Seafood Blog

Scampi Stuffed Smoked Portobello Mushrooms

William E. Patterson — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:39:02 GMT

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 pound shrimp, medium, 32 to 36 count, peeled and de-veined
12 green onions including tops, sliced into thin rounds
4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
6 whole Portobello mushrooms, 4 to 5 inches in diameter
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 eggs, extra large or jumbo, beaten
1/2 c. fresh parsley, minced
1 c. sour cream
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, (or Romano), grated
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs
Salt & pepper to taste

Cut each shrimp into 3 or 4 pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12" skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp, onions, garlic and ginger to the pan and quickly saute, stirring and/or shaking pan just long enough to turn the shrimp pale pink, about 1 minute. Remove shrimp from pan with a slotted spoon leaving as much of the pan dripping in pan as possible. Set shrimp aside.

Cut about 1/2" inch off of the bottom of the stems. Remove stems, taking care not to damage the caps. With the tip of a silver teaspoon scrape out the dark gill-like material on the underside, again being careful not to damage the cap. Scrape deeply enough to reach the pale colored flesh underneath, add the scrapings to the reserved stems and mince. Brush each cap lightly with remaining olive oil and set on a shallow aluminum pan with 10 or 12 small holes punched in the bottom.

Return skillet to high heat and add the minced mushroom meat and the Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 4 or 5 minutes or until all moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat. Add the reserved shrimp, eggs, parsley, sour cream, mozzarella, Parmesan, lemon juice, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.

Smoking,Mound shrimp mixture into mushroom caps. Place in smoker at 200°F, over hickory wood, for one hour.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. May be garnished with additional sour cream before serving. Slice each cap into 8 pie shaped wedges to serve as appetizers, or leave whole to serve 6 as a first course.

Basil Cured Smoked Shrimp

Frank Terranova, MCFE — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:24:19 GMT

INGREDIENTS

3 cups water
2 cloves garlic minced
¼ cup onion chopped
1 lemon sliced
1/3 cup honey
½ tsp. cayenne
2 tbsp. salt
1 ½ lbs. shrimp 26/30 peeled and devained
1/2 cup butter melted
2 tbsp. fresh basil minced
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Cookshack RibRub

WOOD

2 oz. Mesquite

ACCESSORIES

Cookshack Seafood Grills

PROCEDURE
In a stainless steel bowl, combine the water, garlic, onion, lemon, honey, cayenne and salt. Mix well. Place the shrimp in and let stand 30-40 min. Drain well and pat dry.
Preheat the smoker to 275°F.

Combine the butter, basil, lemon juice and Cookshack RibRub.

Dip each shrimp in the butter mixture and lay them on the seafood grill.

Smoke-cook approximately 20 minutes and lightly brush with the remaining butter mixture when done. Serve at once.

SMOKE-COOKING
Smoke-Cook Temperature: 275°F
Smoke-Cook Time: Approximately 20 minutes
Hold Temperature: N/A

Frank Terranova is the host of Cooking with Class®, a daily television cooking segment on Channel 10, the NBC affiliate in Providence, R.I. When not in front of the camera, Terranova is an associate instructor in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University’s Providence Campus. He is a seafood, grilling, and smoking expert. Among his many other accomplishments he has co-authored a cookbook, New Paradigm Cooking. For many years he has been an important part of Cookshack's exhibit at the annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show, held every May in Chicago.

Canadian Smoked Salmon Soup

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:23:52 GMT

8½ quart fish stock
4 pounds smoked salmon, flaked
1½ pounds onions, diced
4 quarts hot milk
10 pounds potatoes, diced
2½ pounds frozen yellow corn
Sherry wine (optional)

Sweat onions in butter. Add flour, producing a blonde roux. Do not let it color. Add stock and milk. Simmer until no starch taste remains.

Cook potatoes separately in steamer or boiling water until tender. Add flaked, smoked salmon and corn, simmer. Add wine if desired. Add more hot milk for proper consistency.

Adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper. Garnish with chopped or parsley and serve.

Yield: 3½ gallons

Chilled Smoked Avocado Soup with Shrimp

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:23:27 GMT

2 medium ripe avocadoes
8 large shrimp, shelled
Juice of 1 lime
1 - 14 1/2 ounce can chicken broth
1/4 c. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 c. plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves
Extra yogurt and cilantro for garnish

Cut avocado in half and remove pit. Brush cut sides with lime juice. Pour remaining juice from lime over the shrimp. Place the avocado and shrimp in the smoker oven and smoke for 30 minutes at 225°F. Check for doneness and leave in a little longer if necessary. Do not overcook.

Spoon the avocado out of its peel and into a blender container. Add the chicken broth, lime juice, garlic, and hot pepper sauce. Blend until smooth. Add the yogurt and cilantro leaves and pulse on and off to combine. Refrigerate the soup and the shrimp separately for 1 hour or longer.

Spoon the soup into individual soup bowls or icers. Coarsely chop the shrimp and place on top of the soup. Garnish with additional yogurt and cilantro leaves.

Yield: 4 servings

Recommended wood: hickory

Cold-Smoked Salmon

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:23:05 GMT

8 sides of salmon
1 c. Morton’s TenderQuick
1 fresh, raw egg, in shell
1 c. brown sugar
Cookshack Cold Smoke Kit

The quantities in this recipe have been standardized for Cookshack Series 100 smoker ovens. Adjust quantities for your smoker's capacity.

Pour 1 cup of Morton's TenderQuick into a large non-reactive conainer. Place egg (in shell) in same container. Add water until the egg floats. Remove the egg. Add brown sugar. Mix well. Fully immerse the salmon in brine. Refrigerate for 8 hours.

Remove salmon from brine and pat dry. Distribute salmon on plastic tray and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Load 2 sides of salmon on each of the 4 top grills of your Cookshack smoker.

Remove the bottom grill and replace with the Cookshack Cold-Smoke Kit Baffle. Place a pan of ice on the Baffle. Follow Cold Smoke Kit instructions, or xet smoker's temperature to 250 degrees (F) for 15 minutes or until smoke emerges from the top vent hole. Turn the smoker off. Hold for one hour, fifteen minutes. Test for smoke flavor. If more smoke flavor is desired, repeat the process.

Cookshack Hot-Smoked Salmon

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:22:39 GMT

Six 9 lb. chum salmon
1 c. Morton's Tenderquick Meat Cure
4 c. water
1 whole, fresh egg
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 oz. red food coloring
1 oz. yellow food coloring

Clean and dry salmon. Prepare Morton's Tenderquick according to package directions in a plastic container. Place egg in brine solution. Add Tenderquick until it floats. Remove egg from brine solution and stir in brown sugar. Immerse salmon completely in brine, and refrigerate for 18 hours.

Remove salmon from brine, and add food coloring. Return salmon to brine for 3 minutes. Remove salmon, and discard brine solution.

Place crumpled aluminum foil in cavity and shape fish to desired position. Pat dry.

Load wood box with 1 oz. hickory wood. Load salmon 1 per grill. Position salmon so that they do not touch each other or the sides of the oven. Close and latch the smoker's door. Smoke-cook 30 minutes per lb. at 200F.

When the salmon is done, remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Wrap and refrigerate.

Recommended wood: Hickory

Cookshack Lox

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:22:07 GMT

2 to 2½ lb. fillet of salmon
1/2 c. maple syrup
5 lbs. rock salt
2 to 3 cups canola oil

Curing the Fish

Wash the fish and pat dry. Lay the fish skin side down in a large pan and rub with the syrup. Allow to dry in refrigerator for 4 hours. Cover the fish with the salt and let sit for 8 hours, refrigerated.

Remove all the salt from the fish and from the pan. Put the fish back in pan and desalinate by running cold water at a slow pace over the fish in the pan for an hour. Pat the fish dry.

Smoking the Fish

Put a small piece of apple or cherry wood in the smoker's wood box. Set the smoker to 100F. Place the salmon on the highest rack and latch the door. Leave the smoker on 20 minutes and then turn it off. Leave the fish in the smoker for an hour without opening the door.

Remove the salmon and place face down in about 2 inches of canola oil. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove the fish from the oil and pat dry. Slice it thin on the bias and enjoy some great lox.

Try your lox with one of these:

Red Onion and Caper Spread

1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons capers
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until well blended.

Fresh Herb and Chive Spread

1 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped fine
1/4 c. fresh chives, chopped fine
3/4 c. silken tofu or cream cheese
1/2 c. avocado
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix in food processor until well blended.

Cookshack Smoked Salmon Steaks

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:21:39 GMT

Salmon steaks, 1¼" thick

Place steaks in oven. Set oven temperature to 225F, and load 4 - 8 oz. hickory wood in the smoker's wood box. When oven begins to smoke heavily, place an upside down drinking glass over the top vent hole, and continue to smoke for five more minutes. Remove steaks. Finish on grill to desired doneness. To hold, cool down at room temperature and refrigerate. Finish on grill at serving time.

Recommended wood: apple or cherry

Fettucine with Smoked Salmon

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:21:06 GMT

1 lb. fettucine, cooked
10 shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
10 oz. Boursin cheese (or garlic-herb cream cheese)
½ c. Parmesan cheese
2 c. heavy cream
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
12 oz. smoked salmon, sliced very thin
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Cook 1 lb. fettucine until tender. Reserve.

Slice shiitake mushrooms and sauté in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add garlic and sauté an additional 30 seconds. Add cream, Boursin cheese, Parmesan cheese, and salt. Whip to smooth. Reduce to slightly thicken.

Divide among 4 plates. Heat salmon in pan and place around fettucine. Top with chopped parsley and black pepper. Serve.

Yield: serves 4

Hot Smoked Salmon with Thai-Style Vegetables

Cookshack — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:20:32 GMT

4 - 8 oz. skinless, boneless salmon filets
1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper, combined
2 Tbs. fresh chopped coriander

Thai-Style Vegetables

1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 summer squash, small and tender
2 green onions, chopped medium
2 celery stalks, julienned
½ c. finely chopped shallots
½ c. fresh lime juice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. chili powder
½ c. fresh chopped coriander
½ c. fresh chopped mint
Pinch of sugar

Load wood box with apple wood. Preheat smoker at 250F for 20 minutes. Put salmon on Cookshack Seafood Grills and liberally sprinkle seasoning mixture on the filets. Insert fish into preheated smoker and prepare vegetables. Smoke for 30 - 40 minutes.

In a medium saute pan heat vegetable oil to smoking point. Add cut and prepared vegetables together and saute quickly. Finish with remaining spices until the vegetables reach desired tenderness. Add lime juice just before serving.

Neatly arrange vegetables on side of each filet allowing enough for four portions. Serve with warm flour tortillas, guacamole and a black bean salad.

Yield: 4 servings ,