Seafood Butchery Step By Step Guides

Every shellfish and seafood guide on the site, in one place. Nine of them so far, all free, all written out step by step.

Shellfish is the group where the safety information matters most, so each of these guides says plainly what the real risks are and who should be careful. It is also where the yields surprise people. A live lobster gives back about a quarter of its weight.

Crustaceans

  • How to Butcher Shrimp — the most eaten seafood in America and the most commonly ruined, almost always before it reaches the pan.
  • How to Butcher Prawn — used interchangeably with shrimp in most kitchens. Biologically they are different animals.
  • How to Butcher Lobster — breaking one down yourself costs a fraction of picked meat, and the meat is better.
  • How to Butcher Crab — the best value in the shellfish case and the most work to get at, which is why most people pay four times the price.

Bivalves

  • How to Shuck Oysters — looks like a party trick, is mostly a technique problem. Find the hinge, keep the knife flat, do not stab.
  • How to Shuck Scallops — most people who think they cannot sear a scallop are fighting the scallop they bought.

Cephalopods and Oddities

Where to Start

Shrimp, then squid. Both are cheap enough that mistakes cost you nothing, and both are ruined far more often by what happens before cooking than by the cooking itself. Learn those two and you have covered most of what goes wrong at a home seafood counter.

Once It Is Cleaned

Who Is Writing This

I am Chef Alan. I have spent 35 years in professional kitchens, I have formal culinary education in New Hampshire, and I have been honored as a 6-Time 4-Diamond Chef. More about me here.

If a guide is missing something you needed, or a step did not make sense, tell me. Get in touch and I will fix it.

Cook Bolder, Serve Wiser, Eat Better.

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