5 Seafood Cooking Hacks

Cooking on your Boston Whaler boat is easy thanks to a secret weapon called the Kenyon grill, which is an option on most models. These electric grills have an even heating surface that makes them easy to cook on and unlike many propane grills, they can reach the high temperatures needed to develop flavorful char. 

Fish Cooking Hack: Use a metal skewer to monitor its doneness

• Make sure the pieces of fish are small enough to be flipped with a spatula and pat each dry before seasoning because any residual water has to boil off before any browning occurs. Adding a spice mixture that has a little sugar in it will help develop color easier.

• For thin fillets, use a medium-high temperature to cook them quickly. Use medium heat for thick filets to ensure the interior is fully cooked without overcooking the outside.

• Lightly oil the grill with a little vegetable oil on a paper towel before heating for an easier release (do this with all grilled seafood below).

• Place the seasoned fish on the grill, with the side of the fish the skin was on facing up (leave the skin on for mahi-mahi). After a few minutes, try to lift the first filet off the grill with the spatula. If it doesn’t come off easily, give it a little more time. 

• After all the fish have been flipped, use the metal skewer to prod the middle of the first filet you placed on the grill. If you encounter resistance, that’s raw fish and it needs more cooking time. If the skewer passes through easily, that part is fully cooked. Proceed to the thickest part of the fish and give it a prod. When the probe passes through easily, immediately remove the fish from the grill. With this method, it’s easy to monitor many fish filets at the same time. Don’t worry about the fish losing juice; it can be poked many times without adversely affecting it. 

Shrimp Cooking Hack: Brine your shrimp before cooking

• For the brine, combine six cups of water with a ¼ cup of Kosher salt and a ¼ cup of sugar for every pound of shrimp. After an hour of soaking, drain the shelled and deveined shrimp and pat dry before adding additional seasoning that doesn’t contain salt. 

• Thread the shrimp onto a metal skewer or one made of bamboo that’s been soaked in water. Alternate the shrimps’ direction and push together tightly, which makes them all one unit, which prevents overcooking and makes it easier to flip.

• If the shrimp are large, grill at medium-high temperature for about 2 minutes. Jumbos may require 3 minutes.

• Flip, reduce heat and cook for 2 more minutes. Do a test run with three shrimp first to dial in your cooking time. 

Spiny Lobster Cooking Hack: Use the small swimmerets found on both sides of the tail as a doneness monitor

• First, split the tail open on the round, hard side with a heavy, sharp chef’s knife, taking care not to cut all the way through. 

• Brush the meat side with extra virgin olive oil and season with your favorite mixture.

• Preheat the grill to medium and lay the butterflied tails on, meat side down. Place the larger tails on first.

• After some color develops on the meat side, flip them over, drizzle with butter and in a few minutes start feeling the swimmerets (little leaflike fins on the underside). When they start to get stiff, pull the tail off the grill and it will be succulent and tender, not rubbery. The beauty of this hack is that larger tails have larger swimmerets so no matter the size, this technique works. 

Conch Cooking Hack: Be aggressive

• Cut the conch into manageable pieces and sandwich one of the pieces between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it vigorously with the spiny side of a meat tenderizing hammer. If you don’t have one, use the edge of a crab mallet and whack it repeatedly until it’s about a ¼ inch thick. Don’t worry if small holes develop, the cutlet will tighten up on the grill.

• Cook on high heat for 1 minute a side, remove from the grill and lay enough for a single serving on a square of heavy-duty tin foil. Add vegetables like sliced onions and colorful bell peppers along with a knob of butter or olive oil. If you like it hot, add a dollop of Matouk’s Hot Pepper Sauce or green curry paste and seal the contents in the foil, creating a pouch. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. Use the fish skewer trick above and poke the conch through the pouch to see if it’s tender. Be careful of escaping steam.

Blue Crab Cooking Hack: Steam until they are red, never boil them

• In a large pot, pour an inch of water or beer mixed with a healthy splash of apple vinegar and then place a vegetable steamer basket on the bottom and bring the liquid to a hard boil with the lid on. 

• Using tongs, place the live crabs into the pot, belly side down and add some Old Bay and put the lid on. Small crabs should take about 15 minutes, large, 20 minutes and colossal, 25 minutes. When they are bright red, they are done. 

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There are endless recipes for how to prepare freshly caught seafood but they all have one thing in common: If you overcook it, it’s ruined!

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Options and features mentioned subject to change. Please confirm availability of all accessories and equipment with an authorized Boston Whaler Dealer.