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KEEPING YOUR SEAFOOD IN THE FRIDGE
Most importantly 'fresh is best' and seafood where possible should be
consumed immediately
where possible. It is not always practical for us to eat our seafood
straight away so here
are some tips to help you keep the seafood in prime condition.
There are a couple of important factors to keeping seafood in the fridge:
(General)
Always make sure the seafood is covered appropriately, see below
(this stops the seafood odour effecting your open dairy products).
Never allow it to sit in its own juice, make sure you have the seafood
draining
(and tip out the drained juices frequently).
Cover with ice and place in the coldest part of your fridge - which is
usually the
bottom shelf, seafood is best refrigerated
at 0 - 4 degrees centigrade.
It is not a good practice to allow any seafood to sit in its
own juices
for any length of time.
The seafood will start a natural chemical reaction in the juices
turning
the product off (or start to decompose).
(Whole Fish)
If the fish is in the fridge for a very short time
(eg; waiting for the
oven to heat up) then it is ok to store it
on a dinner plate covered with a sheet of glad bake.
If you are keeping it in the fridge for a little longer then:
Fill a plastic container or oven tray with ice (break the cube ice up a
little bit by
bashing it in a tea towel) put the whole fish in the tray propped up
(like it was swimming in the sea), doing this allows the juices to drain
through the fish to the bottom of the tray. Laying it down in the tray
creates a pond of juices on one side of the fish flesh. Cover with a
sheet of silicone paper (glad bake) - not glad wrap.
The paper can just
be loosely over
the fish you don't need to wrap it. The paper creates both an odour
barrier
to stop the seafood odour leeching into your open dairy products
and barrier to
stop the fridge from drying out your fish.
(Fish Fillets)
Ideally it should be stored in a container that allows drainage.
We sell a
great
container in the Seafood Market but if you don't have
anything
suitable try this tip:You will need a small bread & butter plate, an extra large dinner plate
and silicone paper (glad bake).
Place the B&B plate upside down on top
of the dinner plate, lay the
fillets over the B&B plate.
This method allows you to easily drain off the juices that have
collected
around the rim of the dinner plate.
(Prawns, crabs...)
Use our special drain containers available in our seafood market or try
this:
Place the prawns in a large colander (large strainer) put a plastic
container / bowl or tray underneath to catch the juices
and cover the prawns / crab with a little ice and a sheet of glad bake.
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FREEZING SEAFOOD
The most important thing when freezing seafood is to make sure the
seafood is as fresh as possible. Before freezing, prepare fish as
for use.
If you want to serve it in fillet form, then it is best
filleted before freezing.
Whole Fish
Must be gilled and gutted first. Scales can be left on as these act
as an insulator
retaining flavour and moisture. However, if scaling is done
beforehand it is one less step of preparation before cooking the
fish. Whole fish can be trimmed and wrapped in plastic wrap,
(put extra plastic wrap over the
fins that may have potential to
puncture the freezer bag), then place in a freezer bag.
Remove air
from the bag (a freezer pump is ideal) and seal.
This will help prevent the fish from dying out and excess ice
forming
inside the bag. Lay flat in freezer. Label and date.
Prawns
The ideal way to freeze prawns is in frozen block form.
Prawns can
be frozen raw (green) or cooked.
Best is to leave the shell and head on, as this acts as an insulator.
Place prawns in a freezer proof container i.e. plastic freezer ware,
filling the container to three quarters with product and leaving
room
for water to be added. Cover with water, seal with lid and tape
around lid.
Label and date.
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THAWING SEAFOOD
Here are a couple of ways for you to thaw seafood quickly and
safely.
Whole Fish
Thaw in the refrigerator (preferably the top shelf / the warmest
part of the fridge).
Make sure the draining water is caught in a container and the
product is not sitting in its own juice.
Remove the draining juices frequently.
Prawns
You can use the same method as above however the method I prefer is:
Make a brine: Fill your sink with cool tap water and tip in enough
ice
to create an icy slurry. Add a little rock salt, dip your finger in
and taste the water.
If it tastes like the sea then you have yourself a brine.
Take your prawns out of the container (in the block), place into the
brine.
As the prawns become free from the block and are loose in the brine,
check frequently.
When they are firm but not solid then take them out of the brine
and
put into a strainer or bowl and serve.
Or put back in the fridge on the bottom shelf using the fridge
storing method above.
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HOW TO CLEAN...?
- Sand Crab or Mud Crab
Twist out large nippers crack out the pincer end of the claw with
the back
end of a heavy knife.
Remove the back shell by lifting the
under flap and peeling back the top
shell.
Under cold running water clean away the gills and viscera.
Cut
the body in half and then cut between the legs to the centre - to expose
the flesh.
HOW TO...? - Peel a prawn
Hold the body firmly just behind the head then twist off the head.
Pull
back the legs removing the centre section of the shell in the same
motion.
Squeeze the tail segment and gently pull out the flesh
Applying this peeling method will give you more usable prawn flesh!
I hope these
tips help. If you would like more information try this hyperlink (click
here ) and
visit the Queensland Seafood Industry Assoc.
Web Site.
Thanks
Donna Browne
Morgans Seafood
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