Prawn cocktail sliders

These flavour-packed sliders are one of the easiest prawn cocktail recipes to make

Looking for easy cold prawn starters for summer gatherings over the festive season? Why not make a seafood sliders recipe? Sliders are mini versions of burgers that you can eat with one hand, believed to have been invented by White Castle, the first fast-food chain in the United States. 

Like homemade burger recipes, you can be as creative as you want with the ingredients you put in sliders, and prawns make sliders a lighter finger food. In this recipe, the prawns are served cold, making it refreshing to eat in the heat of a summer day (or night!). This Christmas slider idea uses cooked prawns so it’s super quick to assemble, taking 20 minutes in total. 

If you're planning an event and want some great finger food recipes to make ahead, we have you covered. From elegant canapes to mini bites, and sweet and savoury platters to share, you're onto a winner with these ideas.

How do you cook fresh prawns for these prawn sliders?

To save time, this prawn sandwich idea suggests purchasing pre-cooked prawns or using leftover cooked prawns. If you’re using fresh prawns, there are three ways you can prepare them for this slider recipe.

Poached prawns have a crisp, plump texture and sweet flavour. To poach, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the prawns, covered, for 5-7 minutes until they’ve changed colour and are cooked through. Transfer prawns to a bowl of iced water to cool before peeling.

Grilled prawns have a meatier texture and a smoky flavour. Soak some bamboo skewers for 30 minutes in water, then skewer the prawns so they don’t slip through the grills. Grill them on the barbecue for 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Fried prawns have a crunchy coating and are sweet and juicy inside. Toss the prawns with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Dredge each prawn into a bowl of flour, plunge into a separate bowl of lightly beaten eggs, then dunk into a bowl of Japanese breadcrumbs. Deep fry in oil until they turn golden. You can also bake the breaded prawns in a 200°C oven for 10-15 minutes or until the prawns turn golden.

A versatile seafood superstar, juicy tender prawns are the hero of these impressive and easy prawn recipes. For simple dinners or fancy feasts, these perfect prawn dishes, prawn salad recipes, stir-fries and more are irresistible.

Sauces that elevate canapes with prawns

This prawn finger food idea shows you how to whip up a delicious sauce used in many prawn cocktail dishes. Although the recipe specifies whole-egg mayonnaise, you can use any mayonnaise you’ve got on hand. The same goes for Tabasco, which can be substituted with sriracha, Mexican hot sauce, Louisiana hot sauce or garlic chilli sauce. 

Instead of this cocktail sauce, any sauces that go well with prawns would be perfectly suited to this prawn cocktail sandwich filler recipe. Think tangy and creamy homemade tartare sauce or a classic seafood sauce to take your sliders to the next level, or a Japanese shrimp dipping sauce that consists of Kewpie mayonnaise, rice vinegar, soy sauce, condensed milk, lemon juice, paprika and tomato sauce. All these sauces would also go well with different types of seafood sliders, like lobster, fish or crab cake versions.

The perfect sauces can turn a ho-hum dish into something extraordinary and these flavourful sauce recipes will not disappoint.

What other kinds of salad ingredients pair well with these prawn starters?

Instead of cos lettuce, you can use other kinds of crunchy and mild-flavoured lettuce in your prawn cocktail sub sandwich, like butter, baby gem or iceberg lettuce. If you want to jazz up your slider salad, some great additions include sliced red onion, sliced red chilli, avocado and/or sliced tomato. 

If you want to move away from lettuce altogether, replace it with thinly sliced cucumber or shredded white cabbage.

In place of dill, garnish each slider with fresh coriander, parsley, watercress sprigs, tarragon or chives. 

How do you serve these shrimpy Christmas sliders?

There are several ways you can present these as Christmas party sliders. On a platter, place several sheets of decorative parchment paper, one for each slider. Put each slider on a sheet so that your guest can grab it by the paper and avoid getting their fingers messy. Next to this platter, portion out some potato crisps, sweet potato fries or hot chips in small paper cups, so guests have the option to take it along with them to enjoy with their slider.

You can also put each slider in a wooden or paper ‘boat’, and arrange these boats neatly on a large tray or wooden board. Place a handful of potato crisps, shoestring fries or sweet potato chips in each boat as well, and add a wedge of lemon on the side. 

An assemble-it-yourself station is also a great way to serve these sandwiches. Lay out each ingredient separately and make two or three different sauces that people can use to assemble their slider. You may even like to have different types of pickles that people can munch on as a ‘chaser’, like this quick pickled cucumber recipe or pickled celery with chilli, coriander and peppercorns.