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This blog series is all about learning more about the seafood you are eating and where it comes from. It will explore the wide variety of species that can be found in UK waters, and provide you with key information about the product, top tips on how to cook it, and what to look for when buying.
First up, what is a Langoustine?
Langoustines are Scotland’s native prawn and are part of the crustacean family. Distinguished by their bright orange shells and long claws, Langoustines come in a variety of sizes and can grow up to 24cm in length. Their meat is firm and sweet, with a texture much like prawns although part of the Lobster family.
Despite their similarity to prawns and lobsters, langoustines are often overlooked and underappreciated by the local market. With many of the local supermarkets, and fishmongers, selling imported prawns from all around the globe. By buying Scottish langoustines you are not only getting a product packed with flavour, but a product with less food miles attached to it.
Where do Langoustines come from?
Langoustines live on the sea floor in muddy and sandy environments. They can be found in water depths of 20m – 80m. When they spawn, they dig burrows up to 1 meter in length and up to 10 cm (about the length of the long edge of a credit card) in diameter, these burrows protect them from predators and most fishing boats will see a significant reduction of female catch during the spawning period.
In Scotland, you can fish for Langoustines in areas on both the East and West Coasts, however, there are quota restrictions that prevent fishing in certain areas. Due to fishing these quotas, we are unable to fish for Langoustines in the Southwest of Scotland, where we are based, so we source our Langoustines from further up on the West coast, or from the North of Scotland.
What to look for when shopping for Langoustines:
When buying langoustines there are a few things to consider.
Firstly, size. How you like to eat your langoustine may inform you as to what size of langoustine you ought to buy to best suit your dish. If you are looking to grill or BBQ the langoustines, and enjoy the meat from the claws then, it is best to buy the L or XL langoustines as these sizes have the best sized claws for eating. Whereas smaller langoustines have limited meat in their claws.
Next question is quality. How can you be sure the langoustine is of high quality?
You can tell if a langoustine is deteriorating in quality if there is black discolouration on their shells. The places to look are on the underside of the tail, the end of the tail, or the head. We would avoid buying langoustines that look discoloured in this way as you cannot guarantee the quality of the interior.
At certain times of the year Langoustines shed their shells, during this process you may find the odd langoustine with a softer exterior than normal. If the shell is soft this means that the meat inside could also be softer than usual, but still tasty.
Finally, always ask your fishmonger about where the langoustines are from, how they have been caught, and whether they have been previously frozen. At West Coast Sea Products, we never freeze our langoustines before selling them. This means you can freeze them at home, without the quality deteriorating. If you are freezing, we recommend thawing out over a 24-hour period. Langoustine claw meat does not keep it is quality if frozen.
Our extra large langoustine
How do you cook Langoustines:
Langoustines are easy and quick to cook, making them a great mid-week dinner option. You can boil them to eat them cold, split them and grill or bake, or peel them raw and add to your dish!
Langoustine flesh is translucent when raw and will turn white once it is cooked. The most common error when cooking seafood in general is overcooking it, so check on the langoustines regularly and once the flesh is white, take them off the heat! Langoustines are safe to eat, and will taste better, slightly undercooked rather than overcooked; think of it as having a medium-rare steak!
You can eat most parts of the Langoustine, depending on size and preference. The most popular parts to eat are the tails and claws, the meat in these parts of the langoustine is mild in taste and meaty in texture. You can also eat the inside of the Langoustine head, which tends to be stronger in flavour and a more acquired taste. No matter how you cook and eat your langoustines you can use the left-over shells to make your own bisque!
Making your own bisque
Boiling Langoustines:
The easiest method is to boil the langoustines. They need very little boiling time. To cook bring a pot to the boil, add the langoustines, and once the pot comes back to the boil, they should be ready. Cooking times vary depending on size.
BBQ / Grill:
To cook in the oven or grill, split the langoustines in half with a sharp knife and remove the black vein and stomach before cooking. Place under the grill and cook until the flesh turns white (this should only take a few minutes). Drizzle garlic or parsley butter over the top and serve! This way you can pick the meat out of the claws, please note that the bigger claws sometimes take longer to cook due to the protection of the shell.
Cooking Langoustines under the grill
Adding to a dish:
Detach the tails from the head and claws and peel them whilst raw. You can then add these tails to any seafood dish, they will only take a few minutes to cook so always add them when the dish is almost ready.
Fun facts:
- Scotland provides around 1/2 of the global supply of Langoustines, and exports around 70% of their yearly catch!
- As we mentioned, Langoustines shed their shells as they grow. But did you know that to ensure their new shells grow stronger they will eat their old shells!?
How we sell Langoustines:
- Raw or Cooked Langoustine Tails
- Raw whole langoustines in Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large
- Raw Langoustine Heads and Claws on request (perfect for making your own bisque)
