Shopping for Mariscos (Seafood)

During summer vacations when I was a kid, I always looked forward to visiting Ana Maria, one of my older sisters who lived in Chimbote, a port city north of Lima that is still one of Peru’s largest fishing centers.

It’s a beautiful place with boats bobbing in the marina and the Andes jutting up in the background like on a postcard. The beach was 4 to 5 kilometers (around 3 miles) from my sister’s house, but it wasn’t hard to convince a friend to walk all the way down there with me to find lunch. We’d reach our hands into the sea to pluck off the tiny clams clinging to the rocks. We washed off any grit right there in the seawater and piled up the clams, dozens of them, in a bucket for the trip home. The ocean had already done all of the hard work, so the clams only needed a few squeezes of lime juice, ají amarillo peppers, and salt. We’d eat them straight out of the bucket—instant ceviche. (And we’d pile on the hot peppers just to see who could take the heat.) To me, that’s what eating the freshest raw seafood is all about.

Today, it’s not always as easy to source the best-quality seafood. But the more time you spend around it, you begin to notice the subtle differences in good- versus fantastic-tasting seafood. In my experience, the best-tasting fish and shellfish were treated with the respeto, respect, they deserved during life and in death. That respect needs to go all the way up the chain of command, from those who (hopefully) harvested the seafood sustainably, on to the fishmonger, and finally to us.

Unfortunately, choosing seafood that is fantástico isn’t always as easy as asking your fishmonger for the freshest catch of the day. Here are a few tips.

Find a fishmonger you trust.

It’s easy to be drawn in to the beautiful seafood in the cases, but observe the fish purveyors. A good fishmonger, like a good chef, is one who is proud to be a teacher. Look for someone who is inspired by your questions, not just interested in making a sale. How do they handle the seafood? Fish is not a firm and tough protein like beef. If handled roughly, it can fall apart. A good fishmonger will place, not slap, a whole fish on the counter to be cleaned and filleted. Back home, store the fish properly to keep the flavor and texture at its peak (see page 86).

Seafood should look vibrant and healthy, and should not have a strong “fishy” smell.

A common misconception is that anything hours out of the sea will taste incredible. It will be “fresh,” yes, but even fish caught the same day you buy it may not taste as good as one that is three days out of the sea. Fish and shellfish should have a color that says, “I was healthy, and hopefully, happy, when I was alive.” Beyond how the fish was handled after it was killed, the conditions of its tank (if farm-raised) or the oceans or rivers it grew up in (whether they were polluted or relatively clean) are key. Even fish and shellfish that are white or pale in color, like paiche, cod, and scallops, should look bright and vibrant. If you are buying a whole fish, touch the skin. It should be firm, not give too much, with a bright color to both the skin and eyes.

Frozen seafood is not necessarily lesser quality than fresh.

Some of the best-quality seafood is flash-frozen shortly after being fished or harvested, especially shrimp, scallops, and fish that isn’t local. They often taste “fresher” than never-frozen fish and shellfish that have sat in a fishmonger’s case for days, and you can thaw the seafood whenever you need it. (Granted, with today’s fish packaging regulations, it can be difficult to know which frozen seafood is the best quality, but try different brands to see which you trust.) Shellfish like mussels and crustaceans like lobsters and crabs are an exception. In general, they should still be alive when you buy them.

How to Store Fish and Shellfish

Fresh Fish

If your fishmonger did not already fillet the fish, clean the fish soon after you get home. Oxygen causes the fish’s flesh to break down more quickly, so I like to wrap fillets in plastic to keep out the oxygen. If the fish is of good quality and kept in the refrigerator, it should stay fresh tasting for two days, maybe longer.

To store fish fillets: Place individual fish fillets or large chunks of fish meat on a very lightly dampened piece of paper towel and wrap it snugly in a piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic around the fish a few times, like making a cocoon, so the fish is securely enclosed.

Fresh Shellfish

Unlike fish, live mollusks like mussels, clams, and oysters, and crabs and lobsters need oxygen to breathe. They should never be submerged in water, stored in a sealed container, or covered with plastic wrap. To extend the shelf life of crustaceans like lobsters, I sometimes blanch them a day or two before I need them. (Remove the meat from the shells and discard the shells.) You can refrigerate the lobster meat for up to two days.

To store shellfish: Refrigerate live shellfish in a bowl or a large, shallow baking dish loosely covered with a moist paper towel. Use them as soon as possible, preferably the same day. Be sure to discard any mussels or clams that do not open after they have been cooked.

Frozen Seafood

The best way to thaw frozen seafood is in a salted ice bath for six to eight hours in the refrigerator, or overnight, if you have the time. Add enough salt to the water so you can taste the salt but the water isn’t as salty as the ocean, especially with tuna and other dark fish. (The salt helps bring out the vibrant color of the fish, which tends to fade.) You can also thaw fish or shellfish more quickly in an ice bath at room temperature. As the seafood thaws, change the water two or three times so it is always clean. You don’t want the fish or shellfish to pick up any off flavors from the liquid the flesh releases as it thaws—and we all enjoy a clean bath.