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Serving Seafood

Trudeau offers you a large range of seafood kitchen utensils to help facilitate your meal preparation. Discover several tips for successful dinners and food conservation.

Lobster

How to prepare lobster

There are several ways to prepare lobster :

• On the barbecue
• In the oven, grilled with emmenthal, using an Asian marinade
• In a cream and caper sauce in a cantaloupe salad

Choosing and transporting your lobster

A 750 g (1.5 lb) lobster is usually enough for one adult. Pick lobsters that are very much alive, that you will then carry in plastic bags where you've carefully made holes so that they are able to breathe a little. Don't wait too long before putting them in a cool place.

At home, keep your lobster in the refrigerator or a cooler.

Tip for putting your lobster to sleep

Here is a tip for putting your lobster to sleep. Place the biggest lobster in the bottom of your sink, place it on its stomach and extend your hand along the tail. Close the palm of your hand to form a shell on the tail of the lobster and hold it firmly for a minute. The lobster will slowly lose its tone and collapse.

Cut the elastics that hold the claws in place with seafood scissors and immerse the lobster, head first, into the boiling water. Repeat this starting with the biggest and ending with the smallest!

Tick tock tick tock...

The cooking time is very easy. Boil water and add the lobsters. Once they've been added, the water will stop boiling for a moment. As soon as the water starts to boil again, count seven minutes for the first 450 grams (1 lb) and one minute more for each additional 225 grams (1/2 lb). It mustn't be overcooked or its meat will become leathery.

As soon as it has obtained a nice red colour, remove it from the water with kitchen tongs, drain and cut lengthwise.

What about the BBQ?

Nothing could be simpler than cooking on the BBQ. Preheat the barbecue to medium heat. Cut the live lobster in two lengthwise and remove the small pocket located close to the head.

Brush generously with melted butter, oil and fresh lemon juice with a silicone basting brush.

Place the lobster meat side on the oiled grill of the barbecue and calculate approximately seven minutes per 450 g (1 lb).

Conservation

Before freezing shellfish at home, it is recommended that you follow a few easy safety rules. Immediately following cooking, it is important to cool the lobster. Freeze lobster meat in the cooled cooking water or in vacuum-sealed bags.

You will then be able to keep the lobster for up to one month after freezing.

Mollusks

The most commonly-consumed mollusks in Canada are oysters and mussels. The two most-widely known varieties in Canada:

• Caraquet, coming from New Brunswick
• Malpeque, coming from Prince Edward Island

Mollusk selection

It is very important to make sure the mollusks are fresh before eating them.

First, check the harvest date on the package or with your fishmonger.

Buy your unshucked mollusks only if they are still alive and heavy (filled with water). Live mollusks can be slightly open; it will close if you hit it against a hard surface. If the shells remain open after this test, the mollusk is inedible.

The odour of mollusks is a good indication of freshness. When fresh, mollusks give off a slight algae odour; those with an ammonia smell should be avoided.

Mollusks are usually better during the months with « R », that is during the months of September through April. However, when they are a farming product, this restriction does not apply. Find out before buying!

Cleaning

This is an essential step before enjoying the delicate meat of mollusks.

Before tasting or cooking, carefully clean the mollusks using a brush under cool running water in order to remove the tiny grains of sand and impurities that are caught in the grooves. The small «beard» must be removed just prior to cooking.

Never allow mollusks to soak in stagnant water, because they could open, lose their juice and die.

How do I open them?

You can open live mollusks by cutting the muscle that joins the shells using an oyster knife, which has a thick stainless steel blade so that you don't transfer the metal taste to the meat.

You can also use the gentle method, in other words, steam the mollusks in a steamer based on the amount of mollusks. This technique will keep the shells intact and ensure impeccable service presentation.

Serving mollusks

Although they can be eaten raw, mollusks are easy to cook. In fact, oysters served raw in their shell accompanied with rye bread, butter and a nice, fruity dry wine make a delicious meal.

However, for those who prefer to cook them, place a small amount of melted shallot butter seasoned with a bit of ground pepper and nutmeg on the mollusks. Use the Trudeau butter warmer to make your preparation even easier.

Unlike oysters, mussels are always cooked. Otherwise, they could lead to an allergic reaction, like hives.

There are several different methods for cooking mussels:

• In the oven
• On the grill
• In a raclette
• In the frying pan
• Deep-fried
• Steamed

All you have to do is mix the mollusks with crisp vegetables, herbs and a nice vinaigrette that has been well measured using an oil dispenser to make a salad that will impress your guests.

For the main course, plan on between 12 and 18 mollusks per person. Mussels and oysters can be substituted for each other in most recipes. So be creative!

Conservation

Ideally, mollusks should be eaten as soon as they've been purchased. Otherwise, make sure they are kept following the conservation rules so that they retain their freshness.

Mollusks are kept in the refrigerator in a container covered by a moist cloth. Avoid keeping them in a bag or a hermetically sealed container. It is best to cook mussels before freezing them.

After cooking, shuck them and keep them in the freezer in an airtight container with their cooking liquid. This will allow you to keep them fresh for six weeks.

Crab

In Canada, the most commonly caught species is the snow crab. Only the male is taken and it weighs about 1.25 kg.

Its meat is white, lean and web-like. It is found only in the claws, legs and the junction between the legs and the carapace, which combined make up about a quarter of its weight.

Cooking

The most common crab is the snow crab. It is usually sold in sections and is pre-cooked.

It can be grilled, boiled and steamed. Its tender meat is often used cold in salads, stuffing, spreads, dips and appetizers. It is also delicious with pasta, in sandwiches, gratins and pancakes. It is usually eaten alone or with a dip of melted butter.

If you like, you can cook the crab legs in foil paper for approximately ten minutes. Like mollusks and lobster, it must not be overcooked; otherwise its meat will become leathery.

Conservation

Crab must be prepared as soon as possible after purchase. Once cooked, it can be kept for one or two days.

It will keep frozen for close to a month.