the basket at a time. This gives just enough room to allow air to circulate.
As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.

Nutrition (Approx)