Shellfish

Shellfish are a great dish by themselves and can be an integral part of salads and other preparations  The key, whether you are cooking or chemically cooking them, always buy the freshest possible.

In the case of shellfish such as muscles and clams for example, they are require by law to be tagged as to where they were caught and the date harvested to insure freshness.  

These are broken down into 2 categories:

Shelled mollusks:

clams

oysters

mussels

scallops

Crustaceans:

 prawns

shrimps

crayfish

lobster

crab

How to purchase:

First, don’t buy shellfish already removed from the shell.  The exception is if they are cryovaced.

The date of harvest and where they were harvested are to protect you from serious illness.

Make sure to discard any shellfish that are not tightly closed, they are long dead.  Use only those with tightly closed shells.  Shellfish that close their shells completely can be stored for up to seven days. Muscles only 3-4 days.

Shellfish should be stored on ice or refrigerated, NEVER in water.

Avoid buying ‘Live Tank’ shellfish.  That water is circulated and cross-contaminates everything in the tank.

Poaching. Most any kind of fish can be cooked in this way. Simmered in poaching liquid with aromatics and flavored stock.

Steaming. In a basket steamer with aromatics and

Grilling – Shrimp, in out of shell, scallops.  Be careful not to toughen them. The cook quickly

Braising - Pan braise with aromatics and beer, wine, or stock. (more like steaming on the stove top)

Frying – Oysters especially. Oysters may be par cooked before frying.

Sauté - Scallops in particular to develop a crust, carry-over cooking will finish them.

Prawns and shrimp are flexible with cooking methods.

They can be cooked with shells on or off and can be sautéed, steamed, grilled, and broiled.  The trick here is not to overcook them as they will become tough and rubbery.

Crayfish, lobster, and crab are generally boiled in a flavorful mix but can be braised if you know what you’re doing.  The biggest difference from other fish, they are cleaned and gutted after cooking.