Christmas Day for most Australians means the freshest seafood available. Fresh prawns, mud crabs and delicious scallops. Here are some tips on how to look for the very freshest seafood when choosing what to serve your guests on Christmas Day.
Christmas is usually the time of year Australians shell out their hard-earned money and buys seafood. But for the inexperienced seafood purchaser, choosing fresh seafood can be a scary prospect! Today we show you how to tell if the seafood is fresh or not, and what to look out for!
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Where to Shop for the Freshest Seafood
For the very freshest seafood, buy from a sea monger or at a supplier near the wharves. Alternatively, look for a busy seafood market. Markets that are busy have a high seafood turnover rate – guaranteeing the seafood you buy – is the freshest available!
Ensure that the shop you purchase your seafood from smells fresh and not ‘fishy’ and is impeccably clean – this is always a good start!
Storing Fresh Seafood Once You Get it Home
Seafood needs to be purchased fresh and eaten fresh for it to be at its very very best. Once you have purchased your seafood, you need to keep it cold. Ensure you take an esky filled with ice or an insulated cold bag with you when purchasing your seafood.
Whole Fish:
The eyes should be clear and shiny, the longer the fish has been out of the water, the more dull and cloudy the eyes become. The skin appears undamaged and shiny and metallic. If it has dull patches or isn’t shiny – avoid it. Have a peek at the gills too, they should be red and vibrant. The fish should also smell like the ocean, not fishy.
Fish Fillets:
When choosing fish fillets, look for flesh that looks bright and translucent. Any pale or dry-looking fish should be avoided.
Always do the smell test, if it smells fresh and non-fishy – it’s fresh.
Prawns:
Prawns are the most popular seafood purchased at Christmas time. They can be purchased raw or cooked, peeled or unpeeled and come in all sorts of sizes. Most seafood suppliers will cook the prawns on the morning of the sale – if there doesn’t appear to be a high turnover of prawns, ask your supplier when they were cooked. They should be bright orange in colour and not damaged or crushed.
Raw prawns should smell fresh (like the ocean) and have a green/blue hue to them.
Mussels:
Look for smooth and shiny shelled Mussels that smell like the ocean (not fish). Keep them wrapped in a damp cloth for the trip home and refrigerate them as soon as possible. Mussels should really be cooked on the day of the purchase – they don’t last long so if you are keeping them in the fridge – remember to buy as close to the serving date as possible!
To prepare mussels for cooking, scrub the shell well with a stiff brush and remove the beard. Rinse in cold clean water and drain well.
Scallops:
Fresh scallops should be white and firm to the touch and the roe should be bright orange. It should smell fresh like the ocean. Try and avoid freezing scallops if you can as they often taste ‘water-logged’ on defrosting and seem to retain a milky colour. Of course, you can be pre-frozen vacuum-sealed scallops which are quite good to have on hand, but fresh is best.
