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Would you eat king prawns that haven't been de-veined?


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Old 31-08-2012, 18:42
Hugh Jboobs
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I bought a ready made king prawn and scallop risotto from Asda today. It was in their "Extra Special" range and cost £6.50.

I took off the outer sleeve a little while ago to have a look at it and was surprised to see that the prawns hadn't even been de-veined.

I know that the vein part of a prawn is not poisonous, but I find the idea of eating the alimentary canal of any creature pretty disgusting to be honest. Most other prawns I buy are already de-veined and I would expect the job to be done in any supermarket's premium range products.

I thought about de-veining the prawns myself but I think I'm going to take the dish back and get a refund instead. It's going to be a chippy for me tonight instead!

Just wondered what other people's thoughts were on this issue. Are my expectations too high? Would you or do you eat prawns if they haven't been de-veined? Would you take such a product back to the supermarket?

Cheers.
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Old 31-08-2012, 19:07
Teddybleads
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I'm sure I probably have done and it doesn't really bother.

At home I usually devein. The ole cocktail stick method.
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Old 31-08-2012, 22:14
Bunny82
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We've all had worse things in ours mouths than a bit of prawn poo.
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Old 31-08-2012, 22:16
Beau_Soir
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I'm sure I probably have done and it doesn't really bother.

At home I usually devein. The ole cocktail stick method.
Agree with this. I wouldn't have retuned them, if I was that fussed, I would have just done it myself.
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Old 01-09-2012, 07:04
indianwells
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I would have eaten them or done it myself, however, I agree with the OP that in a premium product it should already have been done and don't blame him for taking the dish back.
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Old 01-09-2012, 07:47
walterwhite
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Yeah definitely. One of my favourite foods is whitebait and you're eating the lot there.
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Old 01-09-2012, 09:04
Hugh Jboobs
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I agree with the OP that in a premium product it should already have been done.
Yeah I think this is my main issue to be honest. No doubt I've eaten prawns in the past that haven't been deveined, but I don't expect it from a supermarkets "premium" range.
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Old 01-09-2012, 14:06
farmhand
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I practically never devain them...it rarely occurs to me. Perhaps I should because people are very ikky about seafood and I wouldn't want to put anyone off.

Most I encounter are sold fairly clean (there is not a noticable black line.) King prawns are generally grown on farms in places like Vietnam, they are not wild (just as most mussels are rope grown so you do not need to bother soaking with oats and all that.)

As an aside, I suspect that it is unethical to buy farmed king prawns. There are serious environmental and social problems associated with their production but because they are so delicious no one wants to deal with it (me included).

As to taking them back, don't ever feel guilty about returning something to a supermarket. Vast rip-off organizations that have skanked you left right and centre for decades. I have noticed that most of Waitrose ready meals are well substandard...to the point where I won't buy any of them unless I'm exhausted.
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Old 01-09-2012, 16:47
Hugh Jboobs
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Well if anyone is interested I took the meal back.

The woman at the customer service desk wasn't exactly bursting with O Levels and didn't really know what I was talking about when I told her about the still veined prawns.

Nevertheless she refunded the £6.50 back onto my card. And in addition to this, she gave me an Asda gift card with £6.50 credit on it. She pointed out they have a "refund and replace" policy.

I didn't expect that, but was impressed.
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Old 01-09-2012, 23:45
amyawake
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What amazes me is that people don't realise that eating the complete mussels and clams involve eating the contents of the stomach e.g. the debris (always dark coloured). I always remove it, admittedly this means losing a fair bit of the seafood but I just don't like the idea of eating the guts.
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Old 02-09-2012, 13:17
degsyhufc
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Similar to how people would want the tract removing but are happy to suck the gunky brains out of the thing
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Old 02-09-2012, 18:02
JulesF
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To the deveiners, what do you do when you are served a big plate of prawns, totally intact, with shells and heads on (which is how I like them)? Do you sit there and painstakingly devein each prawn with a cocktail stick, or whatever? What about really small prawns and shrimps? Do you devein those too? I don't think I've ever seen anyone do this in a restaurant.

I've never really understood this talk of prawn 'poo'. If you think about the diet of shellfish and how their digestive systems operate, what's left over is nothing like poo as we know it.
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Old 05-09-2012, 16:43
LaChatteGitane
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Life is just too short to start devaining prawns. And like Jules, I prefer them cooked with shell.
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Old 05-09-2012, 16:46
Gnugnu
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I couldn't give a monkies if the prawn had or not been de-vained. People had been eating prawns as such for millenia. Even in the the early 00's no one gave a rat's butt-crack.

My boyfriend, however, once watched Gordon Ramsay bang on about eating the prawn's "sh1t sack" () and never touched prawns again, unless they had been de-vained.

All this poop fear is an expensive con. And prawn poo is nutritious anyway.

I like them with shell on, I suck the brains out. Prawn brains are DELICIOUS!
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Old 05-09-2012, 16:48
Gnugnu
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I would have eaten them or done it myself, however, I agree with the OP that in a premium product it should already have been done and don't blame him for taking the dish back.
A £6.50 frozen ready meal from ASDA is hardly "premium" when it comes to seafood though, is it? Even if it is printed on the packaging.
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Old 05-09-2012, 20:08
whoever,hey
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What exactly do you think prawns eat then that you dont like eating? Grit?
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Old 06-09-2012, 09:11
JulesF
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What exactly do you think prawns eat then that you dont like eating? Grit?
Exactly. That's why I don't understand the 'prawn poo' horror. So silly.
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Old 07-09-2012, 17:35
diary_room
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Any time you eat prawns with the shell on, they are not deveined.

In some cases they will have been 'starved' before being sold so that they clear their system.

It's pretty harmless though. I must have eaten hundreds in my lifetime and not had any ill effects.
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Old 08-09-2012, 09:03
walterwhite
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A £6.50 frozen ready meal from ASDA is hardly "premium" when it comes to seafood though, is it? Even if it is printed on the packaging.
Agreed. It's a bit of a misuse of the word.
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Old 09-09-2012, 13:16
Mr Doodle
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Can anyone tell me, are regular packets of (cooked) prawns including tiger prawns been de-veined?

I never see any signs of a vein but I've always wondered.

Also curious how they do it anyway... is it mechanical done?
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Old 09-09-2012, 13:57
Summat
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My guess is most pre-cooked tiger prawns won't be de-veined (certainly non of the ones I've come across). Also, very unusual to find them in pre-prep'd supermarket food.

FWIW, if the prawn is big enough (6-8, or larger) I'll probably devein them with a single slice down the length of the spine (if it had one!) and removing the whole tract intact. Besides, it gives an interesting visual effect when you flash-fry them and the skin shrinks to open up the slice.
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Old 09-09-2012, 16:30
Mr Doodle
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My guess is most pre-cooked tiger prawns won't be de-veined (certainly non of the ones I've come across). Also, very unusual to find them in pre-prep'd supermarket food.
If they they're not de-veined, why do most packets of ready cooked prawns not have the black line in them? Are they fed something that stops their excrement from being black?
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Old 09-09-2012, 16:58
whoever,hey
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If they they're not de-veined, why do most packets of ready cooked prawns not have the black line in them? Are they fed something that stops their excrement from being black?
Someone posted earlier that they starve them so they are empty.
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Old 09-09-2012, 17:24
Mr Doodle
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Someone posted earlier that they starve them so they are empty.
Interesting. That sounds cruel though even for a prawn.
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Old 09-09-2012, 17:30
CBFreak
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I love Prawns with their shell on. It keeps the flavour. I sometimes take the being off too, sometimes not. Bit of poop doesn't bother me.
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