Northern Chef Seafood Medley is an undeniable treat when prepared correctly. It takes all your favorites from the ocean and showcases their best qualities. However, with frozen seafood, it doesn’t take much to end up overcooking it. Before you know it, you end up with something that’s more rubbery than tender. It takes a bit of skill and finesse to get it just right.
Northern Chef’s Seafood Medley is stuffed with wild-caught clams, mussels, squid, and octopus, and the taste of our beautiful seafood is unparalleled. If you’re wondering how to prepare seafood medley, we’re here to tell you more about how to retain its texture so you can coax all the flavor from every morsel.
Defrost Properly
Having properly defrosted seafood is critical, regardless of preparation. If a mistake is made during this process, it’s going to interfere with both the texture and taste of the final product. For our Seafood Medley, we recommend thawing in the refrigerator overnight before lightly rinsing with cold running water. (Ensure that the mix is drained well before transferring.) If you’re in need of a faster thaw, place the mix in a colander under cold running water for between 5 and 7 minutes.
Tips for Boiling Your Seafood Mix
Experts recommend defrosting for about 24 hours if you’re defrosting in the refrigerator before boiling. Place seafood in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until you’re ready to rinse it. The cold water will remove excess bacteria before the cooking process.
You can boil your medley either in a sauce or water. For our Seafood Medley, we recommend:
- 4 cups of boiling water for every one bag.
- Once you’ve submerged the mix in boiling water, immediately reduce the heat to low and let simmer uncovered for about one minute.
- Once the minute is up, drain immediately and rinse with cold running water to halt any additional cooking.
You will not need very much time as long as our seafood is fully defrosted. Leaving it in for longer may result in a tough texture that is difficult to chew.
For other brands of frozen seafood mix, you may need to boil for longer. Make sure to check the mixture consistently to ensure that you’re not going overboard.
Tips for Grilling Your Seafood Medley
Seafood medley on the grill can pick up some heavenly flavors. If you’re planning to test it out during your next outdoor shindig:
- Follow the standard defrosting directions.
- Grill seafood medley on a grilling pan or basket until opaque and slightly charred
- Alternatively, separate the seafood and place on skewers. (If you’re marinating the skewers, put the sauce and skewers in a zip-lock bag and place in the fridge for around 10 minutes.)
- Soak skewers in cold water for around 20 minutes to prevent burning.
- You should only need a minute and a half on both sides before it’s ready.
Grilling can be a fun way to serve your seafood medley, but it’s also easy to forget about if you’ve got a lot of other things going on during the cooking process. Just make sure to set aside some time to focus entirely on the seafood if you go this route.
Tips for Pan-Frying Your Seafood Medley
Frozen seafood medley can be coated in breadcrumbs with the help of flour and a whisked egg.
- Fill the pan about halfway up the side with oil and heat.
- Dip each piece of defrosted seafood in the flour and then the egg. Run the seafood through the breadcrumbs.
- Put paper towels on a plate to receive the cooked seafood.
- Fry the seafood in the heated oil, remove the tongs, and let the paper towel absorb the oil for about a minute.
For our frozen seafood mix, you’ll cook the seafood until it is opaque and firm. This typically takes between 2 to 3 minutes. Other brands may need longer on each side. As long as you’re paying attention to the color and consistency, you should be able to prevent overcooking.
Serve Our Seafood Medley Any Way You Like
Our all-natural, wild-caught Seafood Medley is made from blanched loligo squid, blanched octopus, cooked mussel and clam meat. It’s a versatile, healthy choice that can do wonders for your diet and nutrition. As the recipient of Women’s Health 125 Best Packaged Foods for Women award, there are so many things that you can do with your prepared frozen seafood mix:
- Soups and stews: Whether you’re making a chowder or a broth, our products taste delicious served in a bowl. Make sure to have some crusty bread on hand to soak up all the flavors left behind.
- Entrees and Paella: It doesn’t take much more than a simple side to make a medley into a meal. Serve pan-fried seafood medley next to rice, noodles, or even a few simple greens tossed in vinaigrette. It’s an easy (and fast) meal that you can whip up anytime.
- Salads: Adding seafood to salad makes for a delectable way to eat all your veggies. If you have trouble fitting in as many servings as you need, have a bag of this on hand to step up your game.
About The Northern Chef Line
Northern Chef is one of the brands under the Tai Foong USA umbrella. As one of the leading retail suppliers of frozen seafood, the company’s commitment to sustainability and quality has made it a popular choice in home kitchens and beyond.
