charlies, Author at Charlie's Seafood Market

Beer-Boiled Shrimp

2 (12 oz.) cans dark beer
1 bay leaf
1 ½ tblspn mustard seeds
½ tspn sugar
¼ to ½ tspn dill seeds
¼ to ½ dried hot red-chili flakes
¼ tspn salt
4 black peppercorns
1 ½ lbs medium shimp, unpeeled
¼ cup cider vinegar or white viegar
2 garlic cloves, slivered

In a medium saucepan, combine beer, bay leaf, mustard seeds, sugar, dill seeds, chili flakes, salt and peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Reduce heatl simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp simmer 2 to 4 minutes or until shrimp become firm and turn pink. Pour cooked shrimp and cooking liquid into a ceramic or glass bowl. Add vinegar and garlic liquid will become cloudy. Cool to room temperature. Remove and discard bay leaf. Refrigerate until ready to serve; drain. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Coconut Shrimp

1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
24 shrimp
3 cups oil for frying

In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.
Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep-fryer.
Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.

Broiled Halibut Steak

2lbs Halibut, in 4 steaks 1 inch thick
¼ tspn. paprika
1 tblspn grated onion
2 ½ tblspn lemon juice
5 tblspn butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley
Lemon wedges

Mix paprika, pion and lemon juice with melted butter. Arrange halibut in a backing dish, pour butter over steaks and marinate for 1 hour, turning once.

Preheat the broiler and pan, then broil fish 2 inches from the heat for 2 minutes on each side, dabbing with marinade as needed. Salt and pepper cooked steak, garnish with parsley and lemon wedges, then serve at once.

Broiled Halibut Teriyaki

4 halibut steaks (6 to 8 oz. each)
½ cup reduced-salt soy sauce
2 tspn finely chopped ginger
½ tspn oriental sesame oil
¼ cup dry sherry
1 tspn worcestershire sauce
2 tblspn chopped green onion
2 medium cloves of garlic, pressed and minced

Rinse halibut briefly with cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Combine all ingredients except halibut in sauce pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Strain and chill. Place halibut steaks in a shallow non-aluminum pan and cover with marinade. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove steaks from marinade and drain. Place steaks on oiled broiler pan 4 to 5 inches from heat and cook 8 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness, turning halfway through cooking time. Garnish with additional green onion and roasted sesame seeds (optional).

Poached Sole in Wine Sauce with Cheese

2 lbs. fillet of sole
¼ cup chopped onion
2 small bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry white wine
2 tblspn (1/4 stick) butter
3 tblspn flour
3.4 cup mile, scalding hot
Pinch each of basil, thyme and pepper
Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Butter a large backing dish and scatter chopped onion and bay leaves over the bottom. You may fold very thin fillets in half, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and arrange them o the onion. Pour in wine and enough boiling water or stock barely to cover fish. Cover the dish tightly with foil and heat on the stove top to the boiling point, than bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness of fish.

Transfer cooked fillets to individual ovenproof plates or a broiler-to-table platter. Strain, the broil down poached liquid to 1 cup.
Meanwhile, make a sauce. Heat butter with flour, beat in hot milk, stirring as it thickens. Add reduced poaching liquid ad stir I seasonings.
Place thing slices of mozzarella cheese on fish, pour sauce on top to cover and put under the broiler until sauce browns. Fried tomatoes to complement dish.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

6 lbs. quahog clams, chowder clams or cherrystone clams
3 cups water
6 bacon slices
1 large onion, chopped
¾ cup finely diced carrot
¾ cup finely diced celery
1.2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, miced
2 thyme sprigs or ½ tsp dried leaf thyme
1 bay leaf
about 3 cups bottled clam juice, fish stock or water
1 to 2 tblspn tomato paste
1 (16-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained, coarsely chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in ½ to ¾ inch pieces
Salt and black papper
Finely chopped parsley

Scrub clams with a brush to remove sand from shells; discard clams that do no close. Place in a large kettle with water. Cover and cook until clams open, 7 to 10 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Use a slotted spoon to place cooked clams in a large bowl. Holding over kettle to catch juices, remove clam meat from open shells; discard shells. Coarsely shop clams set aside. Strain liquid through several layers of cheesecloth; set aside. Rinse and dry kettle. In same kettle, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel crumble cooked bacon. Reserve 1 to 2 tblspns bacon fat in kettle over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, green pepper add garlic; sauté until onion is soft and transparent. Add thyme and bay leaf. Measure clam liquid; add bottled clam juice, fish stock or water to make 6 cups. Add onion mixture. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes with juice. Add chopped clams and potatoes. Cover kettle; gently simmer 1 hour. Season with salt and black pepper. Ladle chowder into a tureen or server in individual bowls. Garnish with crumbled bacon and parsley. Makes 8 (1 ½ cup) servings.

New England Clam Chowder

3 or 4 bacon slices, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1.2 cup finely diced celery
2 tblspn all-purpose flour
2 (6 ½ oz.) cans chopped or minced clams, un drained
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut in ½ inch cubes
1 bay leaf
2 ½ cups half and half
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Finely chopped parsley

In a large kettle, fry bacon until crisp; Reserve 1 to 2 tblspn bacon fat I kettle. Add onion and celery; sauté until onion is soft and transparent. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Drain juice from clams into kettle; reserve clams. Stir in bottled clam juice. Add cooked bacon, potatoes and bay leaf. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add half and half and reserve clams. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through. Remove and discard bay leaf. Serve from kettle or spoon a tureen. Garnish with paprika and parsley. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Lobster Tails

Thaw lobster tails, wrapped, in the fridge.

Preheat broiler; grease broiling pan. With kitchen shears but and remove the thin under side shell from the tail(s).
Insert a skewer lengthwise through the meat so the tail will stay straight during broiling. Broil according to the timetable below.

Wt. Trail               Broiling time       Minutes
Grams                   Shell Side Meat Side
57                           3                              2
85                           4                              3
114                         5                              3
142                         5                              4
170                         5                              6
199                         5                              7
227                         5                              8

From shell off tails, butterfly thick end of meat before skewering and broil as per above chart.

Broiled Rock Lobster Tails

May be cooked frozen or defrosted

Lightly salt enough water to cover tail(s) and bring to a rolling boil. Add the tails to the boiling water. When water returns to a second boil reduce heat and simmer for the times as listed below.

For frozen tails:

Wt. Tail                 Cooking
Grams                   Time
57                           5 minutes
85                           6 minutes
114                         7 minutes
142                         8 minutes
170                         9 minutes
199                         10 minutes
227                         11 minutes

For defrosted tails:

Wt. Tail                 Cooking
Grams                   Time
57                           3 minutes
85                           4 minutes
114                         5 minutes
142                         6 minutes
170                         7 minutes
199                         8 minutes
227                         9 minutes

Calamari with Cocktail Sauce

2 lbs. calamari rings
¼ cup chili sauce or ketchup
½ tspn. worcestershire sauce
2 tblspns. horseradish
1 tblspn. lemon juice
1/8 tspn. pepper
Dash cayenne
½ tspn. salt

Simmer calamari rings about 5 minutes or until sow white. Drain immediately and chill. Combine all other ingredients and mix well. Arrange chilled calamari rings on plate and serve with cocktail sauce for dipping. Serve immediately. Cocktail sauce: about ¾ cup.