SHELLFISH

1. SHELLFISH MOLLUSKS AND CRUSTEACEANS

2. Shellfish • are distinguished from fin fish by their hard outer bodies and their lack of backbones or internal skeletons • Two classifications: • 1. Mollusks soft sea animals that fall into 3 categories • Three types: • Bivalves : have a pair of hinged shells (clams and oysters • Univalves: single shell (abalone and conch) • Cephalopods: • 2. Crustaceanshave segmented shells and jointed legs

3. MOLLUSKS Most important in commercial kitchens: Oysters Clams Mussels Scallops Squid Octopus

4. Oysters Characteristics: • Have rough, irregular shells. Bottom shell slightly bowl shaped. Top is flat • Flesh is extremely soft and delicate and contains high percentage of water • Are available year round but are best in fall and spring! Locally harvested only in months containing an R • Four main varieties: depending on point of origin. Dozens of sub varieties depending of location; flavor also related to area

5. Four main varieties • EASTERN • OLYPMIA • BELON • JAPANESE OR PACIFIC

6. EASTERN • KNOWN BY MANY LOCAL NAMES: • Bluepoint, Box oyster (LI), • Chesapeake bay, Chincoteague (VA), • Cotuit (Nantucket), • Kent Island, Patuxent (MD), • Malpeque (Prince Edward Island, Canada), • Apalachicola (FL), • Breton Sound (LA), • Wellfleet (MA)

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spg6XZSJE0s Click and open link to see how to shuck oysters

8. OLYPMIA • Very small, from pacific coast

9. BELON • European oyster now grown in NA • Shells are flatter than most eastern types • Properly European Flat Oysters • Belon reserved for those grown at mouth of Loire river in France • Prized for briny taste

10. JAPANESE OR PACIFIC • Usually large oysters • The much smaller Kumamoto is same species

11. Oyster market forms • Live, in the shell • Shucked or fresh frozen, are graded by size • Canned—rarely used in food service except as smoked canned

12. Checking freshness • Oysters in the shell must be alive to be good to eat. Tightly closed shells or shells that closed when jostled, indicate live oysters. Discard open ones as they are dead and should not be consumed!! • Live or shucked oysters should have a very mild, sweet smell. Strong odors indicate spoilage

13. Storage • Keep live oysters in a cold wet place in the cartons or sacks in which they arrived. They should keep at least 1 week. • Bag tags must be saved for 90 days from time of arrival in case someone gets ill. • Fresh shucked in original container in refrigerator at 30 to 34F. • Keep frozen in freezer at 0F or colder until ready to use. Thaw in frig for 24 hours.

14. Oyster cooking • Cook just enough to heat through to keep oysters juicy and plump. Overcooking makes them shrunken and dry • Cooking methods: poaching, deep frying, baking on half shell with toppings, in soups and stews

15. Clams Two major types of clams from east coast of NA: hard and soft shell clams Hard Shell clams or quahogs go by different names depending on size; Littlenecksare smallest; usually type eaten raw or steamed Cherrystones medium sized, most common Chowderslargest also called quahogs; tough can be chopped for chowder or into strips for frying West Coast also has local varieties

16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsddhF_a3lM&feature=related

17. Soft shell clams • Commonly called longnecks because of long tube that protrudes from between shells • Also called steamers because of how they are cooked and served with melted butter for dipping • COCKLES • Not actually clams but they look like tiny ones • Cooked like clams almost always served in shells

18. Market forms • Hard clams: live, in the shell; shucked, fresh or frozen; canned whole and chopped • Freshness: same as oysters: must be alive, shucked should smell fresh Storage: • Same as oysters Cooking: • Become tough and rubbery if overcooked • Steam until just opened • Methods: steaming, poaching, deep frying, baking on half shell with toppings, simmering in soups and chowders

19. Mussels • Common small black or dark blue/purple in color • Shells not as hard as clams so need care in handling or will break • Flesh is yellow to orange in color, firm but tender when cooked • Green mussels from NZ are larger and command premium price. Always sold on half shell frozen in USA

20. Market forms • Sold alive in shell same rules apply as with clams and oysters: must be alive • Shucked are sold packed in their own liquor or brine. • Discard any mussels that float. Watch for closed ones full of sand

21. Cleaning mussels • Clean shells thoroughly: scrub well under cold running water • Scrape off barnacles with clam knife • Remove beard, a fibrous appendage protruding from between shells. Do not do this until you close to using them because it may kill them • May be sandy if not commercially grown. May be soaked in brine and corn meal like clams to rid them of sand

22. Storage and cooking • Store like clams and oysters but protect from light and be sure to keep sack damp Cooking • Mussels are almost never served raw. Usually steamed / served in their shells with cooking broth, in soups, or chilled / served with mayo type dressing • Cook only until shells open and mussels are heated through. Do not over cook • Discard any that do not open

23. PICKING MUSSELS FROM THE SHELL MUSSELS BEDS STEAMED MUSSELS ON HALF SHELL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNUr-HOXwPg&feature=related Open link change to 480 instead of 360 better viewing and full screen is almost 10 minutes long but very good

24. SCALLOPS Characteristics: • Almost always sold shucked • Only part we eat is side inductor mussels that hold shells closed • If shucking your own leave side orange mussel ( coral roe) attached • Two main types: • Bay scallops: small delicate, expensive (32-40/#) • Sea scallops: larger not as delicate but still tender unless overcooked (10—20 /# • Creamy white color sweet flavor • Available year round but local in late summer early fall

25. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYPZvkppFik&feature=player_embeddedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYPZvkppFik&feature=player_embedded

26. UNIVALVES • Abalone are small to very large-sized edible sea snails • Flesh (the adductor muscle) of abalones is widely considered to be a desirable food • Various larger species of abalones have been exploited commercially for food to extent that many populations are now severely threatened. • Highly iridescent inner nacre layer of shell of abalone has traditionally been used as a decorative item in jewelry, buttons, and as inlay in furniture and in musical instruments such as guitars, etc.

28. Conch • Second in popularity only to escargot for edible snails, "meat" of conch is used as food, either eaten raw, as in salads, or cooked, as in fritters, chowders, gumbos, and burgers. • All parts of conch meat are edible. Some people find only white meat appetizing. • In East Asian cuisines, is often cut into thin slices and then steamed or stir-fried. • Bahamas and West Indies in general, local people eat conch in soups (commonly Callao) and salads.

30. CEPHALOPODS • Means “head-foot” referring to the fact that animals have tentacles or legs attached to the head, surrounding the mouth • Most important in US are squid and octopus • Cuttlefish similar to squid found more in Asian styles places

31. Squid • On menus as calamari • Have ten tentacles two longer than others • Must be skinned and eviscerated • Head and beak and internal plastic quill are discarded • Hollow body and tentacles are eaten • Somewhat chewy, it is cut up and either fried quickly or simmered for about 45 minutes in seasoned liquid or sauce

33. Octopus • Means eight feet range in size from less than on oz to up many #s up to +100#s • All are firm textured, even chewy but larger sizes are usually considered too tough • Requires mechanical tenderizing ( pounding) or long slow cooking in court bouillon • Cleaned by cutting off tentacles and discarding head and beak and eviscerating body cavity • Pull off skin may be necessary to par boil to loosen it • Skin reddish gray turning purple red when cooked

35. Crustaceans • Most important of these are: • Lobsters • Rock lobsters • Langoustes • Shrimp • Crabs

36. Lobsters • American lobster, Homarus americanus, lobster found on Atlantic coast of North America. Also known as the northern lobster, Atlantic lobster or Maine lobster. • Thrives in cold, shallow waters where there are many rocks and other places to hide from predators and is both solitary and nocturnal. It feeds on fish, small crustaceans, and mollusks. • Found as far south as North Carolina, but is famously associated with the colder waters around the Canadian Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire and also LONG ISLAND

37. CHARACTERISTICS • MOST PRIZED OF ALL SHELLFISH • LARGE FLEXIBLE TAIL WITH FOUR PAIRS OF LEGS AND TWO LAARGE CLAWS • It is dark green or bluish green until cooked when it turns red • Meat from tail, claws and legs is eaten • White sweet meat with distinctive taste • Claw meat considered especially good • Coral (roe or eggs) which is dark green turns bright red when cooked • Green tomalley (liver) found in thorax is also eaten

38. Classified by weight • Chick = 1 # • Quarters = 1 ¼ # • Selects = 1 ½ to 2 ½# • Jumbos = over 2 ½# • Over 20# are caught but rare • 1# lobster yields approx 1/4 # meat • Some customers prefer females so they get coral legs closest to tail are flexible in female and hard in male • Must be alive to use indicated by leg movement • Sleepers (dying lobsters) should be cooked off ASAP

39. Handling • Live are either cooked alive or cut up before cooking (broiling or sautéing) • Live should be plunged head first into boiling water to kill them then simmered 5/6 mins /# served hot drained well and tail split and claws cracked for easier use by customer • If splitting or cutting up insert knife through back above eyes and cut down towards tentacles to kill by brain death • Are considered done when flesh has become white and coral has turned red

40. Storage • Pack in seaweed or covered with moist heavy paper like old newspapers in a cool place • Salt water holding tank used for display • Remember lobster when being held live on their own stored muscle mass and it breaks down after week-10 days once their claws are banded • Become very tough if over cooked!!!

41. In the water Pair of ten pounders http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ndw8upyJKo&feature=related Rare blue lobster always found in extremely cold waters Cooked lobster

42. Rock / Langoustes or spiny lobster • Found in warmer waters • If you by lobster tails you are buying tails from these lobsters since they have no claws • Meat similar to Maine lobsters but is drier and coarser with less flavor • Tails weigh between 2 to 12 oz • Langoustines or langostinos are smaller relatives and also marketed as rock shrimp (just tail meat) • Scampi in Europe is really a variety of langostinos from Italy but has come to mean other things as well

43. Spiny are cooked by same methods as regular lobsters but tails may be broiled, baked, steamed or sautéed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqKRGW6_rw

44. Crayfish/ Crawfish or crawdads • Are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. • They breathe through feather-like gills (as do lobsters) and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter against predators. • Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some are more hardy. • Crayfish feed on living and dead animals and plants and are a favorite food of trout

45. Crayfish are eaten all over the world • Only small portion of a crayfish is edible. In most prepared dishes, soups, bisques and étouffées, only tail portion is served. • Claws of larger boiled specimens are often pulled apart to access meat inside. • Favorite is to suck head seasoning and flavor can collect in fat of boiled interior. Popular double entendre laden from this practice: "Suck the head, pinch the tail"

46. Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads Louisiana supplies 98% of the crayfish harvested in the United States Open link to learn how to eat crawfish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqWipLPv9lw&feature=fvw

47. Shrimp • Live in schools swim rapidly backwards. • Shrimp are an important food source for larger animals from fish to whales. • They have a high tolerance to toxins in polluted areas, and may contribute to high toxin levels in their predators. • With prawns, shrimp are widely caught and farmed for human consumption.

48. Shrimp typically have two pairs of claws, and the second segment of the abdomen overlaps the segments on either side. The abdomen shows a pronounced bend. Prawns typically have three pairs of claws, and even-sized segments on the abdomen. There is no pronounced bend in the abdomen

50. Shrimp Cocktail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjxVoKODnGg