The sun is shining in the sky, the weekends are long and perfect for spending time with friends and family, and the smell of delicious Chesapeake Bay seafood is in the air. If you love eating seafood over the summer like we do at Costas Inn, here’s what you should know about how to handle and store scrumptious Chesapeake Bay seafood.
Keep It Cold
The amount of time that your Chesapeake Bay seafood will remain fresh depends on how good the seafood was when you purchased it and how you are planning to take care of it. When you are storing fresh seafood, it’s important to keep it in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Use a refrigerator thermometer to ensure that it is below 40 degrees. If the temperature rises higher than 40 degrees, your seafood will start to rapidly lose quality and deteriorate. If needed, don’t be afraid to use ice to store your seafood. Use a cooler when transporting your seafood home if you won’t be consuming it within a few hours.
Store Your Seafood
Storing your seafood is another important part of keeping it safe and fresh. Finfish should only be stored for 1-2 days after purchase. Store finfish on ice. If the first won’t be used within 1-2 days, freeze it and thaw when you need to use it. Shellfish should be placed in a shallow, empty pan and covered with a damp paper towel. Shellfish should be used within 2-3 if they are clams or mussels and 7-10 days if you have oysters. If you have shellfish that has already been shucked, you can place it into a sealed container and freeze it.
Frozen seafood should be kept frozen until you are ready to use it. Keep in mind that safe food handling guideline “first in first out” so that none of your frozen seafood gets too old and freezer-burned. Thaw Chesapeake Bay frozen seafood overnight in the refrigerator.
Your Seafood Destination this Summer
Costas Inn has been a Baltimore tradition since 1971. 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, as well as #1 Crab Restaurant 2014 in the Baltimore Business Journal. You may have also spotted Costas Inn during one of our 9 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 anytime eating. We also provide some of the best seafood catering in the Baltimore area! You can also get your fill from Costas even when you’re not in our dining room: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube!