How to Bake Seafood

How to Bake Seafood

Baking fish fillets, shellfish or whole fish is easy. Higher cooking temperature make it quick as well. Bake seafood in a preheated oven at 450 degrees. To establish a cooking time length, measure the fish at the thickest part, and cook 10 minutes for each inch of thickness, or until the fish is cooked in the center – turns from translucent to opaque.

Baking actually requires very little or no added fat, another ideal choice for healthy eaters. Easy ways to keep the seafood moist during cooking include coating with seasoned bread crumbs, lightly brushing with olive oil or melted butter, or topping with thinly sliced vegetables.

Preheat the oven. Arrange the seafood in a single layer on a lightly oiled or buttered baking dish. If cooking fillets, fold under the thin ends so that they will cook evenly. Spoon any remaining cooking juices over the seafood.

How to Poach Seafood

How to Poach Seafood

Scallops, shrimp, shucked oysters, whole fish, fish fillets and steaks work best for poaching. Poached seafoods are prepared by carefully placing seafood in hot liquid, resulting in highly flavored food with no added fat. Choose your favorite – simply water, or combine the water with seasonings, herbs, fish stock or wine.

Use a broad and shallow pan that fits the amount of seafood you plan to cook in an even layer. Place enough water (or other liquid according to your taste) and seasonings in a broad, shallow pan, to completely cover the seafood.

Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat so that you see some movement across the surface, but no bubbles actually break the surface. Be careful not to boil the water. Add the seafood. Do not cover.

Poach seafood until the center is cooked.

How to Broil Seafood

How to Broil Seafood

Broiled seafood is cooked in the oven, directly under the heating element. Broiling uses intense direct heat to cook foods providing a charring and caramelization that gives broiled foods a distinct flavor – similar to grilled foods. Thicker fish fillets or "steaks", 1/4" to 1-1/2" thick, work best for broiling as do shrimp, scallops and squid.

Quick cooking at a high temperature sears in the juices, thus flavor, of the seafood. Preheat the broiler and wait until the oven temperature is completely established before placing the seafood in the oven. Broiling racks should be placed 3-4 inches from the element. Broiling cooks seafood quickly, but be careful to keep it moist during cooking so that it does not dry out. Try marinating more delicate fish (those with less natural oil) to keep it moist during cooking. Fish with a higher fat content, like salmon, sea bass, bluefish, tuna, shark and swordfish are all good choices for broiling.

Fresh seafood that is broiled properly needs very little help to taste good. Simply season with salt and pepper, or prepare a marinade. Add the seafood to the marinade, turn gently to coat the seafood evenly. Marinate the seafood in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours. Remember not to marinade the seafood too long as it will make the flesh mushy. Also, avoid marinades with high vinegar content as this will "cook" the fish and make mushy as well.

• Preheat the broiler. Line a broiler pan with foil and lightly oil. Remove the seafood from the marinade and place it in a single layer on the broiler pan.

   

• Remember that broiling cooks seafood quickly. Keep your eye on it to avoid burning.

   

• Broil the seafood for half of the total cooking time. Turn and baste occasionally with the marinade to keep the seafood moist. Continue broiling until the seafood turns from translucent to opaque in the center.

How to Stir-fry Seafood

How to Stir-fry Seafood

Stir frying cooks small pieces of food in a pan over high heat. Because the food cooks very quickly, it requires constant stirring to cook evenly and avoid sticking. Avoid stir frying delicate fish, as it will fall apart during cooking. The best seafoods for stir-frying are hrimp, scallops and squid. Cubes or strips of firm fish like halibut, monkfish, salmon, swordfish, tuna and shark are ideal selections for stir-frying. Make sure seafood is cut in evenly sized pieces for best results.

Woks or a large skillet work fine for stir frying seafood. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. If using vegetables, add them first and cook, stirring constantly. When vegetables are tender-crisp, transfer to a bowl and set aside. If necessary, add more oil to the pan and reheat. Add the seafood and cook, stirring, until lightly browned and opaque in the center.

Return the vegetables to the pan, add any sauce or seasoning and toss to evenly mix. For best results avoid overcrowding the pan, or the food will release liquid and poach rather than fry. Try cooking in batches when you need to cook a larger amount of food.

How to Saute Seafood

How to Saute Seafood

The best seafoods to saute are fish fillets under 1-1/2" thick, shucked oysters, large shrimp and scallops. Sautéing, or pan frying is somewhat similar to stir-frying. Sautéed seafoods are cooked over medium heat. The seafood is browned on one side, and is then turned over to finish cooking on the other side. Try lightly coating the seafood with flour, fine cornmeal, breadcrumbs or finely chopped nuts for a crisp outside and tender inside. Use a skillet with a non-stick surface to avoid using additional fat for cooking.

Heat a small amount of oil or butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Before placing seafood in the pan pat it dry to avoid any splattering during cooking. Add the seafood and cook on each side until browned and opaque through the thickest part. A good rule of thumb is to cook the seafood 10 minutes per inch thickness.

General Tips for BBQ and Grilling

General Tips for BBQ and Grilling

• Marinating quickly tenderizes meat and also adds additional flavor. Use roughly 2 to 4 cups of marinade for every 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of food. The marinade should completely surround the food. Cooked meat should never be returned to its marinade; germs killed in the cooking process could still be present in the marinade dish.

   

• A secret to tender, moist, tasty meat and fish is the thickness you choose. A thickness anywhere from one inch to one and a half inches works well.

   

• Trim beef steaks to 1/8 inch fat–this reduces grease drippings to help minimize open flames. If you like your hamburgers juicy, go with ground beef that is about 15 to 20 percent fat. Have fish fillets cut from 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick–anything thinner will dry out too quickly. Pork chops should also be at least 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick–this cut is ready when the meat is no longer pink along the bone and when the juices run clear.

   

• For direct cooking on a charcoal grill, make sure there is enough charcoal to extend in a single layer 1 to 2 inches beyond the area of the food on the grill. This is for a low heat fire. I like mine hot-so my charcoal is two layers thick, and extends 3-4 inches beyond the meat. Pour briquettes into the grill to determine the quantity. Then stack into a pyramid for lighting. Don’t disturb the pyramid till the charcoal is done (see below). For indirect cooking, food is placed over a drip pan and the briquettes are banked either to one or both sides of the pan.

   

• When using charcoal, the key is to avoid giving the meat a "lighter fluid taste". The usual advice is to use the least amount of starter fluid as possible to light the fire. But I’ve found that I am less likely to get any "lighter fluid taste" on the meat when I use large amounts of lighter fluid. I thoroughly soak the charcoal, which makes for large, leaping flames and a very hot fire. My theory is that the heat generated from the large fire burns any petrochemical residue off better than a small, cooler fire. (Some folks like "charcoal chimneys", which are thin metal tubes that hold the charcoal and allow it to be lit from below with paper-no lighter fluid. I like these, but haven’t used one lately. They are worth a try.)

   

• The key, no matter how much lighter fluid you use, is to keep your cooking grate completely away from the fire until ready to cook. This keeps any petrochemical residue from being deposited on your cooking surface, where it could be transferred to your meat.

   

• Your charcoal is not ready until 95% of it is gray. Cooking before your charcoal is fully ready will increase the likelihood of "lighter fluid taste".

   

• When roasting or grilling with a BBQ pit closed, open a can of beer and place the beer over the hottest part of the fire. The beer will boil and super saturate the air inside the pit with water vapor, beer flavors and alcohol. This will help in keeping the roasting meats moist, while adding flavor to the meat.

   

• Whenever barbecuing, use tongs to turn the meat. A fork should never be used as it will punch holes in the meat and allow the natural juices to escape, causing the meat to lose flavor and become chewy.

   

• When grilling meats, it is usually best to turn the meat only once.

   

• Tomato and/or sugar based BBQ sauces should be added only at the end of the grilling process, since these products will burn easily and are seldom considered an internal meat flavoring.

   

• To estimate the temperature of your grill, hold your hand, palm side down, about six inches above the coals. If you can only hold your hand for:
        Two seconds – it’s hot, about 375°F or more
        Three seconds – it’s medium-hot, about 350 to 375°F
        Four seconds – it’s medium, about 300 to 350°F
        Five seconds – it’s low, about 200 to 300°F

Tips for BBQ and Grilling Fish

Tips for BBQ and Grilling Fish

• Small whole fish will need about 7 minutes on each side. A little longer if stuffed.

   

• Large whole fish will need about 15 minutes per side, again longer if it is very large or stuffed.

   

• Fillets (like salmon) will need about 6-8 minutes per side. Trout fillets may only need 4 minutes per side.

   

• Steaks (like halibut or salmon) usually need about 5 minutes per side.
• Kabobs are usually cut into chunks a little over an inch thick and will need about 12 minutes turning often.

   

• Cook fish and seafood like shrimp on a cleanly scraped grill that has been brushed with a little oil or fat.

   

• Cook fish on an oiled grill, skin side down, for the first part of the cooking time. The skin protects the fish from burning and drying out. It also can provide natural oils to your grill, so when you flip the fish it doesn’t stick.

Tips for BBQ and Grilling Seafood

Tips for BBQ and Grilling Seafood

• A hinged wire grill basket is best for cooking whole fish such as snapper, trout or salmon. It also works well for fillets of tender fish such as perch, snapper, catfish or flounder.

   

• Firm fish, such as tuna, salmon, or shark can be cooked directly on the grill if handled carefully.

   

• Skewer small shellfish such as shrimp or scallops on metal or water-soaked wooden skewers or cook them in a grill basket.

   

• Grill fillets over medium to medium-low heat. Fish can cook quickly and it is easier to slow down cook time and monitor to not overcook.

   

• Turn fish only once. (Flipping back and forth will break fish apart.)

   

• If using a marinade, allow fish to soak up flavor for at least 30 minutes. Refrigerate while soaking in marinade.

   

• If you are going to use the marinade as an extra sauce on top of the cooked fish or seafood, the marinade liquid must be boiled by itself for at least 5 minutes to cook out any bacteria that may be there from when the fish was soaking.

   

• To grill shellfish in the shell, such as oysters, mussels and clams, place them directly on the hottest part of the grill. They’re done when the shell opens. Discard those that don’t open after about 5 minutes.