Seafood In The Slow Cooker?

posted June 27, 2007
  by Pamela Chester, The Savvy Slow Cooker

You may have noticed that I rarely write about cooking seafood or fish recipes in the slow cooker. This is not because I don’t like seafood— in fact I love all kinds of fresh fish and shellfish. It is usually what I order when I go out to eat, and we cook it at home often as well. I am lucky to live right near a farmer’s market where a local vendor sells the freshest fish (usually caught that morning) at pretty reasonable prices. But on the days when her stand is not open, I head to the trusty neighborhood seafood shop.

I have been thinking recently that there must be a way to include some of my favorite seafood dishes in this column. I have been wary of providing recipes for fish in the slow cooker because the long cooking time is generally not what you might want for an ingredient that is best cooked quickly and delicately. There is a risk of drying out a nice cut of fish or making the texture of some shellfish rubbery if it has cooked for too long.

But then I realized that there IS a way you can enjoy seafood that has been cooked in the slow cooker. There are many curry, sauce, stew and chowder recipes that work beautifully when cooked for a longer time with the seafood being added at the END of the cooking time. The key is a sauce that will provide a moist and flavorful background in which the fish can be delicately braised on the lower heat setting, just until it is cooked through. This might require a bit more vigilance for the last few minutes of cooking, but still it pays off with some great slow cooked and deeply flavorful dishes. During the summer grilling season, you can also grill a meatier cut of fish, such as salmon, and serve it with a hearty sauce that has been cooking in the slow cooker all day.

The recipe below is for a Jamaican Coconut Fish Stew inspired by the tropics. My sister just recently returned from a Jamaican vacation and was raving about the flavors in this stew. The preparation is so simple that you can make it for an easy weeknight meal. Begin by simmering the coconut milk and other ingredients together all day and then just add any white fish that looks good when you return home from your day. You will have dinner on the table in no time. You can spice this dish up with a scotch bonnet pepper sauce served as a condiment and some rice on the side to soak up the sauce. If you want to add even more Jamaican flair to your meal, you can serve my new favorite beverage: refreshing Ginger Beer (it is nonalcoholic like Root Beer).

So try this technique the next time you are cooking fish. You can modify many recipes so that you can use the slow cooker, and add the fish at the end of the cooking time for fantastic results!

Spicy Jamaican Coconut Fish Stew Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 6
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 1 tablespoon butter, melted
* 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
* 1 can coconut milk
* 1 1/2 pound white fish fillets, such as snapper, grouper, or cod
* salt and pepper, to taste
* lime wedges
* Scotch Bonnet Pepper sauce

In a slow cooker, combine butter, onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.

Half an hour before serving, season stew with salt and pepper to taste. Cut fish into 3 inch x 1 inch sized pieces and add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and hot pepper sauce on the side.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.



printer-friendly version

Comment on this article:

Site Sponsor

New Game: Cooking Crossword