How to Buy, Prepare Shellfish

By Joelene

SQUID

Buy: Opt for squid (also called calamari) with cream-colored skin with pinkish patches. Smaller squid is more tender and works best for quick-cooking recipes. The aroma should be clean with no strong, fishy smell.

Prep and Cook: Refrigerate on a bed of ice. Squid must be cooked either a very short time or at least 30 minutes -- anything in between turns the meat rubbery. Cook for 2 minutes over high heat or for 30 minutes to an hour over low heat.

Serve: Fry calamari by cleaning 1 pound of squid and cutting into 1/2-inch rings. Dust with all-purpose flour and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour enough oil into a large saucepan to reach a depth of 3 inches. Heat on medium-high, and when hot, carefully add squid in batches. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry until crisp, about 1 minute per batch. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer calamari to paper-towel-lined plates to drain. Serve with lemon wedges.

SCALLOPS

Buy: Whether sea, bay or calico, scallops are one of the ocean's sweetest harvests. They are always sold shucked from the shell. Scallops should not be pure white -- ideal colors range from pale beige to creamy pink. The meat should have a clean, fresh smell with a moist sheen.

Prep and cook: Refrigerate scallops immediately after purchase. Ideally, scallops should be cooked or consumed within one day. They can be sauteed, baked, broiled or grilled, but cook them no longer than 5-7 minutes. Cooked too long, these buttery mollusk muscles turn chewy and tough.

Serve: To saute, season scallops with paprika and lemon pepper. Heat a skillet on medium-high. Lightly coat the skillet with canola or olive oil. Cook about 30 seconds on each side or until lightly browned. Turn heat to low, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Ingredients

• MUSSELS
• LOBSTER
• Buy: Lobsters should be purchased live from a tank and should be actively moving their claws and flapping their tails tightly against their chest.
• to lobster and, using a sharp knife, cut it in half lengthwise down the middle, starting at the head and cutting through to the tail. Remove the intestinal tract. Crack the claws and rinse completely.
• Serve: Lobster's rich, buttery flavor pairs well with the spicy flavors of the Southwest. Top a tostada shell with shredded cabbage tossed in lime juice, fresh lobster pieces, pickled jalapeño slices and shredded Mexican cheese.
• CRAB
• to These crustaceans come in a variety of sizes and shapes, with hard to soft shells. Dungeness and blue crabs are sold live in tanks, or in the freezer case. King- and snow-crab meat are sold fresh or frozen, picked or in the shell.
• 6 8 to 10 toss into a pot of salted boiling water. Boil for 6 minutes for blue crabs, 8 to 10 for Dungeness.
• Next, separate the body from the shell by pushing the body upward until it pops out of the shell. Throw away the stomach sac, mouth, intestines and gills, then scoop and scrape out the brown meat.
• to cooked crabmeat is tastiest when eaten the same day; however, it can be stored in the fridge for up to two days.

Preparation

Step 1

OYSTERS

Buy: Select oysters that resemble a fat teardrop. Avoid any with sour or fishy aromas. Size and age make a difference -- smaller, younger oysters most likely are more tender. Freshly shucked oysters should be surrounded by a clear, slightly milky-white or light-gray liquid.

Prep and cook: Discard any oysters with even a small slit opening. To shuck, scrub shells well with a brush and rinse thoroughly. Soak the washed oysters in cold, salted water for about 30 minutes to temper their briny flavor. Oysters are ready to be opened after they begin wiggling in the water. Place the oysters in a tub of ice, then pluck them out one by one to be opened.

Hold the oyster with the curved bottom side in the palm of your hand (the top side is flat). Using a blunt oyster knife, pry open at the hinge. Before tearing off the top shell, gently scrape off the abductor, the muscle that opens and closes the shells, attached to the top shell. Avoid puncturing the oyster meat. Next, gently place the knife under the oyster and sever the abductor on the bottom shell. Place oyster shells on a plate of ice and serve immediately.

Serve: Who says you can't eat oysters for breakfast? Fold 12 freshly shucked oysters into an eight-egg omelet.

SHRIMP

Buy: All shrimp (also called prawn) is frozen after being caught, so it's best to buy frozen and defrost at home. The shrimp in the grocery butcher case may have been defrosted and left sitting on ice for 24 hours or longer. Smell to be sure there is no trace of an ammonia odor. Shrimp should feel firm to the touch. Their color varies and can be light blue, gray, light brown, pink, orange or black.

Prep and cook: Shrimp may be peeled before or after cooking. Deveining shrimp is a matter of aesthetics. The vein, which runs down the back of a shrimp -- its digestive tract -- is perfectly edible. Whatever the cooking method -- boil, saute, stir-fry -- be careful not to overcook. Three to four minutes is enough; the cooked meat should have a bit of resiliency to it.

Serve: When paired, shrimp and tequila bring out the best in each other. For a quick appetizer, heat a large saute pan on medium-high. Lightly coat with olive oil and add 1 teaspoon chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons chopped red onion and 6 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined. Saute until shrimp starts to turn pink. Add 1/3 cup lime juice and 1/4 cup diced tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes. Add 1/3 cup tequila, salt and pepper to taste.

CLAMS

Buy: Hard-shell clams must be purchased live in their shells. The shells must be tightly closed or snap tightly closed when tapped. If they fail to close, they are dead and should be discarded. Soft-shell clams are unable to close their shells completely. To determine whether they are alive, gently touch the protruding neck of each clam to see if it will retract. If the neck does not retract slightly, discard the clam. Discard any clams with cracked or broken shells.

Prep and cook: The smallest clams are the most desirable for eating raw. The larger the clam, the tougher the meat. Soak clams for 20 minutes in fresh water -- this allows the clams to breathe, pushing saltwater and sand from the shells. Once soaked, use a firm brush to scrub off sand and barnacles.

To steam, place clams in steamer basket and fill a large pot with 1 inch of water. When boiling, place basket over the pot and steam for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the clams. Whole clams are finished cooking when the shell opens. If the shell does not open after cooking, discard the clam. Overcooked clam meat is leathery, so if adding to soups, pasta or other dishes, add them to the heat last.

Serve: For a change of pace, place clams on the grill for several minutes and wait for the shells to open. Remove and serve immediately with hot lemon butter.