Seafood Recipes and Whole Fish Preparation
Seafood Recipes—(Graciously assembled and published by CAFC CSF volunteer, Natasha Hawke)
Whole Fish Preparation Videos
Preparing/Cooking Flounder—(A video made by Aubrey and Natasha Hawke)
Preparing/Cooking Northern Shrimp—(A video made by Aubrey and Natasha Hawke)
Freezing Tips
Air is the enemy to any freezing of seafood. Vacuum sealing is best. However, not everyone has a vacuum sealer. A simple work around can be done with zip lock type freezer bags and a pot of water.
1) Wash fish under cold running water and place in a colander to drain.
2) Pat dry and cut into portion sizes you'll use for cooking.
3) Use an appropriately sized zip lock type freezer bag and place single portion into the bag. Seal the bag almost all the way, leaving a small part unzipped.
4) Holding onto the top of the bag, in appropriately sized pot of water submerge the bag to squeeze out the air. Just as you're about to submerge the unlocked part, zip the bag shut.
5) Pat the bag dry and label it with date and species type.
6) Put in the freezer.
Fish stays well for at least three months. Also, freezing it as soon as possible helps retain it's quality.
The best way to defrost any seafood or meat is to almost reverse the above procedure. (Please never microwave your seafood to defrost it.)
1) Place an appropriately sized bowl in to the sink.
2) Put the zip lock type bags of frozen seafood into the bowl.
3) Fill the bowl with cold water and when it's full leave the tap on with a slow stream of cold water circulating into the bowl.
This method is much faster than letting it defrost in the fridge and is actually the preferred method by food safety standards.
Whole Fish Benefits
Cooking fish whole is a dynamite way to maximize the yield you can get from a whole fish share. When you fillet a fish (depending on the species), a skilled cutter can get up to a 45% yield of meat. However, if you cook the fish whole, the yield can rise to 65–75%. Use the bones (aka, "racks") and head for fish stock and the yield goes to 100%. Cooking fish whole and using all its parts in your culinary endeavors is a far better bang for your food dollar.
There's also the simple truth about animal proteins cooked on their bones. They taste better. Granted, seafood's bones are slimmer and more numerous compared to terestrial fare, but, if cooked properly, fish should easily separate from its bones and skin without much fuss.
Species Considerations When Cooking CAFC Whole Fish Shares
"Roundfish"—Cod, Pollock, and Haddock: These species will be gutted and gilled with head on. When these species are the whole fish share, you'll generally get one fish per share. Pollock and Haddock should be scaled if you intend to eat the skin. Their fillet yield is up to 45%. Besides a thorough rinse under cold water after preparation, and before cooking, little else needs to be done with them... until cooking. When cooking them whole, a good idea is to to make well-placed cuts in the thickest part of their sides so heat can penetrate more evenly into the flesh. These three fish have very similar bone structures.
"Flatfish"—Yellowtails, Dabs, Grey Sole, Blackbacks... (the "both eyes on same side" species): These fish will be delivered wholly intact. They need to be gutted and headed. They don't need to be scaled. Because of their anatomical nature, it's best to remove the gills when you cut off the head. With a proper cut, you can remove a good part of the guts as well. (You may encounter a pinkish sac, that'll be the roe—in some cuisines this is a top-dollar delicacy.) Filleting Flatfish takes a little more finesse than a Roundfish and their fillet yield is lower, 30–33%. (As always, rinse thoroughly under cold water after processing.) However, if you were to trim their fins with a pair of kitchen shears—in addition to gutting and heading—trimmed flatfish pan fry up very nicely. The Flatfish all have very similar bone structure.
Hake and Monkfish: These two species are the big bargains of CAFC. Both species will arrive headless. This means no gutting or gilling—or head! (Skinning them is a strong consideration.) Basically you get the tail meat section of the fish and the yield is 80–90% right out of the bag. (As always, please rinse thoroughly with cold water before cooking.)
Smaller "Whole" Species—Whiting, Redfish, Mackarel: These fish will be wholly intact and like the Flatfish, there'll be several of them to a whole fish share. All three of these species should be gutted and gilled before cooking them. Whether you care to leave their heads on is up to you. Presentation-wise, head on fish is always a "wow" factor for folks not squeamish about having their dinner look them in the eye. (Please note, Redfish require a higher level of caution when preparing. Their fin spines are quite rigid and very sharp. Puncture wounds from Redfish fin spines can cause infection if not cleaned quickly under warm, soapy water. If you do encounter a puncture wound from Redfish, as with any first-aid situation, please thoroughly clean and rinse the wound, then bandage.)