Know Your Seafood

What to look for when purchasing seafood

 

Whole Fish
GOOD	BAD
Lustrous and bright colour	Dull colour
Eyes bright and bulging	Sunken eyes
Bright gills	Grey slimy gills
Firm flesh, spring back to touch	Broken or damaged skin
Pleasant sea smell	Offensive smell
Fillets
GOOD	BAD
Shiny and firm	Dull and soft
Good shape	Oozing water when touched
Pleasant sea smell	Offensive smell
Bright colour	Discolouration
Shellfish
GOOD	BAD
Shells intact	Discolouration, mainly at joints
Shell should be tightly closed Spray with water to see if they close as some stay open when still alive	Broken shells
Pleasant sea smell	Offensive odour
Good lustrous colour	Open, don’t close when tapped

Make friends with your fishmonger much the same as you would your local butcher.

If they are good you will confidently be able to take their advice.

The main objectives when buying fish are:

• A fish to suit the occasion or recipe
• Quality and freshness
• Value for money

Our fishmongers are only to pleased to answer your questions and offer recommendations based on their extensive experience.

Seafood - Cuts & Terminology

FISH

 W - Whole fish with the gills and gut

G - Whole fish that has been gutted only

GG - Whole fish that has been gilled and gutted

HG - Fish with the head and gut removed

Butterfly - A fish that has been gutted and split, but with head still attached

Butterfly Fillets - Gutted, split and head removed

Cutlets - Sections of fish cut vertically

Fillets - Skin off, rib out fillets

S+B Fillets - Skin off, rib and pin bones removed

Portions - Skin off, rib and pin bones removed, cut to size

Skin On Portions - Scaled, skin on, rib and pin bones removed, cut to size

Skin On Fillets - Scaled fillets skin on and rib bones removed

Butchered Fillets - Scaled, skin on fillets with the rib bones in and wing on

 PRAWNS

WC - Whole Cooked

Cutlets - Head and shell removed, but the tail attached

Meat - Head, shell and tail removed

Tails - Head removed, shell on tails

Green - Raw

Grading is usually how many pieces to the pound eg: 30/40 = 30 to 40 pieces per pound (450g)

All live shellfish are described as such (live) and raw crustacean are known as “green”.

Dressed crab is a crab in which the meat has been removed and returned to the shell.

 

Seafood - Chilled Storage

WHOLE FISH

• Scale the fish then remove the gills and gut
• Wash well under cold water then dry
• Wrap in plastic wrap, aluminium foil, or place in covered container
• Store in your refrigerator at or below 4°C (Seafood keeps best at 1-2°C)
• Use within 2 –3 days

FILLETS AND CUTLETS

• Wash under cold water then dry well
• Wrap in plastic wrap, aluminium foil, or place in covered container
• Store in your refrigerator at or below 4°C (Seafood keeps best at 1-2°C)
• Use within 2 –3 days

SHELLFISH

• Wrap in plastic wrap, aluminium foil, or place in covered container
• Use within 2/3 days
• Live Blue Mussels, Pacific Oysters, Pippies and Cockles should be covered with a damp cloth and placed in a covered container.
• Use within 3 days. Discard any that open prior to cooking.

SMOKED FISH

• Put in covered plastic container or wrap in aluminium foil
• Do not wrap in cling wrap as smoked fish sweats
• Please refer to the use by dates.

 

Seafood – Freezing and Frozen Storage

• Ensure fish or shellfish are absolutely fresh prior to freezing
• Do no re freeze thawed seafood!When freezing place the fish in the coldest part of your freezer

WHOLE FISH OR FILLETS

• Whole fish should be gilled and gutted
• Wrap each whole fish or fillet in plastic
• Label, date and then freeze
• Fish may be kept frozen for up to 6 months although best used within 3 months

SMOKED SEAFOOD

• Smoked fish tends to accumulate a slightly more salty taste upon freezing
• To freeze smoked fish, wrap in plastic
• Label, date and then freeze
• Best used within 3 months

SHELLFISH

• Prawns (Green)
  Place in plastic container eg: Ice cream container.
  Cover with water
  Seal and freeze forming a large ice block
  Label, date and then freeze

• Pacific Oysters
  May be frozen whole but are best frozen on the half shell
  Set out the Oysters on a rack and spray them water
  Freeze then re spray them with water and return them to the freezer
  This will form a glaze that will protect the meat
  Remove from trays and store in a suitable container
  Label and date

• Squid. Octopus
  Remove guts and skin then clean and rinse well.
  Wrap in plastic
  Label, date and then freeze

 

Thawing Seafood

Remember that fish starts to deteriorate much faster when the temperatures rise above 4 degrees.

Try to anticipate when you will need the frozen products thawed.

If possible allow 24hrs for thawing. If the fish is shatter packed gently drop the carton onto a clean hard surface to separate fillets. The fillets may be allowed to on a clean bench for up to two hours but check that the fish remains at or below 5°C At the first sign of thawing place the fish in the fridge to complete the thawing process.

If you have misjudged the timing and require frozen fish urgently, please observe the following rules:

Thaw individual fish fillets in cold saltwater

As soon as fillets have lost their frozen stiffness (still icy centre), take out of water and put in chiller.

Remember when thawing fish fillets, their temperature should not rise above 4°C.

THE REASON FOR USING SALTED WATER WHEN THAWING

The term osmosis means that liquid will pass through a semi permeable membrane (cells in the fish fillet) from a weak solution to a stronger solution.

The fillets or shellfish (especially scallops) will absorb unsalted water (up to 30% in weight). This results in cellular breakdown and severe deterioration in taste and texture of the product. To avoid this always add enough salt to water to give it a sea taste. The salt in the fish and in the water will then have similar saline content and cellular breakdown will not occur.