Seafood Sauces: These are the simplest items that you will prepare to go with your seafood dinner to really up the flavor.
For a plain tarter sauce mix a couple of teaspoons of Sweet pickle relish with a cup of mayonnaise and you’re done, unless you want to get hoity-toity and add capers to it. I like to spice it up though with some horseradish, dill and brown mustard, usually adding a couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce for good measure. I also like to use Miracle Whip salad dressing rather than mayonnaise sometimes. I’ve been buying the reduced fat version lately and it’s OK.
For basic cocktail sauce mix a cup of ketchup with a couple of teaspoons of horseradish and add some Tabasco for good measure. You can also add a dash of Worcestershire, some chili sauce and lemon juice. See how simple these sauces are? I usually add ketchup to my version of tarter sauce above and just call it seafood sauce. That way I don’t have to make two separate sauces for those that prefer one or the other.
Another good sauce, if you’re in a “spurs and saddles” mood is a jar of Pace brand salsa in your choice of mild, medium or hot.
A lot of people are poaching fish and cooking them in the microwave oven, similar to poaching if done right, and a simple fish with drawn butter is almost as good as lobster. For drawn butter, simply melt butter (or margarine, ugh.) over low heat (do NOT let it boil) and let it sit until cooled. When cool, pour the clear yellow fat off the whitish liquid at the bottom and you have drawn butter (the clear yellow part). The white part is water and curd that separates from the fat and fall to the bottom of the pot. You can discard that part. If you make the day before, you can put all the butter that melted in the refrigerator overnight, then take the solid butter off the top and discard the liquid. Re-melt the butter and you’ve got drawn butter.
How about a nice scampi sauce with your drawn butter? Finely mince a few cloves of garlic, one shallot, a couple of tablespoons of parsley and some lemon zest and add to your drawn butter. It makes a GREAT dipping sauce or sauce to cook your shrimp or any other seafood in.
Years ago I found a Creamy Dill Sauce recipe that really hit the spot. Equal parts(1/3 cup) sour cream and mayonnaise. Finely chopped onion(tablespoon), teaspoon lemon or lime juice, teaspoon horseradish, 3/4 teaspoon dill weed(or more), 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, pepper to taste.
You can buy remoulade sauce just about anywhere now-a-days but to make your own fresh, here’s a good recipe. 1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup chili sauce, 2 tablespoon creole mustard, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon Tabasco(or more), 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 4 medium scallions chopped finely, 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons finely chopped green olives, two tablespoons finely chopped celery, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, a teaspoon chopped capers. Adjust any or all the ingredients above to your own taste, just have fun!
I like to give everyone plenty of choices of condiments and seafood sauces so I put out relish, Tabasco sauce, banana pepper rings, sweet gherkins, lemons, and Tiger Sauce (I LOVE Tiger sauce on everything, it’s a sweet and warm ‘hot’ sauce) on the table along with my seafood sauces when I have friends over for a fish dinner.
Capt. Charlie
Seafood Sauces
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