Cooking The Catch
Cooking seafood should be as simple as it gets. It cooks quickly because seafood lacks the connective tissue of red meats and poultry. The simple guide for finfish fillets is to cook them 10 minutes per inch of thickness. So if the fish filet is only a 1/2 thick, then a cooking time of only 5 minutes is needed. Add a couple of minutes if cooking in foil or using a thick sauce. The moister the fish, the better the flavor.
Baking, broiling and frying are simple, traditional ways to cook seafood. But grilling can be fun by cooking either whole fish or shellfish in their shells. Poaching is a great, simple, quick way to keep fish moist by cooking it in fish stock, chicken stock or water along with herbs and spices. Steaming is also not just for shellfish. Whole fish, fish steaks, etc., can be cooking in only one inch of water or even beer. Season fish before steaming in a shallow pan of liquid.
Fish Mix – Recipe’s Using Eastern Shore Seafood
Bayside Broiled Croaker or White Perch
4 pounds headed, gutted, scaled (dressed) fish
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 stick soft butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 chopped onion
4 oz white wine (optional)
seafood seasoning or salt and pepper
Place fish on greased baking pan. Brush with lemon juice and wine and sprinkle seasonings and let sit in fridge for 20 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients and brush over fish. Cook fish in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Wreckfish Stew
2 pounds chunked tautog, rockfish, cobia, or black drumfish
2 dozen clams or mussels (or 1/2 pound crabmeat)
3 slices bacon
1 chopped onion
4 chopped potatoes
1/2 cup white wine
2 quarts water
12 oz. chicken broth
1 10 can of tomatoes
1 bag frozen corn
2 cloves garlic
pinch of tarragon
seafood seasonings of choice
In a large pot brown bacon and remove. Sauté onion and garlic first, then add fish chunks into grease for one minute, turning. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Crabmeat Wow!
1/2 pound crabmeat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 stick butter
4 cloves chopped garlic
4 oz. glass white wine
8 oz. light cream
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 pinches of black pepper
seafood seasoning or sea salt to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 pound linguine
While cooking pasta, sauté garlic quickly in
olive oil. Add butter, melt, and then sauté crabmeat for 3 minutes. Then add
all other ingredients, except cheese. Bring to slight boil and quickly turn to
low simmer and cook on for 3 more minutes. Remove, add cheese and serve over
hot pasta. Have a glass of wine and say Wow!
Learn all about buying and preparing
Maryland’s famous blue crab.