Smoked Seafood Makes Everyone Happy

One of the greatest dishes to serve during summer is smoked seafood. For a light yet delicious meal, consider an appetizer of smoked oysters to start. 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. Some may need to venture further away, but the trip will be worth your while!

Summertime is probably the best time of the year to enjoy a smoked seafood treat, but there is no reason why you can't spoil yourself year round. Even in the fall or winter, smoked seafood will still add an exotic and mysterious flare to any social event or gathering.

Examples of smoked seafood include clams, smoked scallops and mussles. Farm-raised mussles have the obvious advantages of being fresh and readily available but wild varieties are equally delicious. Hard clams, also called quahogs, live in sandy coves and are caught at low tide. Quahogs taste great when stuffed with butter and garlic. Clams are very popular in pasta dishes, but clam chowder still remains one of the most popular clam dishes!

Scallops require very little preparation and are meatier than clams. 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 smoked scallops, or you will end up with a chewy, inedible food.

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 great smoked and should remain encased in their shell while cooking.

More smoked seafood includes smoked crab and smoked shrimp. 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 smoked seafood part of your diet everyday.

Shrimp can be added to any meal and is a great variation in burritos, tacos, pasta dishes and more. Smoked shrimp spices up stews and soups. It adds a Cajun flavor to classic Creole dishes such as Jambalaya and gumbo. Whatever way you choose to serve, it, shrimp cooked in this manner will make any meal one to remember.

When all other food choices have been exhausted, there is always smoked seafood. Not only is this an under utilized seafood dish, it is also extremely tasty. Serving smoked seafood will certainly liven up any social event you either throw or attend. Surprise everyone by showing up with a serving dish full of different types of smoked seafood.

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If you don't live on the East Coast - you can always go to the grocery store and purchase some lobster. If you want to guarantee the ultimate in freshness, order from an sea-food portal such as Quality Fresh Seafood.
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