As the spring and summer grilling season kicks off, here are some tips to help you navigate the seafood counter or your local fish market! Remember, too, that your fishmonger is a terrific source of knowledge. Ask him or her about amounts, best cuts, and optimal cooking methods and times. If you are not going home right after shopping, request to have  your seafood placed in a bag of ice. Enjoy!

Tips for buying fresh fish filets and steaks

1. Look for firm, shiny flesh that gives slightly when pressed. Flesh should not be mushy, and it should not separate easily.
2. If the head is on, the fish’s eyes should be clear and should bulge a bit. Avoid dull, cloudy, sunken, or bloody eyes.
3. The gills should be bright pink or red, not brown or gray.
4. The fish should have a pleasant ocean-fresh smell, not a fishy or ammonia-like odor.
5. Scales (if on the fish) should be shinny and should cling tightly to the flesh.
6. Steaks and filets should be moist, not slimy or dry, and the color should be uniformly bright, not dull.

Tips for buying live crabs, lobsters, and shrimp

1. Legs should be lively when touched unless the crustacean is soft-shelled (such as soft shell crabs).
2. The tail of a live lobster tail should curl under when lifted up. It should not hang limp.
3. Shellfish should feel weighty, not light or dry.
4. Raw shrimp should have translucent shells with a grayish green, a pinkish-tan, or a pink tint. They should be moist and firm, not mealy.

Tips for buying live clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, and other mollusks

1. Shells should be tightly closed. If they are open, they should shut immediately when gently tapped. Discard gaping shells that do not close when tapped.
2. Shells should be moist and intact, not cracked, dry or chipped.
3. Mollusks should have a clean ocean-fresh scent, not a fishy odor.

Tips for buying shucked clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, and other mollusks

1. Meat should be plump, not shriveled, dark, or dry.
2. Meat should be free of shell and sand particles.
3. Liquid should be clear, not cloudy or opaque, and it should be less than 10% of the volume.
4. Mollusks should have a clean ocean-fresh scent, not a fishy odor.

Tips for buying frozen fish and shellfish

1. Flesh should be frozen solidly.
2. Fish should be contained in a tight, moisture-proof package.
3. Fish should not have any freezer burn or ice crystals.
4. When thawed, fish should pass the same test as outlined for fresh fish and shellfish above.
5. Frozen fish should remain frozen until it is thawed for cooking. Do not refreeze fish or shellfish.

Tips for cooking fresh fish

1. Marinades and dry rubs add tremendous taste to fish, and the choices are endless. Play around to find your favorites.
2. Keep marinating fish refrigerated; do not leave it at room temperature. Do not use the plate or platter that held the raw fish to serve the cooked fish. Discard any marinades or sauces that came in contact with the raw fish. Do not serve them as sauce and do not recycle them.
3. The healthiest and tastiest ways to cook fish are grilling, broiling, poaching, steaming, pan sautéing, or baking. Avoid deep frying.
4. 10-Minute-Per-Inch Rule for Fish: Measure fish at its thickest point (if stuffed or rolled measure after stuffing). If baking (at a high temperature), grilling, broiling, poaching, steaming, or sautéing, cook the fish for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Add 5 minutes of cooking time to the total cooking time for fish wrapped in foil or covered with a sauce. Double the cooking time for frozen fish that has not been thawed prior to cooking.
5. Fish is done when the flesh turns from translucent to opaque. It should flake easily with a fork or knife. A thermometer should read 140 degrees F when cooked.
6. Cook fish skin-side down. The filet or meat will slide off the fish easily when cooked.

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