As we discussed last week, numerous seafood prep mistakes happen quite often.
Here’s a chestnut of truth you might not have realized before: cooking is an art, and baking is a science. Either way, making mistakes is a part of learning how to do something. Still, plating some fish is a different endeavor than painting a watercolor or making a birthday cake. As we discussed last week, numerous seafood prep mistakes happen quite often. But when you are aware of what you could do, you can minimize that particular incidence of user error.
You Didn’t Measure Properly!
Unless you have an adequate amount of cooking experience, simply “eyeballing” your measurements won’t work. Sure, you might get lucky, at least at first. But such an occurrence probably won’t happen again. For this reason, you’ll need to take proper measurements of each individual ingredient. Think about it this way: take the principle of “measure twice, cut once” to heart, even when you’re in the kitchen!
You Didn’t Heat Up the Pan First!
Gas stoves and electric stoves run on different types of fuel. As such, each set of burners is going to behave differently. When it comes to expertly cooking seafood, you must give the pan time to heat up first. A cold pan causes the fish to stick, and once it’s stuck, it’s ruined. While oil adds flavor and minimizes this mishap, it’s still a good idea to let your pan get good and hot – especially when you’re cooking a plank of salmon!
You Didn’t Thaw The Food First!
After you pull frozen food out of the freezer, it has to sit. This thawing process is a necessary step – TV dinners might be the exception. Letting your food come to room temperature before you cook it will produce much better results. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of undercooked fish. It’ll be cold on the inside and charred on the outside – not exactly tasty!
Not Giving It Enough Time to Rest!
Steaks need to rest after they cook. Even if you’re planning on making swordfish steaks for dinner, the same advice goes. Let your seafood rest at room temperature for about half an hour. Then you can begin cooking.
COSTAS INN IS YOUR SEAFOOD DESTINATION
Costas Inn has been a Baltimore tradition since 1971. So here’s to 50 years, and cheers to 50 more!
You may recognize our restaurant, which was recently featured on the Food Network with Michael Symon on Burgers, Brew, and ‘Que! We were also voted the 2015 #1 Baltimore Seafood Restaurant by USA Today and #1 Crab Restaurant 2014 in the Baltimore Business Journal. You may have also spotted Costas Inn during one of our nine appearances on the Today Show or heard one of our many interviews on WJZ TV Channel 13 with Ron Matz and Marty Bass.
You can enjoy our famous crab cakes in-house or order them online for any time eating. We also provide some of the best seafood catering in the Baltimore area! Of course, you can also get your fill from Costas even when you’re not in our dining room: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube!