Chilli Garlic Prawns with Lemon & Parsley

There is a moment at camp when everyone stops being hungry and starts being impatient. This is the dish for that moment. Chilli garlic prawns go from a cold pan to a shared one in about eight minutes, which is roughly how long it takes the billy to boil and somebody to find the plates. It is also the rare camp meal that feels like a reward rather than a ration. One pan, one bowl, no precision required — which is exactly what you want when the fire has burned down to coals and the light has gone gold. What You Need Ingredients (serves 4) 1 kg raw king prawns, peeled and deveined, tails left on 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 long red chilli, finely sliced, or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes 80 ml olive oil 60 g butter 1 lemon, halved Half a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped Salt and cracked black pepper Crusty sourdough and a green salad, to serve Gear Cast-iron skillet, 26 to 30 cm Leather welder's gloves or a heavy heat-proof glove Tongs Small bowl for the garlic and chilli Chopping board and knife How to Make It Build a bed of coals, not a fire. Give the fire 20 to 30 minutes to burn down until the flames are gone and the coals are grey-edged and glowing. On a two-burner camp stove, heat the pan over medium-high instead. Pat the prawns dry with paper towel and season them lightly. Wet prawns steam instead of searing, and a wet pan will never give you the colour you are after. Mix the garlic, chilli and olive oil in the small bowl so it is ready to go in one movement. Once the pan is hot there is no time to be chopping. Set the skillet on the coals and let it come up to temperature for 2 to 3 minutes. It is ready when a drop of water skitters across the surface. Add half the oil mixture and stir for 30 seconds until it smells sweet and fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown — brown garlic goes bitter and there is no coming back from it. Lay the prawns in the pan in a single layer. Work in two batches if your pan is crowded — a crowded pan boils prawns rather than frying them. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds per side, until each prawn curls into a loose C shape and turns opaque pink all the way through. A tight, closed O means overcooked. Add the butter, squeeze over the juice of half the lemon, and toss for 30 seconds until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the prawns. Char the remaining lemon half cut-side down on the coals or in the pan for 2 minutes, until the face is dark and caramelised. Pull the pan off the heat and stir through the parsley. Taste, season, then take the whole pan to the table with the charred lemon, the bread and the salad. Camp Tips Prep at home, not at camp. Peel and devein the prawns before you leave and freeze them in a sealed bag. They thaw in the fridge over a day and travel far better than loose fresh prawns. Keep them properly cold. Prawns are the one ingredient here that will make you crook if you get it wrong. Keep them below 5°C until the second they hit the pan, and if they have been sitting out for a couple of hours, cook them that night rather than pushing them to tomorrow. No fresh prawns? No problem. Frozen green prawns work just as well straight from the thaw. Squid hoods cut into rings or scallops are a straight swap using the same method. Don't crowd the pan. Two batches beats one crowded one every time. If the prawns are touching each other in a solid layer, split them. Leftovers. Anything left over is better cold — chop it through the salad the next day or fold it into a wrap with the last of the bread. Eat it within 24 hours. The One Thing Worth Upgrading Every other part of this recipe is forgiving. The prawns are not. They are the one thing in your esky that cannot come back from a warm afternoon, and the difference between a fridge running properly and one quietly warming up is the difference between a good lunch and a bad night. If you run a 12V fridge or a portable battery setup, our 12V accessories cover the cables, sockets and power gear that keep it doing its job in the heat — including the connections that tend to be the first thing to let go on a long, corrugated day. Cook this one early in the trip, while the prawns are at their best and a fire still feels like a novelty rather than a chore. Everything else about it looks after itself.