A pleasure that nobody should miss is to enjoy a delicious dinner of fresh shellfish. It is easiest to do this, of course, if you live on the coast or nearby. However, if you live inland and don’t have good access to seafood, there may be a specialty shop or a restaurant in your area that can sell you fish that were flown in that day. Of course the best place to get fresh seafood is from a reputable online seller. With the introduction of overnight delivery from Fedex to the continental US, there is absolutely no reason for you not to enjoy a fresh seafood meal on a regular basis. Frozen fish is not a great replacement.
Who is to question the king of seafood is none other than lobster? It must have taken a brave person to decide to try this thing the first time. Believe it or not, they were very unpopular for the longest time. To us, this pricey delicacy was once the food of peasants. Although true, it will probably be only a small comfort when your forking over $11.95 a pound in stores or $29.95 in a restaurant. Lots of times, the only way to ensure your getting the freshest lobster as possible is to order online. After all, this way you can be certain its fresh because you are ordering fresh from the coast and having it shipped directly to you.
If you wish to prepare lobster at home, you buy one per person, alive and kicking at your fishmonger or seafood counter, bringing them home in a bag. Do not put them in fresh water; people often do, but it will kill them. Just close the bag well and keep it in the refrigerator. They don’t really keep: plan to eat them that evening.
This is the difficult thing. Depressingly, every lobster will sacrifice him or herself for your dinner, and you are the person to cause this occurrence. In order to be as humane as possible, you may release them into a pot of fiercely boiling water, or you can kill them first by sticking a knive swiftly between the body and the head in order to instantly kill them. Selecting the latter option means steaming them in a smaller quantity of water. Grilling your lobster is also an option.
Serve your lobster with some butter and lemon, put on a bib, and don’t stand on ceremony. There are tasty morsels of meat all throughout the shell. Green tomalley or red roe which you may find in the body is edible as well, and gourmets prize it.
This type of ocean-based meal doesn’t need limit itself to lobster, of course. What about trying some fresh shellfish like mussels (just scrub them well and steam them in water, wine or broth)? What about steamer clams, which you steam and then dip in clam broth to wash any remaining sand from the beach? Oysters are popular fried, baked, and even raw. And then there’s shrimp, langoustines, crayfish? To enjoy the gift of the sea, these are all delicious ways.
If all these kinds of seafood are still a bit daunting, there’s another choice for the faint of heart. You can always go to the soup aisle and purchase some clam chowder. Fresh fish is better, but you’ll at least get the true briny taste of the ocean. Serve it with oyster crackers, perhaps an extra dash of cream, and lots of ground black pepper. Then, pretend you’re on the beach.
A dinner of fresh shellfish is an experience nobody should miss. If you don’t live near the coast, you can still enjoy shellfish at a specialty shop or restaurant that can sell you fish flown in that day. You can also purchase seafood from a reputable online vendor. The king of seafood is the lobster, and to ensure you’re getting the freshest, order it online. Humanely prepare the meal by dropping them in water at a rolling boil. With lemon and butter this shellfish tastes delicious. Other ocean-themed meals include mussels, fresh fish, oysters or clam chowder. Sit back with your meal and pretend you’re on the beach.
- Matthew Lewis