Grilling Shrimp and Other Shellfish

Buying Hints:
Fresh fish should smell clean and not have an ammonia scent."Refresh" frozen shrimp by soaking in salted water, 1 to 2 tbsp of salt to 1 quart of water.

Preparation:
Remove Shell: (optional)

1. Starting at the legs of the shrimp, peel shell back.
2. Pinch bottom of the shell to pop shrimp.
3. Your personal preference dictates whether to leave tail on or off.

Deveining:
If you do not have a deveining tool, butterfly the shrimp.

1. Start by making a cut diagonally on the back of the shrimp. The cut should be approximately ¼ inch deep.
2. Cut again, diagonally, forming a V cut. Remove the vein.

For detailed information on preparing shrimp, see
Fish - Shellfish - How to Prepare and Devein Shrimp

Check for Doneness:
Shrimp meat turns opaque when done.

Buying Hints:
When purchasing live, the crabs should be active and clean. Choose crabs that feel heavy for their size. If you prefer the claw meat, purchase male crabs. If you prefer the body meat, purchase female crabs.

Preparation:
There are hard shell and soft shell crabs.

Soft shell crabs have recently shed their outer hard shell. The remaining soft shell is edible and you can grill the crab whole.

To prepare live crab for grilling:

1. Cut the eyes and mouth off the front of the crab, killing it instantly. A kitchen shears works best.
2. The crab must then be turned on its back and the tab (referred to as an apron) must be pulled off the belly.
3. Turn crab back over, peel back the carapace (back shield) on each side and cut out the gills using a paring knife. Wash crab with clean, cold, running water before placing on grill.

You can also submerge the crabs into boiling water, head first, to kill the crab before trimming.

Hard Shell Crabs
To prepare live crab for grilling, first kill the crab by submerging it in boiling water and removing within 15-30 seconds. Hard shell crab meat should be removed from crab before grilling to ensure even cooking. The shell can be replaced after crab meat is finished cooking and has been removed from the grill.

Buying Hints:
When purchasing live, buy crawfish that are active and heavy for their size.

Preparation:

1. Prepare crawfish by submerging, headfirst, into boiling water. Remove within 15-30 seconds.
2. Lay crawfish belly side up.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut through the shell of the body beginning at the head and finishing at the tail, this allows the heat to penetrate through the shell to grill meat evenly.
4. Remove the intestines, a thin looking vein running the body of the crawfish.
5. Remove the sack located behind the eyes.
6. Crack the shell on the legs of the crawfish to allow heat to penetrate.
7. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.
8. Place on grill.

Check for Doneness:
Crawfish is done when shell turns bright red and meat is opaque.

Buying Hints:
When purchasing live, watch for activity such as the tail of the lobster curling tightly underneath the body when picked up. Female lobsters have a meatier tail. To identify male and female, view bottom of the lobster and find the tiny set of legs that are located at the point where the tail of the lobster starts. The male lobster legs are thick and stiff while the female legs are soft and delicate.

Preparation:
To kill a live lobster, submerge head first into boiling water or place the blade of a sharp knife in the center of the lobster's head, inserting tip of blade between the eyes. The lobster can now be grilled whole. If you prefer, the lobster can be cut in half from the head to the tail. After splitting, remove the sack from the lobsters head and remove the veins running through to the lobsters tail before grilling.

Check for Doneness:
Lobster meat turns opaque when done. You can also check for doneness by lifting the back shell of the lobster. The liver (which is normally green) should be thick like a pudding.

Buying Hints:
Most often, lobster tails are bought frozen.

Preparation:

1. Thaw a lobster tail by placing it in the refrigerator overnight. To thaw more quickly, enclose lobster in waterproof plastic bag and place in a sink with cool running water. Allow about 30 minutes per pound.
2. To grill a lobster tail, the tail should be butterflied by cutting the shell and meat in half, lengthwise. Do not cut through the bottom of the shell.
3. Spread lobster into a butterfly position.

Check for Doneness:
Lobster meat turns opaque when done.

Buying Hints:
Smaller clams/mussels are better for grilling. Small clams/mussels are tender, while larger clams/mussels can be chewy.

Preparation:
Do not grill if clam/mussels are cracked.

1. Using a stiff brush, scrub the outside shell with cold water until completely clean.
2. Remove any threads that may be at the hinged area of the shell. These threads are sometimes referred to as a beard and are found more often on mussels than clams. To remove, simply pull the threads with your fingers or pliers. You may need to pull hard to remove.

For detailed information on preparing clams and mussels, see
Fish - Shellfish - How to Prepare and Open Clams and
Fish - Shellfish - How to Prepare and Open Mussels

Check for Doneness:
Shells open when cooked. Edges of meat curl and turn opaque when done. A mixture of melted butter and preferred seasonings can be drizzled over clams/mussels before serving.

Buying Hints:
Buy oysters that are closed tightly and do not smell overly fishy. To check for freshness, tap the oyster to see if it will close its shell.

Preparation:

1. Discard oysters that have cracked shells or are sticking together.
2. Rinse under cool water to clean the outer shell.

For detailed information on preparing oysters, see
Fish - Shellfish - How to Prepare and Open Oysters

Check for Doneness:
Shells pop open when cooked. Edges of meat curl and turn opaque when done. Discard oysters that did not open.

Buying Hints:
Scallops are rarely sold live because they are highly perishable. Look for shucked scallops that are firm, a sour smell indicates spoilage.

Preparation:

1. Prepare scallops for grilling by cutting off the curved shaped appendage that is attached to the body. Most often, this appendage has been removed before purchase.
2. Marinating them in a favorite oil will help to prevent the tendency of scallops to dry out.

Check for Doneness:
Meat will turn opaque when done

Buying Hints:
When buying squid, look for eyes that are clear and full. The skin should not be torn and the meat firm. Fresh squid is cream-colored with reddish brown spots; Squid, although not surrounded by an outer shell, is considered a mollusk. The squid has a hidden shell called the gladius that is found inside the meat of a squid.

Preparation:

1. If you have purchased fresh, unprepared squid, the first step in cleaning is to hold the squid's head and pull it apart from the body. Doing this should remove most of the inside of the squid. Be very careful not to break the ink sack.
2. After head has been removed, clean any remaining innards from the inside of the cavity of the squid by rinsing the outside and inside cavity with cold running water.
3. The squid can now be cut into rings or grilled as is.
4. If grilling larger squid, remove the skin. The skin tends to toughen on larger squid.

Check for Doneness:
Meat will turn opaque when done.