The Spicy Sharing Plate That Vanishes First

When I was a boy in Guadeloupe, the best food was never on a plate. It was on a skewer, over coals, out in the yard where the whole family gathered. My uncles fished from a little wooden boat that came in around four in the afternoon, and by six that catch was over the fire. Prawns the size of your thumb, cooking fast, spitting, going pink at the edges. Nobody sat down. You stood, you talked, you reached in, you burned your fingers a little, and you laughed about it.

That is the food I love most. Not the fancy dinner. The sharing plate. The one that sits in the middle of the table and disappears before anyone has counted how many they ate.

So when people ask me for spicy party food, real party food, food that makes a room warm, I always say the same thing. Give me prawns, give me fire, give me a jar of my Flaming BBQ Sauce. Twenty minutes of work and you have the plate everyone crowds around. Let me show you how I make it. The proper way. The way we ate it back home.

Recipe at a glance

• Cuisine: Caribbean (Guadeloupe)
• Prep: 20 minutes • Cook: 10 minutes • Total: 30 minutes
• Serves: 4 as a sharing plate
• Featured sauce: Flaming BBQ Sauce
• Heat level: 8/10, smoky, spicy, made for people who want heat with their party
• Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, pescatarian

What you’ll need

The beauty of party food is that it should not send you round the supermarket for an hour. This is a short list, and every part of it earns its place. Buy the biggest raw prawns you can find. King prawns are what I use. Raw, not the pink cooked ones, because we want them to take on the smoke and the sauce as they cook, not just warm through.

The Flaming BBQ Sauce does most of the heavy lifting here. It is smoky and rich with a real kick of scotch bonnet behind it, so you do not need a cupboard of spices. Lime, garlic, a little oil, some spring onion, and you are there.

• 800g raw king prawns, peeled, tails left on (about 24 to 28 prawns)
• 4 tablespoons Flaming BBQ Sauce, plus a little extra for glazing
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil (sunflower or light olive)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• Sea salt
• Wooden or metal skewers (8 to 10)

A word on prawns. If you can only find shell-on, that is fine, peel them but keep the little tail on. The tail gives your guests a handle, and a handle is exactly what party food wants. Nobody should need a fork.

Method

1. Soak your skewers. If you are using wooden skewers, put them in a jug of cold water while you prepare everything else. Twenty minutes is enough. This stops them catching fire on the barbecue. I have forgotten this step more than once, and burnt skewers are not a good look at your own party.

2. Make the marinade. In a bowl, spoon in the Flaming BBQ Sauce, the oil, the crushed garlic, the lime juice, and half the spring onions. Add the thyme leaves and a good pinch of salt. Stir it into a loose, glossy paste. Have a little taste on the tip of a spoon. It should be smoky first, then the heat should build behind it. That build is the whole point.

3. Coat the prawns. Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper first. This matters. Wet prawns steam, dry prawns catch and colour. Tip them into the bowl and turn them over with your hands until every one is coated. Now you let them rest. Twenty minutes, no longer. Prawns are delicate, and the lime will start to firm them up if you leave them too long. You are marinating, not cooking.

4. Thread the skewers. Push the prawns onto the skewers through the thick end and again near the tail, so each one curls into a little C. Four or five per skewer. Threading them twice keeps them from spinning when you turn them, which saves you a lot of fiddling over the heat.

5. Get your fire right. You want a medium-high heat. If it is a charcoal barbecue, the coals should be glowing grey with no big flames. Hold your hand a few inches above the grill. If you can only keep it there for three seconds, that is the heat we want. If you are cooking indoors, a griddle pan on a high heat does the job beautifully.

6. Cook them fast. Lay the skewers down and leave them alone. Two to three minutes on the first side. You will see the underside turn pink and pick up a bit of char. Now you turn them once. Two more minutes on the other side. Prawns cook in a blink, and the biggest mistake people make is leaving them on too long. The moment they are pink all the way through and firm, they are done. Rubbery prawns come from fear of taking them off. Be brave.

7. Glaze at the end. In the last minute, brush a little more Flaming BBQ Sauce over the top of each skewer. This is where you get that sticky, glossy finish. Let it catch on the coals for thirty seconds, no more, then lift them off.

8. Rest and dress. Slide the prawns onto a big wooden board or a bright plate. Scatter over the rest of the spring onions. Squeeze a little fresh lime across the lot. Push the lime wedges around the edge so people can help themselves. Now stand back, because they will not last long.

The role of Flaming BBQ Sauce in this dish

Prawns are gentle. They are sweet and soft, and they need a partner with backbone. That is exactly what the Flaming BBQ Sauce brings.

The smoke in the sauce wraps around the prawn like it came off the fire itself, and the scotch bonnet heat lands a beat later, warm and honest, not a slap. Because the sauce is thick, it clings to the curve of each prawn and turns sticky over the coals, so every mouthful has that glaze on it. You get sweet prawn, then smoke, then the heat rising up behind. That is the whole story of good Caribbean grilling in one bite.

It is doing two jobs at once here. In the marinade it seasons the prawn all the way through. As a glaze at the end it gives you the shine and the char. One jar, and you have carried the whole dish. It is gluten free and vegan too, so if you have friends who need to be careful, this plate is safe for them without you thinking twice.

Tips from my kitchen

• Do not crowd the grill. Give each skewer room. Prawns packed tight will steam and go grey instead of catching colour. Cook in batches if you have to. A party can wait two minutes.
• Keep a little sauce back for the table. Some of your guests will want more heat. Put a small bowl of Flaming BBQ Sauce out for dipping and let them decide for themselves.
• Buy raw, never pre-cooked. Pink cooked prawns will only warm through and go tough on the grill. Raw grey prawns are the ones you want. They turn pink as they cook, and that is your timer.
• Line up a milder plate alongside. Not everyone at a party loves big heat. I often do a second board of prawns brushed with my Exotic Caribbean Sauce instead, sweet and fruity and gentle, so there is something for every mouth at the table.
• Cook them last. Prawns are best straight off the heat, still hissing. Get everything else on the table first, then do these at the very end while people are already gathered.

What to serve it with

This is a sharing plate, so build a spread around it. A bowl of rice cooked with a little coconut milk sits well next to the heat and cools the mouth between skewers. A crisp, cold salad does the same, and a squeeze of lime over everything ties it together.

For a proper party table, I lay these prawns in the middle and put smaller things around them. Warm flatbread for scooping. A fresh green salad dressed with a spoon of my Fresh Herbal Sauce, which is bright and herby with no heat at all, a nice rest for the palate. Cold drinks, plenty of napkins, and good people. That is all a party really needs.

If you want to make it a feast, put out a few sauces and let everyone dip and mix. A Spicy Discovery Trio on the table gives your guests three heats to play with, and I promise you it becomes a talking point before the night is out.

FAQ

What makes this spicy party food and not just a normal prawn dish?

It is the sauce and the way you serve it. The Flaming BBQ Sauce brings real scotch bonnet heat and smoke, so this is not a timid plate. And you serve it in the middle of the table on a board, tails up, for people to grab with their hands. Food you eat standing, food that starts a conversation, that is party food to me.

Can I make these prawn skewers ahead for a party?

You can do all the prep ahead. Marinate the prawns, thread the skewers, and keep them covered in the fridge for up to a few hours. Do not cook them until your guests are there though. Prawns are at their best straight off the heat. The cooking only takes five or six minutes, so it is no trouble to do at the last moment.

How do I stop the prawns going rubbery?

Take them off early. Prawns are cooked the moment they turn pink all the way through and feel firm, which is only two to three minutes a side. People leave them on because they are nervous, and that is what makes them tough. Trust the colour. Pink and firm means lift them off.

Can I cook these indoors without a barbecue?

Yes, easily. A griddle pan or a heavy frying pan on a high heat gives you a good sear and a bit of char. You lose a little of the smoke, but the Flaming BBQ Sauce carries so much smoke of its own that you will hardly notice. Get the pan properly hot before the prawns go in.

How much heat is in this dish?

I would call it a solid eight out of ten. The Flaming BBQ Sauce has a proper kick, so this is one for people who like it hot. If you are feeding a mixed crowd, cook a second board with a milder sauce like the Exotic Caribbean Sauce so everyone is looked after.

Final word from me

Party food should be generous and a little bit joyful. That is what these prawns are. You do not need to be a chef, you just need good prawns, a hot fire, and a jar of Flaming BBQ Sauce to carry the flavour. Put them in the middle of the table, step back, and watch how fast they go. That is the whole reward. Cook them for the people you love this summer, and save me a skewer.

JP