| How to Fry Seafood Recipes |
About Fried Seafood
There seems to be much confusion about fried seafood and the types of batters to use.
First there is the confusion between dry and wet seafood. That even sounds confusing isn't all seafood wet? Well of course it is unless it is salted and dried; that is not what I am talking about. The two terms relate to the production and packaging of seafood at the processing plants or markets. Dry refers to the fact that no water (absolutely none) is added to the seafood. Wet refers to the addition of not only water but also sodium tri-poly phosphate. The addition of water and STP causes the seafood to swell and gain weight; it also stretches the shelf life of the seafood whether it is fresh or frozen. By law in several states up to 35% water is allowed to be added and absorbed by the seafood usually it's closer to 25%; the absorption is facilitated by the STP.
Now there are several reasons not to buy wet water added seafood with STP. First of all it is not organic and natural, it is also used in laundry detergent. Second the water weight is just water and you are paying whatever price per pound for the seafood and the water. It's a good deal for the sellers. Oddly enough all most all dry seafood weighs 8 pounds per gallon container. When you buy wet seafood, it also weigh 8 pounds per gallon because a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds, the world around. So let's do some math. A gallon of dry #10 dry scallops (10 to the pound) has 80 scallops to the gallon. A gallon of wet #10 wet scallops can have 52 to 60 of #10 scallops per gallon. A pint weighs 1 pound with dry you get 8 count #10 scallops per pint with wet you get 5 to 6 scallops. Unfortunately it is legal. The New England Provisions Co. never sells wet seafood of any kind, never has and never will.
Why do I insist that you buy dry shucked clams or oysters and all types of seafood? Because wet seafood cooks horribly. You can always tell if you get wet deep fried seafood at a fish restaurant because the batter falls off after a few minutes on the plate. The scallops shrink and rattle around inside the fried batter coating. There is an old commercial that played in Virginia for a used car dealer whose motto was "you pay what you get for" or more succinctly " you get what you pay for". Wet seafood does not broil or bake well either. It does work in soup but you have to remember the salt that is added by the STP. Avoid buying it fresh or frozen.
The batter question is how much batter do you want to eat. Wet batters means more batter, more mess, more calories and hot oil spattering. All around the cape each restaurant says it has a secret recipe for frying. The secret is to not tell any customer what it is so they don't start frying clams and scallops at home.
All it is just pure, finely, ground, corn flour. NOT CORN MEAL WHICH BURNS AND DOES NOT WORK! The best brand are either from Portugal or Colombia, use the yellow variety. Just make sure it is fine, corn flour not meal. They look the same but meal is courser. Do not add any water , beer and especially salt to the flour. Just plain corn flour. You can use white flour but the color and taste is wrong. Of course if you know how to make a beer batter or tempura well; you can go that way which is messy work. Their recipes are included later. But it is not the same as corn flour which is best for shellfish.
For all types of seafood, clams, scallops, oysters, squid rings, butterflied shrimp and fillets just roll the seafood in the corn flour and shake of the excess. Fry until golden not brown in 350-375 degrees F. oil in a high sided pot. Don't let the oil smoke. The seafood will rise and float as it finishes cooking. Dutch ovens work very well. And it's a good place to store the oil for later. The best tool to use to retrieve the seafood is a Chinese wire basket with a bamboo handle.
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