By Ted Demopoulos
When many people think New England, together with leaves turning color in the fall and picturesque towns and of course Boston and beaches, many people think seafood. Certainly with its extensive coastline and much of the population growing up by the coast, seafood is one of the prime gastronomical treats of the area. Although seafood is available worldwide these days, there are some seafood dishes that are quintessentially New England. Here are some favorites.
The softshell or steamer clam is one of them. Although clams are available worldwide, and there are even freshwater varieties, this clam has a unique briny and sweet taste. These clams are not available far out of New England either, and although it is possible to special order them and spend a lot to have them shipped overnight, they do not ship very well commercially as they need to be uber fresh. The classic preparation is steamed. They are placed in a pot with perhaps a half inch of water, with some people claiming saltwater is best and others claiming any decent water is fine, and steamed for a very few minutes just until the shells open. Then they are opened as they are eaten, the tough dark glove like covering removed from their necks, and they are dipped in butter and eaten. They are also absolutely great deep fried. To deep fry them they are shucked and then rolled in a light batter or breadcrumb mixture before frying until golden brown. Most people like them with tartar sauce for dipping.
Lobsters of course are synonymous with New England and most are harvested from Maine's extensive shoreline. Prices are variable but you would be shocked how low they get during the summer, often down to the price of a fast food meal. The classic way to cook these clawed lobsters is to boil or steam them. They are then cracked with lobster crackers (similar to nut crackers) at the table and dipped in butter. The tail and claws contain the most and easiest to get meat but the legs and body also have some meat. It's messy work and restaurants usually provide a "Lobster Bib" to patrons.
Of course a classic New England Lobster bake combines lobsters and steamed clams, usually cooking in a pit of hot coals covered with alternating layers of seaweed and food. Corn is usually also cooked with the seafood.
Of course there is plenty of other seafood in New England, but these are absolute classics.
0 comments:
Post a Comment