Seafood Seasoning/Prep

[OneArmSteve]

I am interested in everyone's go to seasoning and cooking methods for seafood. I mostly cook shrimp and some fish, but would love to hear any and all recommendations. I have kept it pretty basic in the past using Old Bay for shrimp boil low country style.

Any good ideas are appreciated.

[Bully13]

I cook a lot of fish and the big difference maker for me is when I discovered powdered ginger. I use that, olive oil and tony's. sprinkle just a tad of garlic powder too. fresh lime juice. I also will beat up an egg and throw it in a dish of milk and let the fish soak for a little while. Then I sprinkle some bread crumbs on it. Fire up the frying pan on the stove top with a little olive oil and chopped onions. 30 seconds or less on each side and your done. you wanna have a tad of raw in the center. Over cooking fish is the main mistake people make when cooking fish.

[OneArmSteve]

This definitely sounds good. Will try. Thanks for the input.

[SpeckleDawg]

Nothing fancy, just a few of my usuals:

Fish tacos:
Any fish that has a little bit firmer and whiter meat works great. I don't use much for seasoning, just a little "cajun seasoning" is really all you need. Then a little oil in a pan over medium heat. I use a fish taco sauce recipe similar to this one, but no capers. The dill makes a big difference to me: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/fish-taco-sauce-102672


Boiled Shrimp:
Pro-Boil (have tried a dozen different seasonings and have found this to be the best)
Little bit of cayenne
Half cut lemons
Onion
I cook my corn/potatos first and take them out. Then bring back to a boil, drop in shrimp and then cut heat after maybe 1 minute. Stir them around until they are the right color and then drop in some frozen jugs (gallon jugs in big pot outside; 20oz bottles work fine inside on the stove). This will drop the temp, but not dilute your seasoning. Then just let them soak and taste occasionally, until they are to your desired spice.

Grilled Shrimp:
I like a 16-20 or larger for grilling.
Peel the shrimp, leaving only the tail
Simple marinade is a sweet thai chili dipping sauce & pineapple juice; terryaki and pineapple is good too.
Skewer and grill for a few minutes on each side. I like to add pineapple chunks between the shrimp on the skewers.

Fried Fish:
Easy as it gets - Fresh speckled trout & Louisiana brand Seasoned Crispy Fish Fry - fried golden brown!

Those are a few of my favorites, but I'll change it up from time to time.

[Bully13]

Nothing fancy, just a few of my usuals:

Fish tacos:
Any fish that has a little bit firmer and whiter meat works great. I don't use much for seasoning, just a little "cajun seasoning" is really all you need. Then a little oil in a pan over medium heat. I use a fish taco sauce recipe similar to this one, but no capers. The dill makes a big difference to me: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/fish-taco-sauce-102672


Boiled Shrimp:
Pro-Boil (have tried a dozen different seasonings and have found this to be the best)
Little bit of cayenne
Half cut lemons
Onion
I cook my corn/potatos first and take them out. Then bring back to a boil, drop in shrimp and then cut heat after maybe 1 minute. Stir them around until they are the right color and then drop in some frozen jugs (gallon jugs in big pot outside; 20oz bottles work fine inside on the stove). This will drop the temp, but not dilute your seasoning. Then just let them soak and taste occasionally, until they are to your desired spice.

Grilled Shrimp:
I like a 16-20 or larger for grilling.
Peel the shrimp, leaving only the tail
Simple marinade is a sweet thai chili dipping sauce & pineapple juice; terryaki and pineapple is good too.
Skewer and grill for a few minutes on each side. I like to add pineapple chunks between the shrimp on the skewers.

Fried Fish:
Easy as it gets - Fresh speckled trout & Louisiana brand Seasoned Crispy Fish Fry - fried golden brown!

Those are a few of my favorites, but I'll change it up from time to time.

Thanks Speckled. Will try Pro-Boil. And you are very correct on taking the shrimp out before they over boil. Bad mistake because not only do over boiled shrimp taste not nearly as good, they are hell to peel.

[BrunswickDawg]

Tony's is an easy go to when I don't feel like doing any spices from scratch.

I like to make jerk seasoning and do jerk shrimp a good bit. When I'm in a hurry a llocal bbq joint also has an excellent jerk seasoning that they make and sell that's perfect for shrimp - http://ssbbq.bigcartel.com

[Uncle Ruckus]

I coat all my seafood in mustard before I fry. I use a 50/50 blend of yellow cornmeal and flour keep the seasoning simple and let fresh, quality seafood speak for itself. Cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic. That’s it. You don’t taste the mustard at all, it just helps the batter stick to it good.

[OneArmSteve]

I coat all my seafood in mustard before I fry. I use a 50/50 blend of yellow cornmeal and flour keep the seasoning simple and let fresh, quality seafood speak for itself. Cayenne, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic. That’s it. You don’t taste the mustard at all, it just helps the batter stick to it good.

Using the mustard is interesting. I have never heard of doing this before, but definitely plan on trying.

[Howboutdemdogs]

Had to screen shot the recipes from Spec,,,, the fish taco sounds great. I also put mustard on my catfish before frying with Zatarain’s Fish Fry, Slap Yo Mamma, and added yellow corn meal.

[shoeless joe]

Blackened catfish: Melt half a stick of butter in a large bowl and liberally add blackened season. Pre made is fine but we sometimes mix our own seasoning. Mix together and add in filets. Make sure both sides of filet get well coated. Try not to over do the season on the filet tho cuz it will burn

Heat cast iron skillet and get extremely hot. I like to do this outside on a gas grill or eye. Have done it on charcoal and it adds a little grilled flavor but doesn't quite heat skillet as well.

Melt a little butter in the skillet and add filets. Should get a good bit of smoke and steam when fish go down; hence why I prefer doin this outside. Cook 1-2 minutes per side depending on thickness.



Seafood marinade: I've used this extremely simple marinade on shrimp, catfish, and red snapper when grilling. Italian, Worcestershire, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

When I use the marinade I grill over coals and on aluminum foil. Place the filet down and don't flip. Serve over brown or Spanish rice. Or grill boudin and serve over a butterflied link of the boudin. I really like to do this with the belly meat of a large flathead. The meat is firmer and is very much like eating a seafood steak.

[parabrave]

For marinating I use Papa Johns garlic butter. Been using it on fish for years.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Blackened catfish: Melt half a stick of butter in a large bowl and liberally add blackened season. Pre made is fine but we sometimes mix our own seasoning. Mix together and add in filets. Make sure both sides of filet get well coated. Try not to over do the season on the filet tho cuz it will burn

Heat cast iron skillet and get extremely hot. I like to do this outside on a gas grill or eye. Have done it on charcoal and it adds a little grilled flavor but doesn't quite heat skillet as well.

Melt a little butter in the skillet and add filets. Should get a good bit of smoke and steam when fish go down; hence why I prefer doin this outside. Cook 1-2 minutes per side depending on thickness.

This is pretty much my only go-to seafood method, and you described it pretty much to a T. I too try to do it outdoors on the grill when I can because of the smoke and grease splatters it creates. I do rainbow trout, though, instead of catfish, just because that's the freshest fish I can buy where I live. It's phenomenal.

The only other noteworthy seafood that I've done recently is shrimp stir-fry. I coated them in a very thin layer of flour (or corn starch?) and then tossed them in a wok with oil and a crap-ton of garlic, ginger, and scallions. Throw a little sweet and salty on the back end (soy sauce, honey, whatever) and you've got a solid add-in for tacos, rice, or stir-fried vegetables.

Good advice in this thread. I need to eat more fish.