SITHCCC013 - Prepare seafood dishes

RTO No: 20829 | CRICOS Provider No: 02044E | ABN: 41 085 128 525
SITHCCC013
PREPARE SEAFOOD
DISHES
LEARNER RESOURCE
Issue date May 2018

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 2 of 48
SITHCCC013 PREPARE SEAFOOD DISHES
Table of Contents
Select and store seafood ................................................................................................................................... 4
Marine fish ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Marine molluscs ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Marine crustaceans ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Freshwater seafood ....................................................................................................................................... 6
Selecting products Fresh seafood: ................................................................................................................ 7
Frozen fish and seafood ................................................................................................................................ 8
Quality points for all frozen seafood ............................................................................................................. 8
Supplier selection ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Product yields .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Portion sizes................................................................................................................................................. 19
Price fluctuation of Fishes ........................................................................................................................... 20
Maintain and kill five seafood ..................................................................................................................... 21
Maintaining live seafood ............................................................................................................................. 22
Store seafood hygienically ............................................................................................................................... 22
Storage and handling ................................................................................................................................... 23
Temperature control ................................................................................................................................... 24
Freezing fish and seafood ............................................................................................................................ 25
Thawing (defrosting) frozen seafood .......................................................................................................... 27
What to look for when purchasing............................................................................................................. 28
Labelling ....................................................................................................................................................... 28
Prepare and cook fish and shellfish ................................................................................................................. 29
Cleaning Seafood ......................................................................................................................................... 29
Cuts of fish ................................................................................................................................................... 30
List of fish cuts ............................................................................................................................................. 31
How to fillet a fish ............................................................................................................................................ 33
Filleting a fish ................................................................................................................................................... 35
Shucking an oyster ........................................................................................................................................... 37
Cooking seafood .............................................................................................................................................. 37
Determining when fish/ seafood is cooked ................................................................................................. 42
Fish by-products .......................................................................................................................................... 43
Presenting seafood .......................................................................................................................................... 43

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 3 of 48
Garnishing .................................................................................................................................................... 44
Sauces .......................................................................................................................................................... 46
Hot sauces ................................................................................................................................................... 46
Emulsion sauces........................................................................................................................................... 46
Dressings/ dips............................................................................................................................................. 48
Links to more information ........................................................................................................................... 48

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 4 of 48
SITHCCC013 PREPARE SEAFOOD DISHES.
Select and store seafood
There are several quality points relating to the freshness and condition of different seafood items. From a
food safety point of view, it is imperative
Select seafood according to quality, seasonal
availability, price and requirements for specific
menu items. Fish might be fresh, frozen or
preserved, from the ocean or freshwater, and
might include:
• flat fish
• round fish
• fillets
• whitefish
• oily fish
• Salt water fish
• Fresh water fish
Fish can be categorised as dark and white fleshed and as oily and non-oily. Seafood includes molluscs and
crustaceans.
Some seafood products are more abundant during certain seasons of the year. Your seafood dealer can tell
you about seasonal offerings. However, most fish and seafood products can be obtained in frozen form all
year round.
Frozen seafood can, in fact, be superior in quality to fresh products. Many fish and shellfish are flash frozen
within hours of harvest. It might take several days for the same 'fresh' seafood to make it to your seafood
dealer. In some instances, therefore, you might choose to purchase frozen, rather than fresh seafood.
Marine fish
Marine fish are a valuable and potentially
inexpensive source of protein for an
expanding world population.
Examples of marine fish include:
• herring
• mackerel
• whiting
• sardine
• tuna
• Tommy ruff
• cod
• flounder

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 5 of 48
• John dory
• haddock
• salmon
• garfish
• hake
• sharks
• mullet
• rays
• eel
• mulloway
• anchovy
• bass marlin
• swordfish
• leather jacket
This is not a complete list. There are many varieties of the fish named and many other varieties that are
edible.
Marine molluscs
Marine molluscs have a soft body protected by a
calcium carbonate shell. The body is covered by a
mantle, which is a thin layer of tissue that produces the
shell. Molluscs constitute the largest group of marine
animals. Their body is soft with a muscular foot. They
usually have a shell and most have a 'rodula', a rasping
'tongue' unique to the group. Examples of marine
molluscs include:
• scallops
• oysters
• mussels clams
• cockles
• snails
• abalone
Squid, octopus and cuttlefish can also be classified as
cephalopods.
Marine crustaceans
Crustaceans are generally known as insects of the sea. They
form a large and extremely diverse group. Crustaceans are
specialised for life in the water and possess gills to obtain
oxygen. Crustaceans share the presence of 2 pairs of
antennae, gills, and a calcified exoskeleton. Examples of marine crustaceans include:
• shrimps

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 6 of 48
• prawns
• scampi
• crabs
• krill
• lobsters
• crayfish
• Morton Bay bugs
Freshwater seafood
Examples of freshwater fish/ seafood (living in rivers, streams, lakes etc.) could include:
• trout
• carp
• redfin
• eel
• marron
• yabby
• cod
• freshwater shrimp
• freshwater herring
• freshwater lobsters
• tench
• callop
• catfish
Dark fleshed sea fish such as mullet, tailor, tuna, and mackerel are rich in fish oils and have a strong sea
flavour. They are best cooked by dry cooking methods such as grilling, baking and barbecuing, because of
the richer flavours, these fish also lend themselves to the addition of strong flavours such as tomato,
capsicum and garlic. They are very rich in the omega 3 oils.
Seafood
The majority of our seafood is white fleshed with relatively low fish oil content. It is generally mild and
delicate in flavour. Wet cooking methods are suited to many seafood varieties.
When using dry methods on white fleshed seafoods, a marinade, baste or coating such as flour, batter or
breadcrumbs is advised to preserve natural flavours and moisture.
Fish can also be purchased dried, smoked, marinated, pickled, salted and canned.

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 7 of 48
Selecting products Fresh seafood:
Point of
Quality
Good quality Poor quality
Whole fish (fresh)
Colour Each fish has its own natural colourings and
marking. These should be bright, vivid and
have a sheen. Colour should be even and
consistent.
Colours become faded, dull and
lose lustre.
Appearance The fish should show no signs of bruising,
damage or broken skin. The shape should be
consistent with the type of fish and the flesh
should look lush and translucent.
The fish has obvious signs of
bruising or damage to the flesh or
skin. The flesh of older fish will
become opaque and dull in
appearance.
Odour The fish will exude a fresh seawater smell
that is pleasant to the nose.
Older fish exude an unpleasantly
strong range of odours (rotting
seaweed, ammonia, sickly sweet
or oily.
Eyes Fresh fish have clear bright shining full eyes
that bulge beyond the head.
Older fish have dull, sunken,
cloudy eyes that will sit back into
the head.
Scales The scales should have a shine, lustre and
sheen while still being firmly attached to the
fish, They should not come off with handling
of the fish.
Scales become dull and start to
cloud. They fall off easily and can
become greasy or dry out.
Gills Fish gills range from bright pink to an almost
luminous red. They should be vibrant in
colour with clear protective mucus.
Gills on older fish lose their lustre
and colour, turning grey to brown.
Mucus thickens, then dries to an
unpleasant brown colour.
Texture / Skin
texture
Whole fish should have a firm elastic feel.
The flesh should spring back when pressed.
Rigor mortis or stiffness is also a sign of good
quality.
Older fish become soft and
lifeless. The flesh will hold
indentation when pressed. The
flesh is fragile and tears or
damages easily.
Fillets and cutlets (fresh)
Colour The skin colour should be the same as with
whole fish.
As for whole fish, the skin
becomes faded, dull and loses
lustre.
Appearance There should be no signs of bruising,
bleeding or damage to the flesh. It should be
a healthy, translucent white through a
lustrous rosy red, depending on the type of
fish. The cutlet meat should be compact and
tightly connected to the bone.
Poor quality cutlets will have
obvious bruising, bleeding or
damage such as tears. The flesh
will be dull and become opaque.
The grain in the flesh will become
open or dry. Cutlet meat will
loosen from the bone.
Odour Fillets and cutlets should have a little more
fresh seawater smell, if any at all.
Older fillets and cutlets develop a
stronger odour, unpleasant
seaweed smells are unacceptable.

LEARNER RESOURCE SITHCCC013
Page 8 of 48
Texture / Skin
texture
The texture of the fillets or cutlets should be
elastic and springy as with whole fish.
Older fillets and cutlets will lose
elasticity, become fragile and
damage or tear easily.
Fresh shellfish
Live shellfish
- crabs
- yabbies
- crayfish
- marron
- Murray
river
crayfish
Live shell fish should exhibit signs of being
alive and active. They should be alert and
react to being touched or handled. They
should be completely intact, with no damage
to the legs or shell. The shell should be clean
and a bright natural colour.
Older products will be sluggish or
may not move at all. These
shellfish will not react to being
touched or handled. Live product
with damaged shells, broken legs
or claws or poor natural colour
should be rejected.
Seafood/ shellfish
Shellfish spoils quickly and can lose flavour and texture making the meat quite floury or soggy. Use only
fresh or quality snap frozen products.
As well as being unappetising, stale shellfish can also be the cause of digestive disorders or even food
poisoning.
Care must also be taken that shellfish have not been harvested from polluted waters.
When selecting shellfish, there are several ways to determine freshness:
1. The shell should be firmly closed in molluscs such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops indicating
the organism is still very fresh or alive.
2. Shells of molluscs should not be sticky indicating they are old.
3. A fresh salty sea smell should be present; shellfish that is not fresh will have an ammonia odour.
4. Seafood meats should display a clear, fresh colour.
5. Live prawns, crabs and lobsters should show obvious signs of movement and should have no claws
missing.
6. Prawn and shrimp flesh must be firm, plump and elastic.
7. Fresh (but dead) prawn and Morton Bay bugs, scampi etc. should be clean and not sticky.
Frozen fish and seafood
Wrapping material must be moisture and air proof, fit closely around the product, and undamaged.
Packaging materials should not contain ice crystals or have water stains or other indications that the
product has thawed at any point.
Quality points for all frozen seafood
When selecting frozen product, it is sometimes difficult to use the same quality points as for fresh seafood.
Frozen product that is caught, processed quickly and correctly and hen frozen immediately can be of the
highest quality. As the freezing process removes the ability to gauge the quality of the items, the following
tips help to determine quality:
• Purchase only from a reputable supplier or processor
• Purchase only frozen product sealed in its original packaging
• Purchase only complete, undamaged, securely packed product
• Purchase products that are completely frozen and delivered at -18°C or below