Types of seafood

What is seafood?
Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans. It includes fish and shellfish.
Shellfish include various species of mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms.
Different Types of Seafood
Fishes are found both in saltwater and freshwater and both have very distinctive tastes and
varieties. Based on its internal skeleton structure:
1. Round fish
2. Flat fish.
Different Types of Seafood

Different kinds of Seafood

1. Round Fish - This is a fish with a long, cylindrical body, and an eye located on each side of the
head. A backbone runs from head to tail along the upper length of the body, just below the
dorsal fin. They are both found in both freshwater and saltwater.

 Catfish fish - It is a freshwater fish and has no scales. They are now mostly aqua farmed
and are available all year round. This fish weighs from 2 to 5 pounds. The flesh is white
with small amount of fat in it and tastes mildly sweet. This fish can be cooked in almost
any style but is suited for frying.
  King fish (Surmai)- It has a texture somewhat like salmon and is extremely tasty. The
flesh is pale, white, firm, and sweet. It is perfect for western dishes where the natural
flavor requires very little enhancements. It is best bakes, fried or cooked in curries.
 Mahi- Mahi- Their flesh is off white or light pink in color. It is sweet in flavor and has a
firm texture. It can be broiled, baked or grilled.
 Red Snapper- They have a lean pink flesh that becomes white on cooking. They are
sweet in taste and firm and flaky in texture. They are usually baked whole due to its
pretty color.
 Salmon- It is a popular consumed fish and considered to be a healthy fish as it is said to
have high protein and Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D.
 Striped bass- The striped bass that we find is usually the aqua farmed striped bass and
weighs from 1 to 5 pounds. Stripe bass has a rich, sweet flavor and has a firm texture.
Hence, it is good for steaming, broiling, baking, and even poaching.
 Tilapia- It is typically a name given to freshwater, aqua farm raised fish. They are usually
3 to 5 pounds in weight. The flesh is lean, white, and sweet with firm texture. They are
good for frying, baking and broiling.
2. Flat fish - A flat fish has a flat body structures and swims deep down in the sea in a horizontal
position. It has eyes on the top of the head.

 Butter fish/Pompano - This fish has no scales and has a smooth skin. The skin is light
gray in color and the flesh is white, firm and has a sweet flavor.
 Halibut - This is the largest flat fish and can weigh up to 300 pounds. They have lean,
firm flesh that is white with a sweet, mild flavor. You might find stakes of halibut in the
market. This can be poached, baked, or broiled. The flesh tends to dry out while cooking
so it is recommended to cook some sauce that will go with it.
3. Mollusks- These are shellfishes which have soft meat without any bones but a hard-outer
shell. Some of them have only one shell and most have two shells covering the body inside it,
like in mussels and clams. The squids and octopus also come under this group and although
they do not have a hard outer shell they have a single internal shell.
Different Types of Mollusks
 Clams- It is a bivalve mollusk, possessing a symmetrical hinged shell to protect it from
predators and the elements.
 Mussels- It is a type of bivalve mollusk that has an oblong, dark blue, green, or brown
shell. These are found worldwide and are excellent steamed or added to soups.
 Octopus- The meat is quite tough and requires moist-heat cooking for a long time to
make it edible. They are usually sold by pound, fresh or frozen. The skin of octopus is
gray when raw and turns purple when cooked. The interior flesh is white lean firm and
full of flavor.
 Oysters- Any of a number of bivalve mollusks with rough irregular shells. Several kinds
are eaten (especially raw) as a delicacy and may be farmed for food or pearls. These are
best eaten when slightly steamed with some lemon and butter. They have a rough gray
shell on the outside and soft gray flesh inside. The flesh can also be fried inside.
 Scallops- A scallop is a mollusk, same as clams and oysters. They are edible shellfish
found both in bays and oceans. The edible white muscle of the scallops is the one which
holds the two fan shaped shells on both sides. Since they die quickly, they are mostly
shucked and cleaned on the ship where they are caught. They can be steamed, broiled,
grilled, or fried.
 Squid- This is also commonly known as calamari. These are typically 8 to 9 pounds in
weight. The squid is tentacles, body tube and fins are edible. It is lean, slightly sweet,
firm and tender. Do not overcook them as they tend to get tough really quick and gets
too chewy and loses its flavour. They can be fried, or cooked in soups.
 Crustaceans - these are also from the shellfish family and have hard outer crust body
with other body parts like legs and claws joined to it.
 Crabs -these can be found all over the world in fresh, frozen, or canned form. The crab
flesh can be used to make various different kinds of dishes like crab cakes , chowders,
crab rolls, casseroles, bakes dishes, or simply grilled. They can also be boiled whole with
seasoning.
 Craw/crayfish - these are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters. The craw
fish that we find in markets are usually aqua farmed in Louisiana and Pacific Northwest.
They can be purchased live or cooked or frozen.
 Lobsters - they have brown or grey outer shell which turns red when cooked. The inside
meat is white, firm, rich, and sweet flavoured. Lobsters must be cooked soon after they
are purchased. They will die in fresh water, so they must be kept in seawater, wrapped
in wet cloth or seaweed and stored for no more than a few hours on a bed of ice in the
refrigerator. They are usually poached, steamed, baked, or grilled and can be served hot
or cold. The largest part of edible meat is in its tail and claws.
 Shrimps/ prawns - they are found widely around the world in both fresh and saltwater.
They are widely caught and farmed for consumption. Preparing shrimp for consumption
usually involves removing the head, shell, tail, and vein. The de-shell a shrimp, the tail is
held while gently removing the shell around the body. The tail can be detached
 completely at this point cut lengthwise down the outer curve of the shrimp’s body,
allowing the dark vein to be removed with a knife or a fork.

Qualities of a fresh Fish and Shellfish

Qualities Points of a fresh Fish
Fish and shellfish can be obtained fresh, canned, salted, pickled, vacuum packed or frozen.
It is best to purchase only fresh fish and shellfish. Once killed, fish and shellfish will deteriorate
very quickly if not stored correctly.
If you are unsure of the quality of fish or shellfish, do not use it.
1. The eyes should be clear and raised, not sunken.
2. It should not smell of ammonia or have an unpleasant smell.
3. Its gills should be bright and pink.
4. There should be slime on it and its skin should be moist.
5. It should be firm in texture.
6. It should have no external damage.
7. The scales should be firmly attached and shiny.
8. It should be kept in the correct temperature.
9. If frozen, there should be no evidence of freezer burn.
10. Once thawed, it should have firm flesh.
Qualities of a fresh Shellfish
1. It should be kept in the correct temperature.
2. There should be no freezer burn on the flesh or skin.
3. Fresh shellfish should be alive.
4. The open shells of mussels or clams will close if tapped. If they do not, discard them.
5. It should have fresh salty smell.
6. All claws and legs should be intact and not damage.
7. Live shellfish (lobster) should be lively not limp.
8. There should not be too many barnacles on the shells.
9. Shellfish should be a good weight in proportion to their size.
Preparation Methods for Seafood
Why do you think preparing of seafood is crucial before cooking?
It is important for two main reasons: the prevention of food poisoning and the reduction of
spoilage. Bacteria that cause food poisoning are for the most part transferred to the fish,
mainly from human beings, during processing, but occasionally some may be present on
the fish when caught.
Preparation Methods for Fish
It is important for two main reasons: the prevention of food poisoning and the reduction of
spoilage. Bacteria that cause food poisoning are for the most part transferred to the fish,
mainly from human beings, during processing, but occasionally some may be present on
the fish when caught.

Preparation Methods for Fish

 Trimming
- It means to remove the fins, gills, eyes, head and scales.
- Gills, eyes and fins are usually removed by cutting them out or off using kitchen scissors.
How to remove the scales from the fish?
- Lay the fish on the chopping board. Cut off the fins using fish scissor.
- Scrape the knife blade against the scales of the fish in the opposite direction to that in
which they lie.
 Washing
- Washing of the fish is very important during the preparation phase. It should be carried
out regularly as fresh fish is quite messy and the washing process should be thorough.

1. The reasons why fish and shellfish should be washed:

2. to wash any slime away from the skin before preparing
3. to wash away any liquid that may have any build up while being stored.
4. there may be blood or traces of scales or stomach contents after gutting and these must
be removed.
5. there may be impurities such as sand and other physical contamination that must be
removed.
6. the shells may have had barnacles removed, so washing will remove any loose debris.
7. To keep them clean.

 Evisceration
- Means fish from which internal organs, excluding the brain and gills, are being removed.
 - Hold the fish vertically, head up.
- Insert the knife in the anus and cut the length of the belly to the throat.
- Insert the knife through the soft tissue between the gill and the collar bone and cut
outward, perpendicular to the belly.
- Grasp the entrails and pull them out.
- Cut off the head
- Wash the fish in cold water. The kidney (blood line which follows the backbone) may be
removed during washing by using the thumb or a spoon.

 Skinning
- While skin is edible on fish, some dish requirements mean that it needs to be removed.
When skinning you must not damage the flesh of the fish, so specific knife techniques
are needed.
- Place the fillets on the chopping board. Cut into the end of the tail section until the knife
is touching or lying on the skin of the fish.
- Take a firm hold of the tail skin and keep a firm grip on the knife. With a sawing action,
move both the skin and the knife at the same time.
- Trim any untidy pieces of fillet away to leave a neat , clean skinned fillet.

 Filleting
- It is the removal of the flesh from the bones and skin.
- Remove the head. Place the chef’s knife behind the pectoral fin. Make a diagonal
downward cut through the bone.
- Cut the fillet starting at the head end, run the fillet knife along the backbone in a smooth
motion.
Preparation Methods for Shellfish

 Shelling
- It means removing the shell to leave the soft edible flesh of the mollusks or crustacean.
How to shell a Prawn
- Pull the head from the prawn. Put it in the separate bowl.
- Starting from the underside, peel away the shell in a rolling motion. The body will
separate from the shell.
- The tail section will require a gentle pull to extract it from the shell.
- Make a shallow cut along the back of the prawn to expose the intestinal tract.
 - Grasp the intestinal tract between your thumb and the blade of the paring knife. Gently
extract ensuring the entire tract is removed.
- Rinse the prawns and put them in the clean bowl until required.
How to prepare Mussels
1. Soak mussels in a container of water.
2. Use mussels only if they are perfectly fresh. Check each one by tapping it against the
side of the sink.
3. The shell of the fresh mussel should be closed or should close when tapped to indicate it
is still alive. Discard any that do not close.
4. Wash under running water while scraping with a small paring knife to remove barnacles.
5. Remove the byssus threads by pulling with your fingers with a towel.
FISH CUTS AND PORTIONS
Like many other animals we eat , fish also have different cuts. Most people will have heard of
fillets or steaks, however due to the ease of transporting all manner of fish around the world,
these names have become muddled to the point that some names are no longer used by many
fish sellers, which can cause much conclusion and disappointment to the shopper.
Single serving portion
A portion of fish which has been cut from a whole fish but which is only enough to serve one
person.
Single portion sized whole fish
A whole fish including head, body and tail which is small enough to serve one person.
Parts of a Fish
Fish Cuts and Portion

 Butterfly Fillets – round fish are de-headed then filled by cutting through the belly,
gutting the fish, opening it flat then removing the backbone and smaller bones leaving
the two fillets on each side of the fish.
 Cheeks– these are cuts from the head of larger mature fish and are the small pockets of
flesh found just below each eye.
 Cutlets– a single –serving cross section portion sliced straight through the backbone of
the whole, dressed, round fish.
 Darnes– a single –serving portions taken from a cross section straight through the
backbone of the whole, dressed, round fish. They are slightly thinner than a steak.
 Dressed – a whole fish of any size which have been scaled gutted and had the gills and
fins removed.
 Fillets – consists of a complete sides of a fish from just below the gills to tail, being cut
away from the backbone and removed in one piece.
 Goujons – narrow strips of fish which are cut from a fillet. It is make known for being
coated with bread crumbs before being deep fried.
 Loins – the prime part of a fillet taken from a larger round fish like cod or tuna from
either side of the backbone.
 Pan dressed – small to medium-sized whole fish which have been scaled, gutted and had
the fins, head and tail remove. Usually single-serving whole fish.
 Paves– boneless portion taken from a fillets of a larger flat fish which can serve one to
two people depending on how large the fish is.
 Troncons- these are portions which are cut through the bone of a whole flat fish usually
into a single portion sizes. Also called steaks.
 Steaks- a thick, usually boneless piece of fish cut from a larger fish such as tuna or sword
fish.
 Portions cut slightly thicker than a cutlet.
 Supremes- also called fillet steaks. These are boneless single serving portions cut from a
larger fillets of both round and flat fish.
 Tail- it consist of the part of the fish nearest to the tail fin in a solid piece which always
include the bone.
 Whole- the whole fish of any size as caught which have not had anything done to them
whatsoever.
 Wings- before being sold, the wings are usually removed and sometimes skinned. Wings
from a larger specimens have to be further cut down into portions as these fish can
reach very large sizes.

MARKET FORMS OF FISH

  Awareness of the market forms of fish, storage hints and cooking tips can help your fish
go from mere tasty dishes to meals of unmatched delicacy.
 You can purchase fish in many forms at your local fish market. Some are ready to cook,
while others require special preparation.
 Whole Fish – these are marketed just as it is caught. Before cooking, they must be
scaled and eviscerated.
 Drawn Fish – they must be scaled and if the head is left on, must be degilled. Only
entrails removed. Still needs cleaning when purchasing this fish.
 Dressed Fish – A whole fish with scales, fins, head and entrails are removed.
 Fish Steaks – These are the cross section slices cut from a large, dressed fish, the cross
section of backbone included.
 Fish Fillet – The boneless pieces are cut from the sides. A fillet cut from one side of a
fish is called single fillet.
 Butterfly Fillet – The two sides of the fish corresponding to two single fillets held
together by uncut flesh and the skin.
 Cured fish – This refers to fish which has been cured by subjecting it to fermentation
pickling, smoking or some combination of these before it is eaten.
 Cold-smoked – This is cured and partially dried and should not keep long. It imparts a
flavour to your food, but doesn’t fully cook it.
 Hot-smoked – it is curing fish by smoking at a temperature of 70-80°C at some stage in
the process in order to cook the flesh. Hot smoking means you are cooking and
flavouring at the same time.
 Dried Fish – these are air or heat dried and salted which lasts longer.
 Salted Fish – It is a dry –salted or brine-cured. Salted fish is preserved with salt and
dried. Either under the sun or using modern technology.

Methods of Preparing Seafood

Because most fish and shellfish have little connective tissue, the procedures for cooking them
are somewhat different from cooking meats and poultry. When cooking meat, the often
concern is tenderizing the product.
Fish is naturally tender, however, when it is overcooked, it is more likely to toughen and dry it
out.
Methods of Cooking Seafood
The cooking methods used for fish and shellfish typically involve dry heat and moist heat
cooking methods.
DRY -HEAT COOKING
 - It involves applying heat either directly by flame, or indirectly by surrounding it with
heated air or heated fat. Dry cooking methods work best with studier fish that have low
moderate fat content.

 GRILLING – it uses direct heat from underneath the meat, either from a gas burning
flame or smoldering coals.
 BROILING – it involves radiant heat from an overhead source, typically inside a
conventional oven. It is recommended to place fish on an oiled broiler pan. This method
is best for thinner fish cuts.
 BAKING – it involves moderate, radiant heat from all directions, typically done in an
oven.
 DEEP FRYING – it is a method that involves fully immersing the food in a hot oil.
Generally, an item is battered or breaded first.
 SAUTEING AND PAN FRYING – it is best for thinner types of fish and involves cooking
over high heat in an oiled pan.
 STIR FRYING – it is a variation of sauteing done with chunks of fish in a wok pan, with
the sauce added at the end.
MOIST- HEAT COOKING
- It involves use of a hot liquid such as water, broth, wine or the combination of the three.

 STEAMING – it is a gentle, fat free cooking method that keeps the natural moisture in
foods. It is an excellent choice for preparing delicate seafood because there is a safe
distance between the food and heat source.
 SIMMERING – fully or partially immersing food in a liquid, just below a boil.
 MICROWAVING – it works by shaking up the water and fat in food when in turn makes
heat. The combination of inside heating and outside steaming cooks items in less time
than it would take otherwise. It is particularly suited to cooking thin, skinless fillets of
fish.
 MARINATING – it a method used to flavor fish. It can be done by combining a cooked or
uncooked liquid or paste with the fish in a dish. The liquid or paste is called a marinade.
It contains ingredients which will alter and enhance the flavor of the fish which is being
marinated.
 POACHING – it is done by submerging the fish in a bath of flavorful liquid that is kept
just below the boiling point. Seafood cooked using this technique will have a more
consistent texture and milder flavor when compared to other methods of cooking fish.