Prawns Piripiri

Description
Hot spiced prawns. Among the abundant shellfish off the coast of Mozambique are the giant shrimp-like crustaceans called prawns. Substitute the largest shrimp you can find for this recipe - less than a dozen per pound. They should be cleaned and shelled, but the tail shell should be left on, if possible, to enhance the flavor.

Ingredients

 * 2 – 3 lbs prawns or large shrimp
 * 1 batch piripiri sauce

Piripiri sauce

 * 4 red peppers, crushed or 2 heaping tsp cayenne pepper
 * ¼ tsp salt
 * juice of 2 medium-size lemons
 * 2 cloves garlic, crushed
 * 6 sprigs parsley, chopped
 * 1 cup butter or oil

Directions

 * 1) Clean shellfish.

Piripiri sauce

 * 1) For a marinade, combine all the ingredients except butter in a bowl with meat or seafood.
 * 2) Stir to coat each piece well.
 * 3) If you’ll be cooking within a couple of hours, let the mixture sit at room temperature; otherwise, cover and refrigerate.
 * 4) Marinating overnight allows all the flavors to blend nicely.

Assembly

 * 1) Put prawns or shrimp in a bowl and pour sauce over them, stirring to coat each piece well.
 * 2) Set aside to marinate (soak) for several hours.
 * 3) Grilling over charcoal fire is the preferred cooking method; broiling is an alternative.
 * 4) To broil, place whole prawns or shrimp on a rack over a pan that can catch drips.
 * 5) Put the rack about 3 inches from your broiler, and sear for 3 – 4 minutes on each side.
 * 6) You can also cook them by frying quickly in a skillet of hot butter until they become golden pink (to avoid scorching and smoking, use clarified butter).
 * 7) Meanwhile, heat the marinade in which the prawns or shrimp were soaked.
 * 8) Pass at the table as sauce.