Using Frozen Seafood

Asked by Jbowj. Answered on 8th July 2011

Full question

When using frozen seafood - for example "Speedy Seafood Supper" from Nigella's "Kitchen" cookbook, is it best to buy the partially cooked or precooked seafood or the raw frozen seafood? Is there a danger of undercooking or overcooking if it's precooked and how can this be avoided? Cheers, Jenny

Our answer

Generally we would suggest buying the uncooked type of frozen seafood if at all possible, however many of the mixed packs may contain a combination of raw and blanched (partially cooked) seafood - as some shellfish, such as mussels, may will need to be lightly cooked to open the shells and extract the meat. As most of the seafood cooks quickly you need to cook it only until it is piping hot all of the way through and this should only take a few minutes. We suggest watching this stage of the cooking carefully and

If the seafood is already cooked then there is very little chance of the seafood being undercooked. However to prevent overcooking you may prefer to thaw the seafood first, carefully following the instructions on the packaging. Cook the sauce for your seafood for the full time in the recipe then add the thawed seafood and cook just until the seafood has heated through (this should only take a couple of minutes). Again watch carefully and try to avoid boiling the sauce once the seafood has been added as this could toughen the already cooked seafood.