Fresh Shellfish, What Will You Have For Dinner?

By: Shannon Linnen

A wonderful thing to eat all year round is fresh shellfish. It includes clams, scallops, mussels and more. Farm-raised cultured mussels are fresh and readily available. Wild varieties are equally delicious. Clams are a very popular addition to pasta dishes. Hard clams, also called quahogs, live in sandy coves and can be caught when the tide is low. A great dish to enjoy with butter and garlic is stuffed quahogs. And there is always clam chowder of course.

In the summer, fresh shellfish will take your mind off the hot weather. For a light yet delicious meal, consider an appetizer of raw or barbequed oysters. These tasty treats can be bought in most markets as well as chosen farms that specially breed them to sell. If you are lucky enough to live by a port or in a town near the ocean, you will probably find oysters easily and for an affordable cost.

Scallops are meatier than clams and require very little preparation. Sea scallops are delightfully large, though must be shucked (removed from their shells) almost immediately after capture to ensure they don't lose moisture and die. It is important not to overcook scallops, or you will end up with a chewy, inedible morsel.

Mussels come with blue-black shells and brown hairs called byssal threads attached to their shell. Their meat is usually an orange color and they are full of protein. As with clams, mussels taste best steamed and should remain encased in their shell until cooking.

Other fresh shellfish can also be crabs and lobsters. Compared with their small brethren, lobster and crab are bigger and more substantial. Of all fresh shellfish, lobster is undoubtedly the priciest but then it is a cuisine favored by both high-end restaurants and gourmets alike.

Crab is maybe the most popular shellfish and is widely bought and eaten. The crabbing industry is a multi-million dollar one. While eating crab can be messy and often difficult, special tools have been created to make cracking crab easier. Once you get down to the meaty goodness of crab legs, you will want to make this fresh shellfish part of your everyday meal planning.

It seems like everyone these days are trying to lead a healthier lifestyle. With fast food all around us and most foods being processed and stuffed full of chemicals and preservatives it is becoming more difficult to eat healthy. Fresh shellfish is a great alternative. The ocean is the perfect environment to grow all sorts of tasty critters. They develop far away from processing plants and all the unhealthy growing methods being used in other industries. Stay natural and eat healthy, eat naturally grown shellfish from the ocean.

A good thing to remember is that you can always get fresh shellfish, regardless of where you live. It is no longer necessary to live on the coast or near the ocean. You can always visit any one of the ever increasing amount of online seafood vendors. Quality Fresh Seafood is just one of the obvious choices. You can always have your shellfish order delivered to you overnight.

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Seafood is preferred fresh over frozen, there are various ways to obtain jumbo lobster in the best form even if you live far from the on the East Coast. Quality Fresh Seafood is a great place to start.

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