Seafood is a natural Jamaican favorite and while the summer is winding down its still hot out there and thus one might be inclined to hit the beach with a few friends to cool down a bit with a few beers and some seafood for a beachside barbecue. For those of you who don’t mind cooking up the menu yourselves Island Buzz brings you recipes for just a few of our Jamaican specialty seafood dishes easy enough to cook yourself and tantalizing enough to make you salivate where you stand.
First, as an appetizer try this Jamaican favourite (for those who aren’t afraid of a little spice):
Peppered Shrimp
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INGREDIENTS :
3 lbs. shrimps in shell
2 cloves garlic
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 scotch bonnet peppers
1.5 tablespoon vinegar
METHOD:
Heat garlic, oil, salt and scotch bonnet peppers in a dutch pot.
Add shrimps to the mixture and stir often
Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add vinegar and continue to stir & cook for a further 2-3 minutes
Drain on paper towels
Serve warm or cold
Makes 3-5 a serverings
Now that you’ve tasted all that pepper, our next dish should be mild in comparison:
Escovitch Lobster
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INGREDIENTS :
1 Cup vegetable oil
6 lobster tails, shelled
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ cup milk
3 eggs (beaten)
METHOD:
In a small bowl combine the flour, thyme, sugar, salt, black pepper, onion salt, garlic salt, paprika and cornstarch. Combine the egg and milk in another bowl, beat well. Place oil in a frying pan/sauce pan. Enough to fry one side of the lobster. Please note that this is not a deep fry therefore the lobster tails should be cut into bite sized pieces. Dip in the lobster tail pieces in the egg mixture then the flour mixture. Heat the oil to 400 degrees and place the lobster tail pieces in the frying pan/sauce pan. Fry crisp until golden brown. Turn down the heat as necessary. Turn other side and fry crisp until golden brown. Set lobster aside in a dish.
THE SAUCE:
1 cup white Vinegar
1 cup water
2 table spoons vegetable oil
1 table spoon sugar
2 Onions
4 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
20 pimentos seeds
Slice the onions and the scotch bonnet pepper. Combine the vinegar, water, 2 table spoons sugar and oil in a small pot
Place on stove and boil. Place onions, scotch bonnet pepper, and pimento in the pot. Boil contents on stove for approx. 5 min.
Pour contents on the fried lobster tails and serve away. This one is just too good for words.
Now for those who like their seafood a little more on the mollusk side of things, this next recipe is the perfect thing for you:
Curry Conch
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THE SAUCE:
Butter
Curry powder
Garlic, finely chopped
Onion, finely chopped
Salt/pepper
Heat butter and curry powder in pan for 2 min. Add other ingredients until well combined.
Other ingredients:
Pounded conch, cut julienne style
Onion
Garlic
Potatoes
Carrots
Red/green peppers
Sauté conch with garlic and onion. Add already prepared curry sauce. Add pre-cooked potatoes and carrots. Serve garnished with a basil or escallion.
Now its not quite Crab season, but we really wish it was. So as an homage we present:
Curried Crab
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INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of water
-juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons of ginger
2 tablespoons of garlic
6 large crabs (cleaned)
1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
3 tablespoons of curry powder
1 teaspoon of salt, chive, thyme
-pepper to taste
METHOD:
Cut the crabs in small pieces and use the lime juice for washing them. Use the ginger, minced chive, garlic, thyme to season the crabs. Pour the oil into a preheated pot. Make a paste by mixing the curry, salt and the pepper and add it to the hot oil. Next add the crab meat along with the coconut milk when the mixture thickens. Next allow the curry crabs to simmer for about 25 min. covered. When the curry crabs are done serve them with your choice of bread, or bammy.
Now you should have enough for a Jamaican-style beachside barbecue, whether or not you’re near a beach all you need to go with it is the beer. Enjoy!
Tags: caribbean seafood, curried conch, curried crab, escovitch lobster, Jamaica, jamaican cuisine, jamaican food, jamaican seafood, peppered shrimp, seafood
