Potted prawns are a traditional English dish from Lancaster, historically preserved for later consumption. Today, it’s more commonly eaten fresh and can be made at home with butter, shrimp, and seasonings. Variations of the dish can be found in English restaurants.
Potted prawns are a traditional English dish originating in Lancaster, a port city on the northwest coast. Historically, this dish was prepared as a preserved food that could be saved and eaten at any time, allowing people to enjoy fish even when fresh was not available. Today, people are more likely to eat it when it’s fresh, and the use of preservation techniques is less important. Some stores have ready-to-go potted shrimp, especially around Lancaster, and they’re also very easy to make at home.
The original recipe calls for ghee, a butter that has been processed to be stable at room temperature. The butter is seasoned, and then small or finely chopped shrimp are cooked in the seasoned butter and packed into a crock. Butter holds air, limiting the chance of rotting. Seasonings hide some of the less pleasant smells and tastes associated with preserved fish. Potted shrimp were traditionally spread on bread or toast.
Modern recipes usually call for plain butter, although people can certainly use ghee; it can be made at home, and some stores stock it, sometimes labeled ghee. The mace traditionally added to potted shrimp can be mixed with nutmeg, white pepper, paprika and other spices to taste. Since the dish is generally not preserved, ingredients such as fresh parsley can also be added. The prawns are cooked in butter and packaged in ramekins or pots for refrigeration. Potted shrimp will keep for several days in the refrigerator and can be eaten with bread or added to other foods such as omelettes.
The original Lancaster recipe for potted shrimp calls for brown shrimp, but any species of shrimp can be used. Shrimps must be cleaned before use. Cooks who find cleaning and munching shrimp tedious can usually find pre-prepared shrimp, often in the frozen section of a grocery store or fishmonger’s. It is also sometimes possible to purchase cleaned fresh shrimp that are ready to use, as well as cleaned, pre-cooked shrimp that can be used in preparing potted shrimp.
Some English restaurants offer this delicacy on their menus, sometimes with some creative variations on the original recipe. People may prepare or use this dish at home for entertaining or as a snack, and some cooks enjoy playing with the original recipe to experiment with different spices and new ways to use potted shrimp in recipes.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
