How to cook seafood like a Las Vegas chef
There’s something fishy, it seems, about preparing seafood at home.
Part of it is the … umm … fragrance, which can linger in and around the kitchen for days. Part of it is uncertainty about finding the right fish or shellfish: Is it fresh? Is it safe? Is it sustainable and — most importantly — something you and yours will like? And part of it’s just not knowing how to prepare the generally delicate product so that it’s as good as something you’ve had in a restaurant.
Well, Las Vegas chefs naturally have plenty of experience preparing seafood, and we talked to a few of them about these all-important points.
First, obtaining it.
“The first thing, usually, if you want to cook seafood, is the quality of the product,” said Antonio Minichiello, chef of the Verandah restaurant at the Four Seasons. Most important, he said, is to stick with something that’s in season — a point also made by Brian Massie, corporate executive chef of the Light Group.
“You don’t want to have halibut out of season,” Massie said. “It’s not environmentally conscious, plus it’s guaranteed to be frozen.”
“Anything frozen isn’t going to taste the same,” said Billy DeMarco, executive chef of La Cave Wine and Food Hideaway at Wynn Las Vegas.
Jean Joho, executive chef of the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas, said whenever possible, buy fish whole or at least with the skin on.
“When you buy a fillet, you can’t see the skin, and you have no idea of the freshness,” Joho said.
“Most important is the smell,” he said. “If it smells fishy and it’s mushy, absolutely not.” Fish, he said, should have shiny eyes and red gills.
“When you touch the texture, the fish have to be firm,” Joho said. “With your fish person, find out where does this fish come from? Where was it caught? Do you know how long this fish was out of the water?”
One problem with shopping for seafood in Las Vegas, the chefs conceded, is a serious shortage of dedicated fish markets. Most of them recommended Whole Foods Market, which has four valley stores. But DeMarco has found other sources.
“I’ve never gone wrong with a local supermarket,” he said. “I’ve never gone wrong with Smith’s or Vons. Whole Foods is the cream of the crop.” But be sure, he said, to go to the counter where the fresh seafood is sold.
Joho said shellfish are tagged, so identifying origin and age tends to be easier. Ask the vendor where it came from and where it was harvested — “They have to know” — and he said to use all of your senses when determining if that fish or shellfish is fresh.
“Make sure it looks good and doesn’t smell,” Minichiello said. “You can tell when seafood is fresh.”
Moving on to cooking, DeMarco said he thinks one problem common to home cooks is seafood sticking to the pan.
“People tend not to let the pan heat up enough, and the fish sticks,” he said. Or people tend to take fish out of the package, add seasoning and throw it right in the pan. He suggests patting it dry first with a paper towel.
“Press it pretty firmly on both sides, but definitely on the skin side,” DeMarco said. “All that natural moisture and juice from the fish, you’re kind of wiping it away to give the skin a nice dry flake that will prevent it from sticking as long as your pan is hot.”
And how do you know when the pan is hot enough?
“You don’t have to wait for it to smoke,” DeMarco said. “If you move the pan around and you see waves, that means the pan is ready to go. You’ll get a beautiful golden-brown fish.”
Another problem, he said, is that home cooks often overcook seafood.
“People tend to think you have to treat seafood kind of like chicken or pork, where you have to cook it all the way through,” he said. “You don’t; you can eat fish medium. You can tell from all the sushi restaurants around town,” which serve raw fish, well below medium.
For fish that’s about an inch thick in the center, he recommends cooking for about 5 minutes on each side.
“It should have some firmness to it,” DeMarco said. “If you touch it with a fork, it should pretty much flake apart. Translucent color is another way to tell that the fish is done.”
“For me, it has to be nice and flaky, and nice and shiny inside,” Joho said.
DeMarco said he extends the practices to shellfish.
“Scallops are pretty much the same,” he said. “I would do the same thing with a paper towel. It should have a little bounce-back when you touch it, should be a little firm. Scallops you can eat on the medium side.”
If you plan to cook the seafood outdoors, Minichiello suggests grilling it — gently.
“Seafood doesn’t like long cooking or high-heat cooking,” he said. “It’s not the way you want to treat fish.”
And they all suggested keeping the preparation as simple as possible.
“Seafood likes fresh basil, tarragon, marjoram, rosemary and lemon thyme,” Minichiello said. And citrus flavors.
“Usually the shellfish are the ones that are easier to cook,” he said, “like shrimp, squid, crabs, clams and mussels. Usually just a little saute in extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and herbs and it’s done.”
“Keep it as simple as you can,” Joho said. “Just braise a little bit in white wine, or just broil it a little bit. Or pan-sear, but keep it simple.”
Joho said small fish, such as sand dabs, are more difficult to cook because they overcook quickly. He prefers to cook whole fish because the flavor is better. His favorite fish, he said, is a whole loup de mer or trout.
“Sea salt, pepper, fresh herbs, a little bit of white wine and olive oil, just braise it in the oven,” he said. “Take it out, remove from the pan, put it on a platter with olive oil or a touch of butter. That’s it.
“Fish can be overpowered when you put so much stuff on it.”
Fish — or at least the smell it leaves behind — can be overpowering as well. Cooking it outdoors goes a long way toward reducing lingering odors, as does burning scented candles.
In general, Massie said he thinks Americans’ attitudes toward seafood are changing, with any of the old fear of preparing it at home.
“I think it used to be the case, just like mint jelly used to be applied to every piece of lamb you’d had in your life,” Massie said. “I think it’s the same thing now, as people are fishing more sustainably and being a lot more conscious of hormones and all that kind of stuff, and more health-driven. I think people are opening up their eyes, and there’s a lot more availability of clean, fresh product.”
EMERIL LAGASSE’S GRILLED WHOLE FISH, GREEK-STYLE
4 whole branzini, or other small Mediterranean fish, 14 to 16 ounces each, gutted, scaled and bones removed but head, skin and fillets left intact (should be about 8 ounces each after processing)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup olive oil, plus more if necessary (divided use)
¼ cup lemon juice
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
Rinse the fish well under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season the fish all over inside and out with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brush each fish generously with ½ tablespoon of the olive oil and place directly on the grill. Cook, turning occasionally and coating with more olive oil if necessary, until flesh flakes easily and fish is cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Place fish on a platter.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine remaining olive oil (about ½ cup) with the lemon juice, parsley and oregano. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve fish drizzled with the olive oil-lemon mixture.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from the Food Network
HERB-GRILLED SALMON WITH MANGO SALSA
For fish:
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick (see notes)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon hot pepper oil (see notes)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Cooking spray
For mango salsa:
1 cup cubed peeled ripe mango
1 cup sliced banana
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 (8-ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 serrano chili, seeded and finely chopped
4 cups hot cooked rice
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal; shake gently to coat. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.
Remove salmon from bag. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Prepare grill or broiler. Place salmon on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until salmon is done. Serve with mango salsa and rice.
To make salsa, combine all ingredients, mango through serrano chili, in a medium bowl. Stir well; cover and refrigerate.
Notes: Recipe also works well with halibut or tuna. And you can substitute 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper for the hot pepper oil.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from Cooking Light
SEARED SCALLOPS AND GRITS
For scallops:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided use)
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
For grits:
3½ cups whole milk, plus more if needed
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ cup quick-cooking grits
4 ounces grated extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
16 sea scallops, each about 2 ounces
1¼ teaspoons Cajun seasoning
4 scallions, ends trimmed
Hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Pour off 5 tablespoons of the butter; set aside and keep warm. Add the panko and garlic to the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet and cook until the panko is crisp and golden, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Remove from the heat.
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450 to 550 degrees).
In a saucepan combine 3½ cups milk, garlic and ¾ teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in the grits. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the mixture thickens and the grits are very tender, 6 to 9 minutes, whisking often and adding water ¼ cup at a time if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in the cheese and season with pepper. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
Pat the scallops dry. Remove and discard the small, tough side muscle that might be left on each one. In a bowl combine the scallops, Cajun seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Turn the scallops in the seasonings and then add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and toss to coat.
Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the scallops over direct high heat, with the lid closed, until they are lightly browned and just opaque in the center, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once or twice. During the last minute of grilling time, grill the scallions over direct heat, turning once. Transfer the scallops to a clean bowl and add 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste, and the remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter; toss to coat. Roughly chop the scallions.
If the grits have solidified, loosen with a few tablespoons of water or milk and then warm through. Divide the grits among four plates. Top the grits with the scallions, scallops and bread crumbs. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with more hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from Weber Grills
SHRIMP SCAMPI
1 pound peeled, large raw shrimp (31/35 count)
1 12-ounce package angel hair pasta
½ cup butter
¼ cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt-free Italian-herb seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Devein shrimp, if desired.
Prepare angel hair pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and saute 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in Italian-herb seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.
Reduce heat to medium. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in lemon juice. Toss shrimp mixture with pasta and sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
— Recipe from Southern Living
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
