Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [135]
Gastropod mollusks like abalone and conch have a single shell, called the univalve, and a wide, very muscular foot, which is the part that we eat. Abalone muscles are so strong that the meat is usually pounded to tenderize it before it is sold. Squid, octopus, and cuttlefish are cephalopod mollusks. “Cephalopod” literally means “head-foot”; the heads of these animals are attached to their feet, which take the form of tentacles. Instead of an outer shell, cephalopods have a softer, internal shell remnant called a pen, quill, cuttlebone, or beak. Strong muscles in their heads and tentacles contract and expand to propel themselves through the water. The head and tentacles of squid, octopus, and cuttlefish are entirely edible after the eyes, mouth, and inner organs are removed.
Shellfish Safety
Bivalve mollusks filter large volumes of water in search of food. For this reason, water quality affects bivalve quality. Clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops may be unsafe to eat if they have fed on toxic marine plankton and algae. To minimize health risks, many countries vigilantly monitor water quality for algae bloom such as red tide and test bivalves to ensure their safety, particularly if they will be eaten raw. Grilling offers additional protection, as most bacteria and parasites are killed at 140°F. Among bivalves, scallops are the safest to eat raw because their filtration mechanism is discarded during processing. We only eat the scallop’s adductor muscles, where few toxins accumulate.
How to Grill Shellfish
With no internal skeleton, crustaceans and mollusks rely on their muscles for movement. As a result, their meat contains more of the connective tissue called collagen than finfish. The extra collagen makes clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, crab, crayfish, lobster, shrimp, squid, and octopus taste richer and more succulent than flounder, snapper, and other finfish. It also makes them trickier to grill because the connective tissue can shrink and toughen, giving the meat a rubbery texture.
For crustaceans, quick grilling is best. When held for too long at temperatures between 130 and 140°F, shrimp, crab, lobster, and crayfish can go from mouth-watering to mushy because of protein-digesting enzymes in the muscles. Whenever possible, grill them in the shell. Basting the shells with fat helps release fat-soluble compounds from the shell to the meat. The shell also helps protect the delicate meat from drying out over the fire. The main reason for removing the shell before grilling is to add a rub or other seasoning directly to the meat of the crustacean.
Clams, oysters, and other bivalve mollusks also taste best grilled in the shell to help retain their briny liquor and keep the meat moist and tender. Cook bivalves just until the shells open, removing each one from the heat as it’s done. Older, tougher clams and mussels may take longer to cook than younger ones. Discard any bivalves that don’t open because they have probably expired before cooking. When buying oysters and clams, keep in mind that they tend to have richer flavor in the cold winter months because they use up some of their energy to spawn in the summer months. But bivalves are more tender in the summer months, when they are growing. To rid clams of sand, scrub the shells and soak them for 1 hour in salty water, about ⅓ cup salt per gallon of water, along with 2 tablespoons cornmeal. They’ll feed on the cornmeal and eject sand. For mussels, use scissors to snip the black hairs or beard from the shell.
As for abalone and conch, don’t turn up your nose at the frozen product. These mollusks have very tough meat, and starting with a frozen product naturally tenderizes the meat because expanding ice crystals stretch and soften the tough cell walls.
Shell-less cephalopods like octopus, squid, and cuttlefish contain even more connective tissue than crustaceans and mollusks. They are best when quickly grilled over high, dry heat or slowly grill-braised