Seafood | Saveur

Grilled Lobster with Garlic-Parsley Butter

Curtis Stone — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 18:38:40 +0000

Mark Roper. Mark Roper

While steaming and boiling may be the most common methods, grilling lobster is a surprisingly easy way to cook the popular crustacean. A quick cleaver through the body kills the lobster instantly and painlessly. (To preserve its freshness, this step should be done immediately before cooking.)

If serving grilled lobster as a main course, count on at least one 1-pound lobster per person (though you can get away with less if you’re also grilling an assortment of other seafood). And don’t ditch the precious shells when you’re finished! Instead, freeze and then use them to make a rich lobster stock, which is the perfect base for bisque and other seafood soups and sauces.

Featured in “The Heat Down Under.”

Yield: 1–2

Time: 20 minutes

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
1½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 live lobster (about 1 to 1½ lb.)
¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

In a small bowl, stir together the butter, parsley, chile flakes, garlic, and lemon zest. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, then set aside.
Using a cleaver, split the lobster in half lengthwise through its head and tail. Scoop out and discard the yellow-green tomalley and break off the claws. Transfer the lobster halves, shell side down, to a large baking sheet. Crack the claws and transfer them to the baking sheet. Drizzle the halves and claws with oil, then season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to high, then bank the coals or turn off the burner on one side. Place the lobster halves, flesh side down, and claws on the hottest part of grill and cook until slightly charred, 2–3 minutes. Flip the lobster halves and claws over and use a spoon to spread them with the garlic-parsley butter. Continue grilling until the lobster meat is tender, 3–5 minutes more.

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Grilled Scallops with Yuzu Kosho Vinaigrette

Tadashi Ono — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:43:11 +0000

Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Tyna Hoang. Photo: Murray Hall • Food Styling: Tyna Hoang

One night, on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, I ordered a bowl of ramen and watched the cook serve a paste alongside the noodle soup that I’d never seen before. It was yuzu kosho. It only has three ingredients: salt, hot pepper, and yuzu, the Japanese citrus, but it’s fascinating. It has spice, fragrance, aroma—everything. There are two types: red, made from ripe yuzu and red chiles, and green, from unripe fruit with green chiles. I use the sharper green version to cut through rich meats, and the milder red in seafood dishes, like these grilled scallops.

Pairing note: Earthy Sumiyoshi Tokubetsu Junmai sake from Japan’s Yamagata prefecture stands up to yuzu kosho’s spice.

Yield: 4

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. fresh or bottled yuzu juice
1 Tbsp. finely chopped scallions, white parts only
1 Tbsp. red yuzu kosho
2 tsp. soy sauce
16 large sea scallops
1 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
Kosher salt

Instructions

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the oil, yuzu juice, scallions, yuzu kosho, and soy sauce. To a medium bowl, add the scallops and one-third of the yuzu vinaigrette, then toss to coat.
Heat a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high. Alternatively, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add the scallops and grill, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a platter and drizzle the remaining yuzu vinaigrette over the scallops. Garnish with the parsley, season to taste with salt, and serve hot.

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Cajun Seafood Boil

SAVEUR Editors — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 19:26:49 +0000

Belle Morizio. Belle Morizio

This spicy Cajun boil, inspired by one served at Charles Seafood in Harahan, Louisiana, has been a reader favorite since it first graced our pages in 2013. The key to a good boil is making sure your ingredients don’t overcook. Start with your vegetables and spices, then layer in your seafood last.

Featured in “New Orleans” by Lolis Eric Elie.

Yield: 6–8

Time: 1 hour

1¼ cups kosher salt, divided
5 lb. whole live crawfish
2 lb. medium waxy potatoes
6 celery stalks, cut into 3-in. pieces
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
1 garlic head, halved crosswise
1 lemon, halved, plus additional wedges for serving
½ cup Creole seasoning
½ cup Old Bay Seasoning
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
3 lb. head-on jumbo shrimp
3 medium ears corn, shucked and halved
Cocktail sauce, for serving
Hot sauce, preferably Original Louisiana, for serving

Instructions

To a large stockpot filled with 2 gallons of cold water, add 1 cup of the salt and whisk until dissolved. Add the crawfish and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain the pot, rinse the crawfish well, and transfer them to a large bowl. Refrigerate.
To the empty pot, add the potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, lemon halves, Creole seasoning, Old Bay, Worcestershire, cayenne, the remaining salt, and 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are just tender, 10–12 minutes. Add the reserved crawfish, the shrimp, and corn, cover the pot, and cook until the seafood is just cooked through, 5–7 minutes.
Drain the contents of the pot into a large colander or sieve, discarding the cooking liquid. Transfer the crawfish, shrimp, potatoes, corn, celery, and onions to a large platter. Serve with lemon wedges and cocktail and hot sauces on the side.

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Pickled Shrimp and Celery

Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:34:25 +0000

Photo: Julia Gartland • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Tender celery and snappy shrimp get pickled in mirin, rice vinegar, and lemon juice in this tangy appetizer adapted from Canal House Cooking Volume No. 2: Fall & Holiday by former SAVEUR editors Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer.

Featured in the November 2009 issue.

Yield: 4–6

Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

1 cup mirin
1 cup rice vinegar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
20 black peppercorns, divided
10 juniper berries
4 bay leaves, divided
2 cinnamon sticks
One 2-in. piece ginger, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
4 celery stalks, preferably hearts, leaves reserved
1 cup white wine
½ lb. medium shell-on shrimp
Extra-virgin olive oil and lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

To a medium pot set over medium heat, add the mirin, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, chile flakes, 12 of the peppercorns, the juniper berries, 2 of the bay leaves, the cinnamon, ginger, and 1 cup of water. Season to taste with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the salt and sugar are dissolved, 3–5 minutes. Transfer the brine to a large bowl and refrigerate. Return the pot to the stove.
Add the celery stalks, wine, the remaining peppercorns and bay leaves, and 8 cups of water to the pot and season to taste with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the celery is tender, 18–20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the celery to the brine. To the poaching liquid in the pot, add the shrimp and cook until just pink and opaque, 1–2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a small bowl to cool, then peel, devein, and add to the brine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours, tossing the mixture once halfway through.
Cut the celery on the bias into bite-size pieces and place on a large platter. Strew the shrimp and reserved celery leaves on top, season to taste with salt, drizzle with oil, and serve cold or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

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Clams Casino

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:32:00 +0000

Maura McEvoy

Former SAVEUR editor Kelly Alexander, who covered Clams Casino for our October 2003 issue, pointed readers to Inns and Outs, the 1939 autobiography of Julius Keller, once the maître d’hôtel of Rhode Island’s now-defunct Narragansett Pier Casino hotel. In his memoir, Keller claims to have first served the littlenecks topped with bacon and bread crumbs sometime around 1917, to a patron who had simply requested clams. “Seizing the opportunity,” he wrote, less than humbly, “I prepared a dish which I had tried on my own cultivated palate.”

Featured in the October 2003 issue.

Yield: 4–6

Time: 25 minutes

Rock salt
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 medium shallots, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
¼ tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of bacon, cut crosswise into 1-in. pieces

Instructions

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500°F. Fill a large rimmed baking sheet halfway with rock salt and set aside.
Using a shucking knife, open the clams, loosening the meat from the top and bottom shells, then discarding the top shells. Nestle the shucked clams (in their bottom shells) atop the rock salt and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter, shallots, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon a generous 1 teaspoon of the seasoned butter onto each clam, then top each with a piece of bacon. Bake until the edges of the bacon are crisp and the butter is browned and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Serve the clams casino hot.

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Crab Louie

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:44:09 +0000

Maura McEvoy

There are plenty of theories about Crab Louie’s name, including a tall tale involving the outsize appetite of Louis XIV. A recipe for the dish first appeared under the title “Crabmeat a la Louise” in chef Victor Hirtzler’s 1910 The Hotel St. Francis Cookbook. The hotel, now the Westin St. Francis, still stands on San Francisco’s Union Square, but it doesn’t serve the city’s best Crab Louie. For that, you must wait in line on Polk Street to nab one of 20 seats at Swan Oyster Depot. Peggy Knickerbocker raved about Swan in SAVEUR’s March 1998 issue—and convinced the place to divulge its Louie secrets, including the dressing, comprised of mayonnaise, ketchup, pickle relish, olives, and onions.

Dungeness crabs are fished in the Pacific waters from California to Alaska and prized for their sweet, buttery meat. The season begins in mid-November, but if you don’t live on the West Coast, order them cooked (whole or fresh-picked) from Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, or Giovanni’s Fish Market in California’s Morro Bay—which also ships them live.

Featured in the March 1998 issue.

Yield: 4

Time: 15 minutes

1 cup mayonnaise
1⁄4 cup ketchup
1⁄4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 Tbsp. chopped black olives
1 small white onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, shredded (about 8 cups)
Meat from 2 cooked 2-lb. Dungeness crabs (or substitute 4 cups cooked lump crabmeat)
Lemon wedges, for serving
Tabasco sauce, for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, olives, and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, pour 1 cup of the dressing over the lettuce and toss to combine. Divide the dressed lettuce between 4 chilled salad plates, then top each with ¼ of the crabmeat. Drizzle the crab with the remaining dressing. Serve cold, with lemon wedges and Tabasco sauce, if desired.

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Egg Foo Young

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:50:22 +0000

Maura McEvoy

Chinese American writer Mei Chin first tried this fried egg delicacy when she was 21 years old. “I had been expecting something like egg drop soup over fried rice, so I was amazed to be presented with such an elegant dish,” she says. “It was a lacy golden omelet with an elaborate filling mixed in—bean sprouts and minced water chestnuts; bits of roast pork and fresh shrimp; chopped scallions. Pillowy and punctuated with crunchy vegetables, it was bronzed at its edges from frying. At its side was a silver sauceboat of brown gravy, which was thick and savory, a little bit sweet and a little bit salty.” She immediately understood why the dish developed by Cantonese immigrants in the United States during the mid-1800s became an icon of Chinese-American cuisine.

At the famed Shun Lee Palace in New York City, a version of this egg foo young has been on the menu since the restaurant first opened in 1971. The chefs have a great trick for forming the omelets: They use a wok ladle to place the egg mixture into the oil so that it sets in the shape of the ladle’s bowl.

Featured in “Orient Express” by Mei Chin.

Yield: 8

Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the gravy:

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
One ½-in. piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

For the omelets:

1⁄2 lb. ground pork
3 Tbsp. soy sauce, divided
3 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
1½ tsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. dry sherry
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sesame oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. vegetable oil, plus more for frying
6 oz. medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
1⁄2 cup canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1⁄3 cup bean sprouts
2 medium scallions, thinly sliced (about 1⁄3 cup), plus more for serving
6 large eggs, lightly beaten

Instructions

Make the gravy: In a small pot over high heat, combine all the gravy ingredients and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened, 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, and cover to keep warm.
Make the omelets: In a medium bowl, stir together the pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, the vinegar, sherry, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, then set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
In a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil until it shimmers. Add the pork mixture and cook, breaking up the meat frequently, until it is no longer pink, 3–4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool slightly. Add the remaining soy sauce, cornstarch, and sesame oil, as well as the shrimp, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, scallions, and eggs, to the pork. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, and stir to combine.
To a large, heavy pot fitted with a deep-fry thermometer, add enough vegetable oil to reach a depth of ¾ inch. Cook over high heat until the oil reaches 350°F. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°F. Using a ladle or measuring cup and working in batches, carefully pour ½-cup scoops of the egg mixture into the oil. Cook, flipping once, until the omelets are puffed and brown, 1½–2 minutes. Transfer the omelets to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm while you continue cooking the rest of the egg mixture. Drizzle with the reserved gravy, garnish with scallions, and serve hot.

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Portuguese Seafood Stew

Brooke Dojny — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:32:57 +0000

Photo: Matt Taylor-Gross • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Matt Taylor-Gross • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

Riffs on caldeirada, a fish stew beloved in Portugal, are perennially popular across seafood-loving New England. This hearty Portuguese seafood stew recipe is adapted from one in Brooke Dojny’s The New England Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, 1999), which tours the region in 350 dishes.

Buy the SAVEUR Selects 4.5-Quart Enameled Coated Oval Braiser with Stainless Steel Lid here.

Yield: 6

Time: 45 minutes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-in. pieces
3 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
⅓ cup olive oil
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves, torn in half
1 green bell pepper, seeded, and roughly chopped
One (16-oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained, crushed by hand
1 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
½ cup dry white wine
18 mussels, washed and debearded
2 lb. boneless, skinless haddock or cod filets, cut into 1½-in. pieces

Instructions

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until easily pierced with a fork, 12–15 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with half of the cilantro and half of the parsley and set aside.
To a large pot set over medium-high heat, add the oil, chile flakes, garlic, onions, bay leaves, bell pepper, and tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the pepper is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the fish stock and wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until about half of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and cook until the mussels just begin to open, 4–5 minutes. Add the fish and continue to cook, covered, until all the mussels are opened and the fish is cooked through, 4–5 minutes more.
Transfer the stew to a large serving bowl, garnish with the remaining cilantro and parsley, and serve with the potatoes.

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Sole à la Grenobloise

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:29:51 +0000

Photography by Murray Hall; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

In classic French cuisine, “Grenobloise” (literally, “of Grenoble,” the city in southeastern France) means the recipe has a sauce of brown butter, capers, parsley, and bits of lemon flesh. The resulting dish isn’t bitter from the lemon because it calls for suprêmes, citrus segments with no pith, peel, or membrane attached. If you don’t have clarified butter on hand, use 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil instead.

Yield: 2

Time: 25 minutes

2 whole skinless sole fillets (about 4 oz. each), halved lengthwise down the center line
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup whole milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 medium lemon
2 Tbsp. clarified butter (ghee; see headnote)
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. capers
2 tsp. coarsely chopped parsley leaves

Instructions

In a shallow dish, season the sole with salt and black pepper and cover with the milk. To another shallow dish, add the flour and season generously with salt and black pepper.
Slice the top and bottom off the lemon. Using a sharp knife, slice down the sides of the lemon to remove and discard the zest and pith. Slice between the membranes to remove the segments, then cut the segments into ½-inch pieces and set aside.
To a skillet set over medium-high heat, add the clarified butter. Remove the fillets from the milk and tuck under the thin, tapered ends to create an even thickness. When the butter is hot and shimmering, dredge the folded fish in the flour, shaking off any excess, then cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.
To the skillet, add the unsalted butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s deep brown and smells nutty, about 3 minutes. Working quickly, remove from the heat and stir in the capers, parsley, and half of the lemon pieces (reserve the other half for another use). Spoon the sauce over the sole and serve immediately.

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The Best Places to Buy Seafood Online Bring Today’s Catch to Your Door

Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 05:23:06 +0000

Istock/Getty Plus

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.

Great fresh fish can be tough to find. Supermarket fishmongers don’t always stock a wide selection, and landlocked folks—who lack the luxury of trekking down to the docks to buy straight from the boat—have even more limited options. Fortunately for home cooks, mail-order seafood delivery has both increased and improved over the past year, as seafood distributors who ordinarily serviced the restaurant industry pivoted to direct-to-consumer sales. Here are some of our favorite online sources for outstanding seafood to make decadent dinners like aromatic grilled swordfish kebabs or creamy seafood bubbly bake.

Best Overall: Fulton Fish Market
Best Value: ButcherBox Seafood Box
Best Oysters: Island Creek Oysters
Best Lobster: Luke’s Lobster
Best Salmon: Alaskan Salmon Company
Best Crab: The Crab Place
Best Ready-to-Cook: Purefish
Best Shelf-Stable: Safe Catch Wild Caught Tuna Fish Pouch

Features to Keep in Mind

Selection

Online seafood selections range from wild-caught whole fish to fillets of farm-raised seafood, and everything in between. Some sites specialize in a certain region, like Alaskan or Maine-sourced seafood, while others offer an ocean’s bounty of crustaceans and freshwater fish.

Subscriptions

Subscribing to an online seafood share is often more sustainable because you can buy from a community supported fishery, securing a share of local catch before it’s even out of the water. Shopping online also typically offers high quality seafood for a more affordable price, and takes the guesswork out of meal planning. Various subscriptions are available.

Shipping

Most seafood is shipped overnight with dry ice to stay as fresh as possible. Given the logistics, orders often have to be over a certain amount in weight and value to make the shipment worthwhile—consider sharing with a neighbor if you’re not ready to stock your freezer with five pounds of salmon.

Sustainability

Our oceans are not an all-you-can-eat buffet, so sustainability is a primary factor for the online seafood purveyors we recommend. To pick the most sustainable varieties, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch app, which monitors which types of fish are most sustainable to eat at any time.

Courtesy of Island Creek Oysters

Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Fulton Fish Market

This Bronx-based purveyor is the largest consortium of seafood wholesalers in the United States. It provides fish for many of New York’s finest restaurants – plus eateries nationwide- and also offers a well-oiled direct-to-consumer sales program. Home-sized, individually cryovaced portions of top quality fish are a huge selling point, as is an extensive shellfish selection. Subscribe to seafood shares, load up your freezer with assorted boxes, or splurge on specialties like uni, octopus, and caviar for a special meal at home.

Best Value: ButcherBox Seafood Box

For quick dinners in an all-in-one shipment, look no further than the 100% wild-caught seafood from ButcherBox. Taking the guesswork out of what’s for dinner, ala carte purchasing isn’t an option, but rather a pre-selected array including ready-to-cook Alaskan sockeye salmon filets, lobster claws, cod, scallops with no added water or chemicals, plus salmon burgers ready for the griddle. At $155 for almost seven pounds of freshly frozen wild seafood, plus free shipping, this is one of the best deals around.

Best Oysters: Island Creek Oysters

The darling of raw bars along the East Coast, Island Creek Oysters has been raising exceptional bivalves in the waters off of Duxbury, Massachusetts since 2000. In addition to retailing oysters and littleneck clams from its own and neighboring farms, Island Creek also offers excellent domestic caviar and an impressive array of European tinned conservas, all shipped overnight to anywhere in the continental United States. Shop samplers, pick specific varieties (like Sweet Neck oysters from Martha’s Vineyard or Wellfleet Oysters from their eponymous Massachusetts town), or buy in bulk to share with a crowd. Not sure where to start? $85 gets you two dozen oysters, plus a shucking knife and glove. (We’ve chosen some of the very best oyster knives here, too.)

Best Lobster: Luke’s Lobster

If you can’t go lobstering off the coast of Maine, opening a package with a chilled live lobster inside is the next best thing. Luke’s 1.25-1.5 lb fresh, wild-caught live Maine lobsters are sold in pairs of two, ready to be steamed, boiled, or grilled. Pricing starts at $110, including overnight shipping. Those who prefer a less alive seafood shipment can also purchase lobster tails, seasoned lobster meat, lobster rolls kits, and more Maine-sourced seafood like scallops, hake, and halibut.

Best Crab: The Crab Place

Even the best in-person fish markets rarely offer a ton of variety when it comes to live crustaceans, which is why The Crab Place is such a stand-out. This vendor ships either live or cooked, with a particular speciality in Maryland blue crab. You can even pick the size and sex of your hard or softshell crabs, which are sold by the dozen or bushel. The Crab Place also sells a handful of prepared products like crabcakes and picked meat, as well as Gulf shrimp and Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Best Salmon: Alaskan Salmon Company

As a fisherman-owned and operated direct-to-consumer platform, Alaskan Salmon Company directly connects consumers and fishermen. Used by restaurants and chefs across the country, this site lets you purchase fresh-out-of-the-water Copper River king salmon, sockeye salmon, and more of the seasonal catch. You’ll receive the highest quality salmon while supporting some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world.

This wild salmon is all sushi grade, so you can slice it up for poke or sashimi at home. Of course, it’s great cooked too. Salmon is sold in bulk, in five pound boxes with filets ranging from 8-10oz, so you can stock up and secure your share for salmon season. Salmon can be ordered at any time, and typically ships within a week of purchase.

Best Ready-to-Cook Seafood: Purefish

Fine dining seafood purveyors have launched a direct-to-consumer sustainable seafood delivery program that easily lets you replicate restaurant-worthy dishes at home. Purefish offers 6oz. fully trimmed center cuts—from saltwater striped bass, mahi mahi, ahi tuna, and many more—packaged on disposable oven-safe aluminum trays. Their goal is simple: Get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes. Boxes start at $150 for four trays and can be customized to your liking. Feeling decision fatigue? Opt for a pre-curated version, like a grill-ready selection or nutritionist-curated omega box.

Best Shelf-Stable: Safe Catch Elite Lowest Mercury Wild-Caught Tuna Fish Pouch

Whether you’re stocking up the pantry, packing for a hiking trip, or just want a grab-and-go seafood option, Safe Catch’s 3 oz wild caught tuna packets are the best fit. Mercury- tested to be safe for kids, pregnant tuna lovers, and those with special diets, this tuna is high quality, robustly flavorful, and portioned into smaller servings than your typical 5 oz can for efficient meal prep and snacking. The packages are light enough to travel with and stack nicely in any cabinet. Wild Catch also sells salmon and sardines online.

Courtesy of Pure Fish

Ask the Experts

Should I order fresh or frozen seafood?

“With freezing technology these days, both fresh and frozen seafood are great options,” says Curt Brown, Marine Biologist and Lobster Harvester at Portland, Maine’s Ready Seafood. “Fresh, local seafood is always a great option, but frozen options allow consumers to try a diverse array of delicious seafood items.”

Kyle Lee, founder of Alaskan Salmon Company, adds that “fresh” labels can sometimes be misleading. “For example, the traditional supply chain for most Alaskan salmon is that it goes through 7-10 middlemen frozen before it hits the grocery fish market labeled as “fresh” because it is thawed out and ready to be consumed that night. The quality deteriorates, the salmon is mushy, and gets a bad rep,” he says. “Purchasing frozen salmon online, directly from the boat, means it is flash frozen immediately after returning to shore, and the meat and flavor are preserved at peak freshness and maintain the quality until you unpack your order.” The fish featured on this list all fit into this description.

How should I store seafood that I order?

Once your shipment arrives, store it in the refrigerator if you plan on using it that night or the next day, Lee recommends. “However, if you are planning on storing anything longer than that, you need to store it in a vacuum-sealed bag (at minimum, 3mm thick) and place it in a freezer,” he said. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, just push air out of bags while sealing. “This prevents freezer burn and extends the amount of time you can freeze your seafood, as well as gives some protection against sharp corners or other potentially damaging items in the freezer.” Use permanent markers to label seafood with the date frozen, and any additional details to make defrosting easy. For seafood fans who like to stock up or buy in bulk, a chest freezer is a worthy investment.

“On average you can store seafood in the freezer for up to a year,” Lee says. “It will start to lose its flavor and meat quality the longer you store it.” While anything can be frozen, he notes that fattier fish, like salmon and black cod, freeze better.

The post The Best Places to Buy Seafood Online Bring Today’s Catch to Your Door appeared first on Saveur.

Rhode Island Stuffies

Kat Craddock — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:46:15 +0000

Matt Taylor-Gross

This recipe is excerpted from Stirring the Pot, a collection of recipes and wine pairings from the New York chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. Preorder your copy here; proceeds benefit LDNY’s scholarship fund.

I grew up in Rhode Island, but it wasn’t until I left that I really appreciated just how special my home state’s food culture really is. With a history of fishing, shipping and manufacturing, New England’s coastline has been a cultural melting pot for generations. Today, Rhode Island’s cuisine is still shaped by a wide range of international influences: global foods like French Canadian meat pies, Cape Verdean cachopa, fresh Italian pastas, Portuguese custard tarts, Syrian stuffed grape leaves, and Lao sour sausage abound in restaurants, bakeries, and homes.

Overfishing and other environmental concerns have pushed Rhode Island’s fisheries to operate more sustainably; while certain species are less bountiful, others, like squid and clams, still thrive. Quahogs (large, hard-shelled Atlantic clams) can be found along the coast, from Cape Cod to New Jersey, but Rhode Islanders feel a particular ownership of them. Too tough to eat from the shell, their meat is added to specialties like clamcakes, chowders, and “stuffies.” While similar to dainty clams casino and oysters Rockefeller, the stuffy is less of a pinkies-up affair. Paired with chowder, a single one is a meal. This version is just about as classic as they come. Seek out Portuguese-style chouriço, which is softer than Spanish chorizo. (Michael’s is a reliable, New England–made brand that is available online from Portugalia Marketplace.)

Yield: 12

Time: 3 hours

12 whole quahogs, scrubbed
½ cup shucked clams
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
6 oz. hot or mild Portuguese chouriço, finely chopped (1¾ cups)
6 oz. yellow onions, finely chopped (about 1 medium, 1¾ cups)
5 oz. celery, finely chopped (2 cups)
1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce, plus more for serving
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. celery salt
½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes (optional)
8 oz. (6 cups) coarse bread crumbs (preferably homemade)
3 Tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Purge the quahogs: fill a large bowl with generously salted cold water, add the quahogs, and set aside for 15 minutes. Place the shucked clams in a medium heatproof bowl and set it by the stove.
Transfer the quahogs to a pot, leaving any grit behind in the bowl. Add 2 cups of cold water, cover, and turn the heat to high. Steam just until the clams begin to open, 3–5 minutes (start checking after 3). Using tongs, transfer each open clam to a large bowl, allowing up to 8 minutes for all of the clams to open; discard any that remain shut. Strain the hot cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over the reserved shucked clams, discarding any solids from the pot. Set aside until the clams are slightly firm and the liquid is cool enough to touch, about 5 minutes. Rinse and dry the pot and return it to the stove.
Meanwhile, pull the quahogs from their shells (add any accumulated juices to the bowl). Set the shells side. Finely chop the meat and transfer to a large, clean bowl. Remove the shucked clams (reserving the quahog-cooking liquid); chop them too, add to the bowl and set aside.
Add 6 tablespoons butter and the chouriço to the pot and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sausage begins to brown, 8–10 minutes. Add the onion and celery and continue cooking until the onion is translucent but not yet browned, 4–6 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup of the reserved quahog liquid, followed by the Tabasco, paprika, celery salt and crushed red chile flakes (if using); turn the heat down to low and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has evaporated, 8–10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut through the quahog shell hinges to separate. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange 12 of the half shells on it, open side up. (Discard the remaining shells or reserve for another use.)
To the bowl of chopped clams, add the bread crumbs, parsley, the contents of the skillet, and 1¼ cups of the reserved quahog liquid; toss well to combine. (The bread crumbs should be thoroughly hydrated but not soggy; if necessary, add a bit more reserved quahog liquid or water.) Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Divide the stuffing evenly among the half shells, packing gently into loose mounds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Uncover the baking sheet, dot the cold stuffies with the remaining butter, then bake until browned, sizzling, and heated through, 25–30 minutes. Serve the stuffies hot, with extra Tabasco and lemon wedges.

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