Know your Seafood...

i wrote this before in another forum... however it is relevent everywhere... and everyone Must know.

I am a seafood purveyor, in my opinion the company i work for is one of the top 4 fish companies in the United States. I get alot of phone calls from chefs about alot of stupid things. However every question deserves an answer, but usually before they get to that point, they bitch and moan. So before you come screetching at me make sure you know what your talking about!!!

So anyhoo i get alot of calls about this so... lets clear some up.

Scallops have a gassy smell... they always will unless they have been washed or dipped...
(Dipped- Where seafood has been "dipped" into a sodium solution, therefore absorbing extra liquid, adding to weight of product) Commonly while cooking the extra liquid will leek out and the U-10 Scallop you bought is now a U-15...

Holes in fish...
Ok people fishermen dont have time to handle every single fish by hand, they have gaft hooks... like the thing they used in scream 2.... maybe? its a wooden cylinder handle with a metal hook coming out of it... Usually they hook the fish by the head or whatever body part they connect with and throw the fish... So.... Stop bitching cut around the meat!!

As for cloudy eyes... well ice can make eyes cloudy. (how its packed) Or actually certain fish (deepwater) are pulled up from tremendous depths causing cloudy or bloodshot eyes, or in the case of BlackSea Bass stomaches that come out their mouths...

Smell well some fish just smell crappy... especially belly areas... However!!! they shouldent smell... well if your fish guy has washed off the fish, and there is an unpleasant ordor emitting from the fish... its bad... Tolerable ordor on some fish is ok... eg Black seabass again... when their stomaches implode they spew out gross digested food that smell bad... Black seabass just smell bad Period!

Ok well long story short what they taught you in Culinary school is a half truth... Yeah these all can factor into having bad quality fish but you have to look at the bottom line, Fillet quality, Whole fish quality, and color.

Fish should have a bright color (if their skin has color eg Wild Striped bass should be silver and green... a beautiful green... not a dull fading green.)

Their eyes should be clear.... but its not a definite sign of bad quality.

The flesh should always be hard, well as hard as possible. that whole skin should bounce back thing is ok... but i would rather my finger not be able to press into a fish At All!

As for Scallops when you press on them they should bounce back right away like being alive!! but as hard as possible... Just think of it like testing meat "doneness" with your palm. It should be as Medium well as possible.

As for things to be dipped, its hard to tell on some items. They dip alot of things... Shrimp, Scallops, Fillets... if you dont know then i wont even bother trying to explain, but anyways heres an example.. I brought home scallops the other night... When i touched them they were so dry they almost stuck to my finger... that has NOT been dipped.

Dipped things have a shine.. of wetness on them... they feel slick... but really its hard to tell sometimes.

Alright... so to sum it all up... Touch and Smell... You should be able to tell quality blind folded...