How to create a show stopping seafood platter

Katie Georgeson, Brand Manager at luxury cooker specialist Stoves, explains how to create a spectacular seafood platter that will impress your friends and family on any occasion.

With the party season right around the corner, many people are looking to host friends and family for festive parties. A great way to keep your guests well-fed during a more informal gathering is to put on a classy yet convenient seafood platter.

Platters are ideal for get-togethers as serving sizes can be adjusted to satisfy any number of guests. But what seafood should you choose, how do you get your platter to look good, and what do you serve alongside it? We’ve put together this short guide to answer all of these questions and more to ensure your seafood platter will be a showstopper.

What seafood to include

The beauty of a seafood platter is that you can choose as many different individual items as you wish and alter the portion sizes depending on how many guests you have. If you really love shrimp, then feel free to go shrimp crazy. Likewise, if you can’t stand cold seafood, focus on hot items. Exactly what you choose and how you cook it is up to you, but these are my favourites:

• Prawns: Easy to prepare and loved by all, prawns are a versatile choice that can be served in many different ways.
• Clams and mussels:Served either raw or steamed for several minutes, clams are a nice choice that take little preparation.
• Oysters:Fresh oysters are hit or miss for a lot of people, but they don’t require much preparation — just shuck them and serve on ice.
• Crab legs:Definitely not an essential, but crab legs are delicious and bound to impress if you incorporate them into your platter.
• Lobster:Add a touch of class to your evening with lobster, and for maximum freshness you can order live lobster online and have it delivered.

Other fish: It’s your seafood platter, so go feel free to do whatever you want. If you like a bit of tuna or have a hankering for some smoked salmon, go for it!

Accompaniments

Now you’ve got an idea of what seafood you’re going to choose, it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll serve alongside it. This is where you can get really creative with as many garnishes and dips you choose. Here are some of our favourites, but feel free to mix it up to suit your tastes:

• Cocktail sauce: The classic seafood sauce, cocktail sauce goes really well with oysters and shrimp.
• Tartar sauce: Made with tarragon, gherkins, and capers, this seafood staple goes great with just about anything.
• Aioli: This versatile sauce can be made with whatever ingredients you like, but our favourite aiolis are garlic and chilli.
• Lemon: You can’t have seafood without lemon, so cut up some wedges so your guests can add their own zing.
• Herbs: Add some sprigs of dill, parsley, and basil to bring some extra flavour to your platter.

Freshness and serving sizes

When it comes to seafood, fresh is best. Not only does this ensure the greatest taste, it also makes for the nicest presentation. For maximum freshness, you want to buy your seafood — or get it delivered — on the day you plan on putting your platter together.

In terms of how much you will need to order, that depends on how many guests you plan on entertaining and what kind of seafood you choose. Shells make up part of the weight of your shellfish, so weight may not always be the best guide, but typically we would recommend about 400g per person. It’s always better to have a bit too much than too little — and don’t worry if you order a bit extra, you can always whip up a delicious fish pie with the leftovers.

Presenting your platter

Once you have everything prepared just how you like it, you’re ready for the fun part — putting your seafood platter together. If you want to make it a real showstopper then you’ll have to get hold of a three-tiered seafood tower. This gives you plenty of space to neatly lay out your various shellfish, garnishes, and accompaniments in a way that will impress your guests. Feel free to go overboard with this and get creative with how you put things together.

Stainless steel is a good choice for your platter as the metal will help to keep cold food cool, and hot food warm, but if you have something else that will work, that’s absolutely fine. Layer some ice to keep any raw seafood fresh and neatly arrange the rest of your chosen items around the structure, with hot and cold items separated on different tiers. If you’ve gone for large options like full lobsters or crab legs, focus these around the bottom of the tower, with small pieces like shrimp nearer the top.

You’re now ready to host an incredible get-together this party season, complete with a fresh, tasty seafood platter. Build on the advice I’ve given here and you can really make this dish your own.