seafood

[blueschef]

I saw a prior fourm with seafood was deleted, it might be cool to start something for the non pros to read. I get lots of seafood questions regarding cooking, buying and finding some seafood. Seafood can be trickey to cook and there might be some culinary ideas / tricks to help the pros. Anyone gettin warm fuzzies over this?
Tom

[blueschef]

OK then, I will stat with some of the dishes I like to make:

Carriabean Grouper - Black Grouper, Jullinne tri Color Peppers, Jullenne Onions, Garlic, Seeded and Sliced Jalapino (to taste), Fumet and Sherry wine. When you use a thick cut of Grouper you can braise this after pan searing and it looks great for plate up. I reduce the Sauce Quite a bit so it is almost a glaice.

I love Mussels and Clams - Cooked just about any ethnic style but I find that when you go out to eat quite often they are not taken out of the pan as they open, I feel this is critical to getting them out to ther guest nice and plump and beautiful, furthermore, quite often the sauces come out more like a soup (wich is fine in some styles of service) instead of a more robust and hartier apperance. Also on this sublect I feel that the herbs are added to early in some asian or Fresher Veggie types of preperation. Overall most places just do not pay much attention to steamers and mussels as an item that requires culinary skills.

Now I am off to an early lunch of Carved Roast beef and COLD Beer before the big storm.

Next I will discuss Frying - one of the best ways to make seafood!

Tom

[shroomgirl]

Next I will discuss Frying - one of the best ways to make seafood!

Typed like a true southerner.......

One of my favorite mussel dishes had seafood stock, coconut milk, lemon grass, alittle curry paste, Kiffer lime leaves and cilantro.....french bread for sopping....the sauce was thicker than a broth soup. Oh my, we guarded the bowl jealously and did not leave a drop when the waiter finally took it away.

Seafood gumbo.....you make the soup and have the seafood ready to go in just before serving.....that way the shrimp, oysters and crab are not mush.

[JonK]

Oh, is this thread making me hungry!

My wife and I have a birthday tradition of cooking the dinner of the celebrant's request (actually, we have fun cooking it together). My most frequent pick is a sesame-crusted thick tuna steak grilled rare (preferably over charcoal, but pan grilling works just fine when the weather is freezing outside--fortunately my birthday is in June) with a dipping sauce.

You need a steak about 1-1/2 inches thick or better (at our local farmers' market, the fishmonger will cut it to order). Brush it with veg oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll in sesame seeds. Grill over a medium hot fire on an oiled rack for about six minutes or as desired, turning but once. Or heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet or grill pan until almost smoking. Sear steaks for about 30 seconds per side, then turn the heat down to medium high and cook for about 2 minutes per side. Check for your desired state of doneness with a paring knife.

The dipping sauces we like are based around soy sauce: 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 2-1/2 tsps sugar, 2 tsp grated giner, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Or substitute lime juice for the vinegar and/or 2 tsp wasabi powder for the pepper flakes and/or pickled ginger for the fresh.

Oh, boy!

[JonK]

One of the easiest fish recipes I know of comes to my from a southern cook and works great with the farm-raised catfish fillets we find at reasonable prices in our area.

Brush the fish generously on both sides with yellow mustard (my friends below the Mason-Dixon line would be horrified if you used something snotty like Dijon, but I won't tell), roll in seasoned yellow corn meal (salt, pepper, and if you like, a touch of ground thyme or a tiny pinch of cayenne), and pan fry in a quarter inch or so of vegetable oil, about 5 minutes on a side. Serve with lemon or tartar sauce, as moves you.

The crunchy cornmeal crust holds the moisture in (you have work hard to dry out fish with this recipe) and does not absorb as much fat as other coatings.

We'll also fry talapia fillets with a panko crust, but that's a bit more work, requiring a flour dip, egg, and then the panko crumbs.

Pan sauteing thin fillets without a crust takes a lot more care to avoid drying them out (forget that 10 minute rule here--press the fish with a finger to check doness). With a non-stick pan, you can use very little fat. That said, we prefer to add a quick pan sauce, which can be be as simple as browned butter and lemon or a warm balsamic vingearette.

[shroomgirl]

JonK, I've made your sesame tuna for parties and placed slices of tuna on a spicy napa slaw. Spicy citrus sauce works well too......

boursin or garlic herb cheese with spinach and white wine, shallots is another good combo with about any fish....I made it a couple of weeks ago with sole....first time I'd used sole in years, the price and freshness were right.

Monk fish is one of my favorites, and I don't make it nearly enough.......curried is fun.

soft shell crabs are another favorite.....I like um stuffed with a dense crab filling then deep fried (tempura is fine)...topped with more lump crab (I know it's now verging on gluttony) with lemon butter and parsley....a spicy creole mustard sauce on the side.

Crawfish bisque, crawfish boil, crawfish etouffe, crawfish salad....deep fried tails....

Oysters Bienville, oysters rockerfeller, oysters on the half shell, fried, po-boy......roasted, loafed.....

Shrimp...BBQ, grilled, boiled, stir fried, fried, stuffed and fried, Greek with tomatoes, onions, oregano, feta and white wine,.....cocktail, remoulade....

BUBBA!!!!!!!!

[Pete]

shroom, where do you stuff the softshells? Underneath the carapice, where the gills were?

[shroomgirl]

yep, remove the gills 1st......

I can remember my sister in law who grew up in Provo Utah visiting us in Baton Rouge, La.....she was a trooper, ate a raw oyster, soft shelled crab...afterwards asked when the oysters die (dang if I know and actually never wanted to think about it too much), then asked if we were eating the eyes of the crab....well personally I snip off their little faces with a pair of scissors, but again when in the deep south specifically New Orleans you just don't ask alot of questions like that....chere you are eating all kinds of things most people would scrunch up their noses at. I prefer the no ask no tell policy on New Orleans food, unless of course your trying to replicate it.

[blueschef]

OK, sorry I am back for a breef moment, the wife and I had a great afternoon! Dont look now but I think she is going to take advantage of me!
But on a food note I wil be back tommrow morning to post my food thoughts!
Tom

[blueschef]

Good Morning! We have about 15 inches of snow so far in fromt of our house (I just measured) and it is still comming down! Looks like We will be staying home today! The basic NO fry breading used just about anywhere in the region is equal parts flour, cornmeal and cornflour (I have to special order this up in the north here, but is is essential to frying seafood perfect) seasoned how you like (lots of locals use tony Chaceries0 My basic Seasoning is Salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayene pepper, ground thyme and paprika. The cornflour at the Indian stores will do but the stuff in La is ......... more corney to me (if that makes sence).
The keys to good frying are GOOD clean oil, the correct temp, DO NOT overload the fryer and bread to order. Most everyone who has worked for me or with me at first thinks I am nuts. I will filter a fryer 4 and 5 times a day or even more! But once I show them how to fry seafood properly they get a whole different attitude, when done perfectly it is the best way to taste any seafood. I have gone round and round on this subject with many chefs (most who say is a basic broiling). But once I show them how it works and how it taste, I usually win them over. As all of you know when fried properly the food is actually steamed in its own juices and if served right away is crisp on the outside and wonderfully juicy and moist on the inside (wow this is starting to get a bit risque'!!!!! LOL).

Fried Oysters:
Drain the Oysters (save that Liquor, or **** just drink it!!!)
Scramble some eggs and season with whatever blend you want and add the oysters, let em soak in the fridge for a bit (at least ann hour)

When ready to fry (at home I have a good quality store bought table top that has an excellent recovery time, and I fry outside just so I do not stink up the house), heat the oil (I fry seafood at 360), the more the better as long as it is in the safety zone for spillage and splatter. Drain the oysters and coat them WELL in copious amounts of the breading (very important to not let the breading get to "wet", sift it and change it often). I cook no more than 8 - 10 good size counts (enough for a seriously stuffed 12 inch Po-Boy, the size that leaves you compelety oyster po-by satisfied but leaves room for a few dozen raw and some frostys). You let them cook for a bit then make sure they are all seperated and cooking evenly. they are done when they look nice and crisp but still plump (aprox. 1.5 - 2 min, in my fryer). When you remove them drain them breefly but DO NOT push, crush, squish prod or otherwise maul them in any way (keep them juices in so they soak into your bread!). For me I put mayo on one side of the bread, aproxmately 1/2 bottle of tobasco on the other , pound it full of oysters, some shredded Iceberg and tomatoes (if they are good, or=therwise I leave them out) and a bit of shaved red or sweet onions. Then I fold it up and Squish it just a bit to get the oysters flowing, take a long draw of a frosty and CHOW!!!!!!!!!
I do love mussels asian style (they carry the strong flavors well) espically with the formentioned thai prep (I have made them allmost exactly like that befor and they were killer shrommer!). Clams do not always do as well with that style (unless perhaps in a thai "Boulibasse").
Gumbo, in NO we make a red/black roux for seafood (the lightter the food the darker the roux is the rule of thumb). In the restaruaunt I make Peanut roux, red roux and black roux in the oven about twice a week and hold it in soup baines at room temp and add whatever color to whatever food as needed. In La you can buy "gumbo Crabs" esentially cleaned crabs that are light or "weak" and they are used along with the shrimp peelins to make the stock. Saute up your veggies, I cook 1/2 the Okra in the Veggie mix and add the other 1/2 when it is done., with your seasoning, add the drained and Strained Stock and stir in the roux at room temp (do not stop stirin till all the roux is disolved and the gumbo base is boiling again. This is your Gumbo Base, it should be pretty thick so when you add your seafood it will thin it out to the consistency you want when you serve it. Chill this in ice to below 40 as fast as possible.
To make 1 larege soup baine - heat the base to a boil, add Raw shrimp, crab claw meat, Raw oysters and the liquor and some okra. Bring just to below boil and put it covered in your hot soup warmer for about 5-10 more minuites. Put it in a bowl and top with some cooked rice (and soppin bread).

[blueschef]

I love catfish just about any way (it with some shrimp makes a real rich gumbo, just cook some "sacrifical Catfish" peices in with the veggies and procide regular, when the time to add the seafood to the base comes use smaller peices of catfish and cook them a bit longer before you put in the shrimp and Okra) just remember to cut the dirty line out of the larger filets, it can make the fish tast "muddy).
The fried Mustard catfish is a classic and dam good! We did a Creole Catfish in NO where we marinated the filets in White wine Zatarans creole mustard and Seasoning for about an hour or two, drained it and ten you Press it in your seafood breading to make a hard crust and Panned it (finish it in the oven). The Culinary trick to this is to not crack the breading getting it to the plate, use a long spat. We served it on Blackeye peas and rice, when the customer cracks the crust it will be all steamey and wonderfull!
I saw a cool preperation of monkfish once. this chef took the raw loin of unifourm leingth, wrapped it in plastic real tight poached it then cooled it then sliced it in medalions for a Quick Saute, it looked awesome, nice and even peices and white!
YEs Peelers! Soft shell crabs to most folks. I like em BIG, FAT AND LIVE!
To clean em you snip off the face, pull back the side flaps and remove the gills and cut off the apron, DO NOT manhandle them Keep as much moisture in them as possible, if you are not a huge restauraunt, clean them and cook them to order. I like mine fried Crisp, as for other seafood, perhaps on a bed of seafood dirty rice or red bean and garlic mashed and lemon burre blanc or creole meuiner. Also Wonderfull on a PO-BOY or good Kaiser. I usually do not like them Sauteed, they just get to mushey for my taste and the textur is "weird). I did make and amazing Soft shell bisque once when I had a bunch of them, basic bisque, cooked the peelers in it, pureed it and pased it through a seiv then topped with Chives and Rice, unbeleivably rich but wow good!

[shroomgirl]

Bluesy, that's the first time I've read about scrambled eggs used in fried oysters.....milk bath or ice water bath but not scrambled eggs....how's that work, as in what do they do to the oysters?

*food is sensual, we've had loads of stuff in the archives circa 2000-2002 that were pretty hot....anything that involves passion generates energy.

[blueschef]

It works great, it creates just a little Coating that lets the breading adhere a tiny bit better but still stays nice and thin / crunchy! the only problem is you have to really work the seasoning in to get it to not be clumpy.

[shroomgirl]

are we talking cooked eggs or raw?

[blueschef]

Ra, sorry! that was probably the confusion! just scrambeled raw eggs seasoned.
Tom