Seafood Platter
User Reviews
5.0
18 reviews
Excellent
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Servings
8
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American, Australian
Seafood Platter
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Video above! This is what we put on our seafood platter. Our preference is to buy most seafood pre-cooked (boiled at sea) and serve it cold. See the post above for why we choose these items - it's all about best quality and best value for money! Varieties of seafood specified are for Australia.Top tips: Buy Australian (or locally caught, wherever you are in this world) and where possible buy fresh rather than thawed/frozen (most seafood loses quality when frozen). Don't buy cheap lobster, it's a total waste of money. Get Moreton Bay bugs instead (it's so similar, but cheaper) or more prawns instead. Avoid buying pre-packaged if you can, it's fresher from open displays!
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Ingredients
- 2 kg / 3 lb whole prawns , pre-cooked, shell on (Tiger, King or Banana prawns)
- 24 oysters - Sydney Rock or Pacific , love both (Tasmanian, Merimbula and Port Stephens are favourites)
- 4 blue swimmer crabs (400g/14oz+) (not smaller), pre-cooked in shell, whole
- 8 Moreton Bay bugs , pre-cooked in shell, whole (fallback - Balmain Bugs)
- 200g / 7 oz smoked salmon (Huon is the only Australian one I get)
- 250g / 8 oz sashimi , pre-sliced (tuna, kingfish or salmon)
- 1 kg / 2 lb mussels - cooked, served at room temp (Note 5)
Seafood Sauces (choose 2) - all recipes here:
- Cocktail Seafood Sauce
- Tartare Sauce
- Marie Rose / Thousand Island (top pick)
- Thai Chilli Lime Sauce
- RecipeTin Family Favourite Seafood Sauce (top pick)
Other sauces:
- Sauces for oysters (selection coming next week)
- Soy sauce and wasabi , for sashimi
Serving:
- ice , optional (crushed if you can, else normal)
- Lemon wedges (lots!)
- parsley sprigs (for decorating, if you're feeling fancy)
- Bowls , to discard shells
- Finger bowls , filled with water and lemon slices
- Napkins (lots!)
Our standard side dishes
- Good bread with good butter or good extra virgin olive oil (Try this easy Crusty Artisan Bread)
- Perky green salad or vegetable sticks (crudites), see in post for suggestions
- Lots of cold beer, wine and champagne!
Extra dishes pictured in post and the video
- Marinated crispy baby octoptus
- The crispiest salt and pepper squid (recipe coming soon!)
- Cheese and crackers (because I just have to!)
- More extras - see notes
Instructions
- Purchase all seafood as close as possible to the serving date. We often do the 5AM shop at the Sydney Fish Markets on Christmas Eve, because we are slightly crazy! We don't order online (we like to choose our own).
- Storage - Cooked seafood will easily keep 2 days, fresh raw for cooking will too if you take it out of the plastic bags, put in a colander or similar and very loosely cover with cling wrap (breathing = less stinky).
- Crab - To cut the crab, follow directions in How to Cut a Whole Crab except DO NOT cut off the claws if you are using a Blue Swimmer Crab. (See note)
- Moreton Bay bug - To cut the bug, flip it on to its back. Cut down through the middle (the shell is not too hard). Clean out the yellow and brown matter in the head, then it's ready to serve. Recipe video above.
- Sauce - Make your sauces of choice. They will be used for dipping prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and crab (I also use for vegetable sticks and bread!). Refrigerate until required (2 days+).
- Mussels - Make mussels, if using. Great served at room temperature on a cold seafood platter.
Assembling:
- Ice (optional) - Cover a large platter with ice. This keeps the seafood cold as well as providing a non-slip bed.
- Pile the prawns, crab and bugs on to the platter. Drape smoked salmon randomly around. Fan out the sushi.
- Oysters – Place them level to avoid the juices in the shells spilling out (what a waste!).
- Mussels – Break off one shell, and serve in the remaining shell. Then place the mussels in a single layer, or shingled (stacked but level). Spoon on a little of the diced vegetables and some reserved mussel cooking liquor.
- Sauce and lemon - Nestle bowls filled with sauces amongst the seafood and scatter over lemon wedges. Serve alongside finger bowls for cleaning and bowls to discard shells, and lots of napkins. Fill glasses with wine, cheers to Christmas! Now dive in!
Notes
- Extra suggestions to add on the side: Christmas Baked Salmon, Crispy Beer Battered Fish, Homemade Fries, frozen store bought potato gems (tater tots), Chinese Honey Prawns, Singapore Chilli Crab, Whole Baked Fish any other seafood or fish recipe – here’s the full collection.
- Christmas Baked Salmon
- ,
- Crispy Beer Battered Fish
- ,
- Homemade Fries,
- frozen store bought potato gems (tater tots),
- Chinese Honey Prawns,
- Singapore Chilli Crab
- ,
- Whole Baked Fish
- any other seafood or fish recipe – here’s the
- full collection
- .
- See in post for more tips and thoughts on each item listed. Summary points below!
- using
- this cookbook recipe
- or
- this recipe
- but dice the vegetables very small (to use as garnish on mussels). Cool to room temperature then serve on platter.
- Prawns - Tiger, king and banana prawns in Australia are all great, though if I had to pick one I'd choose tiger prawns (I love the salty slightly more intense flavour). Watch out for imported – Australian prawns are superior in flavour.
- Oyster - Both Sydney Rock (smaller, stronger flavour) and Pacific (fleshier, cleaner flavour) oysters are great. These are the two varieties here in Australia. The quality and flavour comes down to where and how they are grown.
- Moreton Bay bugs - The "better value lobster"!. At ~$40/kg, they're easier to cut, to eat and have a higher meat-to-shell ratio. There's really no point getting cheap lobster, tastes of nothing. If you get lobster, you need to spend $100/kg+. Don't bother with cheap lobster!
- Crab - Blue swimmer crabs for the best for flavour (in our view) and value, but don't get small ones <350g/12oz, it's a pain to get the meat out. Spanner crab is also great but all the meat is in the shell (cut per same directions). Mud crab and king crab - please read in post for our view on these (buy raw, make sure it's Australian, and cook yourself), they are expensive so get it right!
- Mussels - cooked using this cookbook recipe or this recipe, but dice the vegetables very small (to use as garnish on mussels). Cool to room temperature then serve on platter.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
18 reviews
Excellent
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