Seafood Buyer’s Guide

Selection: Fresh fish will have bright, clear bulging eyes, firm flesh and a mild clean odor. Shrimp should be free of flesh discoloration and have a pleasant odor. Shell-stock oysters will have tightly closed shells and shucked oysters will be plump, free of extraneous materials and have clear liquor. Picked crabmeat should be free of shell and cartilage and have a sweet, clean odor.

BUYING: Allow at least 1/3 pound per serving of fillets and steaks, and 1 pound of dressed or whole fish. Four to six ounces of cooked product is suggested for shrimp, oysters and crabmeat, depending on the recipe and appetite.

STORING: Use fresh seafoods within a day or two of purchase. Freeze products in amounts suitable for one meal. Use air-tight wrapping or freeze in water in small plastic containers. Thaw in cold water or in the microwave oven on lowest setting.

COOKING: Check for doneness before the suggested cooking time is up. Fish cooks quickly and is done when the flesh flakes and is opaque in appearance. Seafoods have very little connective tissue, so excessive cooking time and heat is unnecessary. Allow ten minutes of cooking time per inch of fish thickness.

Developed by Annette Reddell Hegen
Seafood Consumer Education Specialist
Texas Marine Advisory Service