Grilling: It’s Not Just for Fish
Celebrating some of the many ways to grill shellfish, with crab and oyster recipes
For a number of years while I worked at Simply Seafood magazine, we went every early October to OysterFest in Shelton, Washington. And every year, I made a beeline for the expansive outdoor grill where oysters were laid out for one of the simplest cooking methods possible. Hot coals, oysters in their shells set directly on the grate and cooked just until the juices inside steamed up enough to pop the shell open a bit. Flip off the lid, add a dab of garlicy melted butter (I recall they had that and cocktail sauce available), and it’s one of the quintessential seafood experiences I can never get enough of.
That memory goes back a few decades and has long inspired my love of tossing seafood on the grill. When grilled seafood comes to mind, I think so often it’s fish that are pictured—fillets, whole, or cubed to go on kebabs. I caught myself in that rut, too, realizing that the few grilled seafood recipes I’ve shared here so far have been for fish—halibut, salmon, and trout—which overlooks a whole bunch of seafoods that are also outstanding on the grill: shellfish. They get a mere brief mention in this newsletter from a couple of years ago when I got into grilling seafood.
It’s about time I correct that. After all, my last three cookbooks focused just on shellfish and I showcased grilling options in them all.
There’s a lot of variety in the world of shellfish, starting with their name-sake shells: thick clam shells and thin shrimp shells, shells that pop open and shells that stay put enclosing the meat. Some are grilled in their shells, some out, and for some you can go either way. And shellfish vary a lot in size, too, from bite-sized scallops to long king crab legs. A few factors to keep in mind when considering various options for grilling shellfish, I offer more insights below.
Grilling, as a cooking technique, has evolved so much over the years that I’ve been cooking. For so long, when I thought about grilling, I pictured ingredients that would be going directly on the grill grates—grilling at its most basic and fundamental.
Over the years, though, I’ve seen so many ways that outdoor grills are used for cooking—such as simply putting a cast-iron pan on the grill to use for searing or pan-frying—and so many accessories that extend technique options—from woks to pizza stones. Today we have tons of interesting options for grilling seafood. For those comfortable with amending standard recipes for the grill, it can serve as a creative variation on stove or oven cooking. No wonder there are so many grilling fans out there, there’s so much delicious territory to play around with!
I’m a life-long charcoal griller and though I have a number of accessories for my beloved Weber grill, I most often keep it simple: putting food directly on the grate. The two recipes shared below reflect that.
I would love to hear from you about favorite ways you grill seafood, favorite types of seafood you toss on the grill, maybe you have a favorite grilling accessory that you love to use with seafood? If so, please drop down to the comments and share them there.
Here’s a quick overview of grilling options for some of the most popular shellfish.
Clams and mussels: My clam experience is primarily with smaller Manila clams, broadly available here in the Northwest. A favorite way to grill them is wrapped in individual foil pouches with some butter and an accent or two such as herbs and sliced lemon. (There’s a photo above, clams with butter and bay leaf, simple and delicious.) Rinse or scrub shells before cooking, debearding mussels if needed; discard any with broken shells or shells that don’t close when tapped. Allow room in the packet for steam to form and the shells to expand as they open; you’ll be rewarded with delicious cooking liquids when the pouches are opened up, careful about the steam that will escape. I haven’t yet tried that with mussels but surely the results would be just as delicious.
Oysters: My initial introduction to shellfish on the grill and still one of my favorites. Below I share one of the grilled oyster topping options I included in Shellfish. You can pre-shuck the oysters, or not. “Not” requires minimal work, just put the scrubbed, tightly-closed oysters cupped side down on the grill, add the grill cover if you’ve got one, and cook until the shells pop open a bit. You’ll want heavy grilling gloves or long-handled tongs to transfer the cooked oysters to a platter, careful to preserve as much of their cooking liquids as possible. Pop off the top shell, add a sauce if you like, and serve.
Otherwise, shuck the oysters first and set them on the grill grates as evenly as you can manage, to keep as much of the liquor in the shell as possible. You can grill them as is, or add a bit of sauce to mingle with the oyster as it cooks. Grill until the oysters are plump and juices around the edge are bubbling.
You definitely want to choose larger oysters for grilling; smaller oysters will be harder to manage on the grill and tend to be prime for slurping, anyway. And the meat shrinks as it cooks, so you’d have a wee little nibble from a grilled small oyster. Some oyster growers, such as Hama Hama near me, sell larger oysters as “grillers.”
Scallops: Sea scallops are an ideal grilling option, skewered for easy handling on and off the grill. They can make you a bit nuts, spinning around on the skewer when you’re trying to turn them over, however. To skip the spinning, thread two skewers through them instead of just one. I prefer to just season lightly with salt and pepper, adding a sauce and/or other accents later.
Shrimp: Larger shrimp that are sure to not slip through your grill grates can be cooked directly on the grill. Leaving the shells on helps preserve moisture and can take on a bit of that nutty flavor as the shells brown a bit, as for crab below. You’ll want to skewer most shrimp (double-skewered if you like, as noted for scallops, though I find they spin a bit less), which makes turning them and moving them on/off the grill quick and easy.
Lobster: I’ve played around with lobster on the grill less than other shellfish, but certainly tested it out when working on the book. There I opted to grill lobster tails, which are much more widely available than whole lobster. And so easy to use. I split the top shell (leaving tail fins intact to help hold the tail together) and cut about halfway through the meat, then carefully bent the halves apart a bit to expose more of the meat, careful to avoid the pointy edges of the shell. The tails are grilled first meat-side down, finished meat-side up, and topped with gremolata butter (seasoned with parsley, lemon, and garlic) after taking off the grill.
Crab: Echoing my Northwest roots, it’s pretty much always Dungeness crab around here. In the crab cookbook I wrote nearly 25 years ago (egad, time flies!), I hadn’t yet explored grilling crab. But one recipe in that collection—which remains one of my very favorites—roasted crab with rosemary, lemon, and garlic in a hot oven until toasty and heated through. It taught me about the effect high heat has, adding a slight nuttiness to the meat. That prep would not work on the grill, it layers ingredients in a baking dish—though as I’m typing, I realize it could be adapted to mince the rosemary and mix with minced garlic, lemon zest, and olive oil to coat crab portions before going on the grill. Geez, I can’t wait to try that. You’ll see another grilled crab option below.
I’ve also grilled king and snow crab legs, which can be handled in the same way as Dungeness, though extra-long king crab legs you may want to cut in half or thirds for easier handling on the grill.
To help whatever seasonings the crab is tossed with to accentuate the meat during cooking, I recommend gently cracking the shells a bit before coating the crab. The trick is to just crack a bit so flavors can penetrate, without breaking the shells into pieces, which might mean meat falls out—a terrible thing to have happen. Better skip the pre-cracking than to overdo it.
Soy and Garlic Grilled Crab
This recipe from Shellfish coats crab portions with soy sauce, olive oil, rice vinegar, and garlic before grilling. It makes for some delicious finger-licking while you eat the crab, too. I call for Dungeness crab (big surprise!), though king or snow crab legs or clusters will work, too. If some of the legs are awkwardly long, cut them across into 2 or 3 pieces.
2 cooked Dungeness crab (about 2 pounds each), cleaned, or about 4 pounds cooked Dungeness crab clusters
2 tablespoons soy sauce, reduced sodium okay
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
If starting with whole cleaned crab, cut them in half through the center of the body. Cut each half in half again between the legs, with the claw and first leg in one half, remaining 3 legs in the other. Lightly crack the leg portions to allow some of the seasonings to work in, avoid cracking so much as to break up the leg pieces.
Put the crab in a large bowl or other large container (you need enough room to toss the crab with seasonings). Stir together the soy sauce, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour this over the crab pieces and toss to coat as evenly as you’re able. Refrigerate while the grill heats.
Preheat an outdoor grill for direct medium-high heat.
Toss the crab in the soy mixture one last time, then arrange the crab on the grill and cook, turning every couple of minutes, until the shells are lightly browned and aromatic, about 6 to 8 minutes. By this time the crab should be fully warmed, but larger pieces may need a few extra minutes.
Arrange the grilled crab on a platter and serve right away.
Makes 2 to 4 servings
Arugula-Almond Pesto for Grilled Oysters
This recipe is among three options for grilled oyster toppings that I included in my book Oysters. The other two were a smokey tomato-bacon relish and garlic-sage butter. As noted above, you can either shuck the oysters before grilling or after. Accordingly, the pesto will come into play differently. For the former, spoon some over the shucked oysters before they go on the grill, so the flavors meld while they cook. For the latter, after the grill’s heat has popped the shells open, carefully remove the top shell and spoon the pesto over before serving.
1 clove garlic
2 cups moderately packed arugula (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more if needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the garlic clove in a food processor and pulse a few times to finely chop, scraping down the sides once or twice. Add the arugula, almonds, and oil with a good pinch each of salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. The pesto should be on the thick side, but spread out a bit when scooped up in a spoon. Add a dash more oil or a bit of water if needed. If making the pesto in advance, you can cover and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours, but allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Makes about 3/4 cup, enough for about 3 dozen grilled oysters
I've eaten shellfish every which way but I have not grilled nor roasted crab. I have to do that now! We recently went to Atelier Crenn and had the most delicious soup I've ever had. She roasted king crab shells for hours and hours. The result was a rich, almost nutty sipping broth. I'll crave that broth for the rest of my life.
Thanks for that 2 skewer hack...will give that a try!