Sizzling Seafood – The Best Seafood Tips

When you talk about BBQ Seafood usually the words we hear from customers are terrified, failed attempts and overcooked. Seafood doesn’t need to be intimidating and serving delicious seafood BBQ is (gasp!!) achievable!

We have an abundance of beautiful, fresh seafood in Australia and here are our top tips for finger-licking gourmet seafood BBQ fare every time:

• Choose quality fresh seafood – get to know your fishmonger or local seafood shop and always ask them what’s fresh. Fresh fish will have a pleasant sea smell (not have a fishy odour), eyes should be bright and not sunken and fish should have firm flesh and should spring back when touched.
• Not dissimilarly to a steak, you want to cook seafood medium or in reality slightly undercooked (overcooked seafood is dry) as it will continue to cook when it comes off the BBQ and leave time for it to rest to ensure the seafood retains its moisture
• When direct cooking (i.e. fillets or prawns), place the BBQ on high to heat then medium to cook. However when indirect cooking (whole fish), we recommend leaving the outside burners on high and the middle burners directly underneath the fish off to prevent drying out
• To cook prawns, peel all but the last tail segment, place on a skewer from tail or tip, season and place on grill leaving the skewer end off the BBQ so it doesn’t burn. Cook for 2 minutes each side and leave to rest on the shelf of your BBQ for 2 minutes. Drizzle with fresh lemon and enjoy
• When cooking a whole fish, we recommend using a fisharoo or fish basket as it will ensure even cooking and keep the fish moist - you can pick these up from BBQ retailers or hardware store. Season to taste and then close the fisharoo, cooking for 20-25 minutes per kilo and turning mid-way through the cooking time – the flesh will turn opaque and starts to flake away with a fork when cooked. Alternatively place elevated in a roasting tray and cover with foil (shiny side down) and bake to cooking times above.

If you’re ever not sure about how best to cook your seafood be sure to come do a BBQ Seafood class at one of our national locations or ask your supplier for tips and recipes as they will guide you on how to get the best flavour from your choice of delicious Aussie seafood!