Prawn cocktail is one of the dishes I like to make as a starter for Christmas. Naturally I like to jazz things up a little, it being the festive season. The rub takes no time at all to put together and easily made from store cupboard ingredients. This Cajun Rub is based on the one from the fabulous Queens of 'Que;  Sam Evans' and Shauna Guinn's "The Hangfire cookbook" which is one of my favourite BBQ books. This makes enough for 20 king prawns.

The cocktail sauce is one I've been making for years, normally I would use my own home made mayonnaise and ketchup, but shop bought works as well. I use an Irish whiskey in this recipe but you can also use bourbon or a light peated whisky too. The Whisk(e)y or bourbon will need to have some sweetness to it.

Cajun rub
5g each of
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Dried thyme
Dried oregano
Sea salt flakes ground
Cayenne pepper
Chilli flakes (I used ancho)
10g of paprika
And some freshly ground pepper

Mix together and marinade your prawns for a couple of hours before grilling

Set your barbecue up for direct cooking at 200c and cook the prawns for a couple of minutes each side

I like to add a bit of booze to my cocktail sauce and with the Cajun rub this one works really well

15ml of
Tomato ketchup
Mayonnaise
Crème fraiche
10ml whiskey (I used Teeling Whiskey pineapple rum cask)
5ml lemon juice
Mix together