The 20 Best Seafood Tips And Tricks From Richard Blais - Exclusive

"Top Chef" champ and "Next Level Chef" host Richard Blais wants you to think about his brand new Key West Four Flamingos as the blockbuster prequel to the eatery's Orlando-based predecessor. "Almost as if it's a Marvel movie," he tells Tasting Table in an exclusive interview, "this is 'How Wolverine Got His Claws.'" The restaurant tells the region's history — from Hemingway to the treasure-hunting Mel Fisher — through food with local standards given the signature whimsical Blais spin. Take the crab salad-stuffed avocado rolled in black, dehydrated lime. "It looks ... literally like you just grabbed an avocado from the market and just put it on a plate," says Blais. "To me, that's when food is great ... there's a story, it's delicious, and it's surprising."

Crab is far from the only seafood offering on the Flour Flamingos Key West menu. As a dockside restaurant, Blais reveals, "We're going to have fisherman come to the restaurant and say, 'hey, this is what I've got in the boat today.'" Blais, of course, is no stranger to coastal cooking, having opened several restaurants across San Diego. Below, the superstar chef shares with us some of his best seafood tricks and tips, diving into everything from tuna salad and shrimp cocktail to fish preparation and inspection.  

Aromas aside, there are other factors to keep in mind when buying whole fish. Touch a fish's skin, and it should feel slick, Blais tells us. Look at its body, and it should shine. Dehydration, however, is a sign that a fish is past its prime and you should go with another option. In order to determine if that's the case, a stare-down is in order. 

Before purchasing your fish, always check the condition of the eyes. "You want to make sure that they're clear," Blais advises. "Whether it's the eyes or the flesh itself — it shouldn't look dry. Just think about really anything, any protein or vegetable that really sits out exposed to the air, it's going to dry up, right?"

Blais could write a love poem to the algae-eating bivalves of the sea, especially fresh. "You don't have to do much to [a fresh oyster], [you taste the] seawater, and the salt — you know where the oyster was harvested, that's just fantastic," the chef gushed.

Of course, even when served on a silver platter, delighting in uncooked oysters and other shellfish is risky. To diminish risk, steer clear of open shells. "That means that the oyster itself is dead," according to Blais. After you've opened the shell yourself, check for moistness. If the "the flesh of the meat" inside your shellfish is dry — be it an oyster, a clam, or a mussel — "that's no good," Blais warns.

Few mishaps are more frustrating when cooking fish than having your filet stick to the cooking surface and fall apart. The likely culprit. according to Blais, is not enough heat. "This is why people don't cook fish at home," he says. "They had the first experience where their pan doesn't get hot enough and then the fish sticks to the grill or sticks to the pan and then they can't get it off."

To avoid that apocalyptic scenario of having your precious catch fall apart, get your pan or grill piping hot before turning the heat down again. "You should see a little bit of smoke in the oil or clarified butter," Blais advises.

It's summertime, living is easy, fish are jumpin', but hot kitchens are fire and brimstone. If you're taking your seafood cooking outdoors, Blais recommends prioritizing mahi mahi, tuna, and swordfish. That's because these sturdy fish "can stand up to the grill so you can get that summertime, sort-of charred flavor."

What's more, all three fish will put up with any spices you want, and it's well worth experimenting. Blais recalls his early days working in classic French kitchens and eschewing complex spice blends for a simple salt and pepper season. "That's not true anymore," he notes. Go ahead and try a Cajun blackening spice or a Moroccan seafood seasoning for an added burst of flavor. The world (forgive the seafood analogy) is your oyster.

No seafood tip list would be complete without taking on fish tacos and Blais offers multiple paths. Mahi mahi is great for grilled varieties. Looking for a Japanese take on a Mexican classic? Simply go sashimi-style. "If we want to get real Wolfgang Puck, let's just do some ahi tuna raw on a taco," he suggests. "Let's do it, like, he's a legend, let's let it rip."

But if fried fish is the object of your Taco Tuesday daydreams, not any variety will do and Blais has a top pick in mind. He recommends opting for anything in the cod family, which includes haddock, pollock, and hake. According to Blais, these firm, flavorful, and relatively inexpensive white fish options are "fantastic fish to fry."

If you end up overcooking your precious fish filet or steak, keep calm and carry on with some liquid rejuvenation. "Sauce is your friend," Blais advises. "That's where you can get out of some trouble ... don't be afraid to let things hang out in some sauce, a butter jacuzzi, I like to call it." Blais suggests an "herbaceous" sauce for summer months, be it chimichurri, salsa verde, or anything pesto-adjacent. He is also a self-proclaimed admirer of putting fish together with salsa. Referring to that popular '90s pairing, he admits, "I think sometimes modern chefs ... we get mad at things that become ubiquitous because we maybe didn't create them or because everyone does them we get offended by them."

For those of you with no objection going old school, mango salsa, in particular, is a perfect complement to summertime fish. To prepare the condiment à la Blais, combine ripe mango with red onion, cilantro, vinegar, and a little white soy sauce. Here's a pro tip from a culinary master: Use the cilantro leaves and stems in your recipes. Stems, says Balis, "actually have a little bit more flavor."

There is perhaps no better way to use a can of tuna than in a salad, and Richard Blais knows this better than most. "I was the kid in second grade who had a tuna sandwich and everyone was like, 'what are you eating?,'" he confides. Thankfully, his school peers didn't put him off, as his love for the dish has endured.

First things first: Drain the liquid from canned tuna before using it. Blais also cautions against combining your tuna with your dressing before it's ready. "A lot of people throw the can of tuna ... into the bowl, and then they might throw some mayonnaise and lemon juice, or whatever's in their dressing, [and] mix it all up together," he says. 

The key is to mix the dressing and then incorporate the tuna. "I really use that pastry term 'fold,'" Blais explains. That way you end up with nice chunks instead of a mushy mess that is reminiscent of "cat food." For the ultimate tuna salad upgrade, Blais suggests combining the canned fish with mayonnaise, curry powder, a little bit of grated ginger, minced onion, salt, pepper, citrus juice, and a "drip of soy." 

Here's (quite literally) a cool tip from the "Top Chef" champ: Always have an ice bath ready to shock your shrimp after they come out of the saucepan. "Just like pasta, pull [your shrimp] out, taste it .. then shock it in ice water," Blais tells us. This stops the crustacean from overcooking, even after it comes out of contact with direct heat.

While an ice bath may stop shrimp from over-cooking after the fact, that won't help if you've already overdone them. If you're cooking shrimp in water, don't raise temperatures too high. "The tendency is to have [water] boiling and you don't want [that], " Blais warns. "You just want to have [your shrimp] simmering a couple of minutes."

We'll forgive you if you think of extracting the precious meat from crab claws as a constant source of kitchen misery. Don't despair. Consider using the back of your knife to extract meat next time crab cakes, crab rangoon, or crab salad is on the menu.

"You're hitting [the claw], and as the back of your knife hits the claw you're stopping it, it's like a check swing in baseball or golf," Blais advises. "You get a nice clean crack that way ... so you can slide, hopefully, that whole claw out." Blais recommends staying from lobster crackers or similar specialty utensils. Those "squish the meat in a crab or a lobster," per the chef.

And now for a suggestion that Blais thinks, "will get me kicked out of New England." Hot lobster rolls, step aside. When push comes to shove, this chef prefer the meat in his fancy crustacean-packed sandwich cold and mixed with mayo.

Here's how to achieve the perfect lobster roll, according to Blais: Steam your meat and chop it into chunks "small enough that you can easily eat it but not ... shredded or minced." Once the lobster is sufficiently chilled, serve it on a warm bun right away. Storing the meat overnight in the fridge is fatal. "Then the juices come out of the lobster and the mayonnaise turns pink," the chef warns. "It just turns into an awful sort of seafood salad situation."