steamers (Valdez, Homer, Kachemak: house, school, price)

[ltdontcare]

I never saw the atraction to steamer clams. I've had them a few times and thought they were as good as rubber bands, yummy...

Last knight we went to an all you can eat seafood, blue crab, opies, clams, muscles, etc. thing and I once again reluctantly tried the clams and muscles. They were good. Wow! Fresh and cooked correctly! One more reason to move to Homer!

Now if I can only get the boss to OK the move sooner...

When we do get out there, I might even try those Halibut Cove cold snot on the half shell you people call raw oysters again.

Larry

[Rance]

Fresh steamers are to die for! And yes those oysters from across the bay...are claimed to be the best in the world, due to the cold rich waters of Kachemak Bay. I have a buddy in Peterson Bay that raises them. It's the only oysters I'll eat.

[rotorhead]

Ain't nothin better than a bucket of fresh mussels steamed in a white wine/butter/garlic sauce, with a side of crusty, fresh bread. Its almost tempting to toss the mussles and just eat the sauce, its so good.

[mal_flisk]

Second that. Silvers are running in Valdez.

[rotorhead]

Hmmm, maybe a fresh fillet of coho pan seared in whiskey-cream sauce would be a worthy competitor. I'd love to share my secret recipie, but its so secret that I lost it myself. I made it once at a friends house and it turned out so great we swore we'd have it again every time we came over. Then, of course, I lost the bookmark for the website I found it on. I've been trying to duplicate it ever since with limited success. Bummer....

[Alaskan454]

mussels...?

black things that grow on pilings right next to the creosode?

where do you think they get that black color from...?

yuk....






Steamer Clams = small butter clams

can't possibally be compaired in any way to mussels......



Hi there rotor...

[Rance]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

Hmmm, maybe a fresh fillet of coho pan seared in whiskey-cream sauce would be a worthy competitor. I'd love to share my secret recipie, but its so secret that I lost it myself. I made it once at a friends house and it turned out so great we swore we'd have it again every time we came over. Then, of course, I lost the bookmark for the website I found it on. I've been trying to duplicate it ever since with limited success. Bummer....

Hmmm...

1-2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1-2 tbsp. oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
1/2 cup heavy cream (U.S. whipping cream)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Melt the butter or margarine with the oil in a skillet or on a stovetop grill and sauté the onions until soft.
Push the onions to the side of the pan.
Increase the heat under the pan and cook the fish on both sides until done to your liking.
Remove the fish from the pan and keep them warm.
Add the whiskey to the pan and ignite it.
When the flames are gone, and the cream and mix with the onions and pan juices.
Gently heat the sauce, bringing it just to a boil and add the parsley.
Serve the sauce immediately.

Anywhere close?

[rotorhead]

Burn off good whiskey, are you crazy?!?

Actually, from what I remember it went something like this.

Dry rub the fillets with white pepper, mustard seed and a couple other spices that I've tragically forgotten. Place the fillets in a lightly greased cast iron skillet flesh-side down after its good and hot, and cook until almost done through without flipping. Scrape the fillets free and remove to the side, then deglaze the skillet with liberal amounts of whiskey and a bit of the heavy cream. There should be quite a bit of almost charred salmon swimming around in the resulting sauce, pour it out into a bowl and keep it warm. Re-grease the same skillet and cook the salmon skin-side down the rest of the way, simmer with the remaining heavy cream, just a bit more whiskey, and some of those other spices I've forgotten. Reduce this mixture until it just thickens and the fillets should be just about done. Remove to the plates, and top with the previous sauce.

So...just figure out the remaining mystery spices and its all yours. Just to make things interesting I've probably mixed up some important steps or something else thats crucial to success. The key to this recipie is the bits of almost charred flesh from the deglaze, that and the fact that its swimming in ten thousand calories of heavy cream and you've no doubt already "tasted" the whiskey several times just to be sure.

Maybe some of you lucky guys can try it out yourselves with fresh coho. I got a look at the vaunted "copper river reds" in the local grocery store today and it was pathetic...overpriced and yucky looking. It still looked better than the Chilean farm fish they usually have there, which ain't saying much. I've seen fresher and more appealing fish floating belly-up in grade-school aquariums.