Holiday Seafood Platter

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If you’re looking for a show-stopping centerpiece for your next holiday party there are few plates more spectacular than a Cold Seafood Platter. The drool-inducing Holiday Seafood Platter looks simply stunning as a centerpiece on a table, and you’ll find it impossible to not want to dive right in and devour it! What’s more, not only does this plate look phenomenal, but it is so simple to make! It’s one of those dishes where the reward far outstrips the effort! It’s definitely our kind of dish!

Making this amazing Holiday Seafood Platter is all about timing as there are three elements to the dish. Cold ingredients that are served raw (eg: Fresh Oysters). Ingredients that need to be cooked, but then refrigerated and served cold (eg: Shrimp). Finally, cooked ingredients that need to be served hot (eg: Pan Seared Scallops)

It’s not an overly difficult dish to prepare, as each element is quite simple. You just need to be well organized and follow the steps listed in the recipe below. Cook the ingredients that require refrigeration first and allow enough time to cool, then cook the hot ingredients just before serving. This way you’re guaranteed to have an amazing Seafood Platter!

You can buy the Shrimp cooked, but we recommend cooking them yourself

If you trust the Shrimp that you’re buying cooked then by all means go ahead. It will save on preparation time. However, buying pre-cooked Shrimp can be risky. We’ve found in our travels that a lot of the time the Shrimp will be overcooked and rubbery. Not a pleasant texture at all. The Shrimp is one of the stars of the platter, so we want to ensure it is cooked perfectly

Therefore, we recommend buying raw Shrimp and cooking it yourself. It is a relatively simple process, and you can either steam them or poach them. Just be sure to prepare the Shrimp correctly before you cook then, by carefully removing their shells and the poop vein! We’ve got a great video on our YouTube Channel on how to do this, so we’ve got you covered!

Finally, what serving of freshly cooked Shrimp is complete without an amazing Shrimp Cocktail Sauce! It’s a super simple sauce to make, requiring only 4 ingredients of Ketchup, Horseradish, Worcestershire Sauce, and Lemon Juice. Mix it all together and you’ve got a perfect dipping sauce for these delicious Shrimp

We love our Shrimp Cocktail so much that we’ve dedicated a whole recipe to it. Why not check it out here to get the full download on this wonderful sauce. We’ve also got the sauce recipe in this article below, so you’re covered either way!

You want fresh, hand dived Scallops for the best texture

Finding good quality Scallops can be a little bit tricky. The first rule is, like all seafood, is to avoid any Frozen Scallops. You want fresh Scallops wherever possible. Particularly for this Holiday Seafood Platter where we are preparing one of the Scallops dishes raw. The best Scallops are ones that are hand-dived. What this means is they have been individually farmed and no heavy dredging machinery has been used

Why this is important is that dredged Scallops will very likely have sand captured in their shells as they were harvested. This will ultimately lead to a grainier, unpleasant texture when eating. So always look for hand-dived Scallops for the best quality

Prepare the Scallops two ways: Ceviche and Pan Seared

If you want to keep things simple the easiest approach is to prepare the Scallops as a cold Ceviche. However, to really ramp up the extravagance of your Seafood Platter, why not prepare the Scallops two ways; Ceviche, and Pan Seared in Butter!

Both preparations for the Scallops taste amazing, and it is a great way to showcase the flavor of Scallops by making two preparations. They could not taste any more different, with the Ceviche bringing a lovely vibrancy and sharp acid hit. The Butter Seared Scallops really highlight the natural richness of the Scallop

Prepare the Ceviche in advance and have the Scallops sit in that lovely acidic sauce for about 30 minutes to begin to cook. Right before you’re ready to serve, drop the Scallops into a hot pan with some Butter and seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. No longer than that as Scallops do tend to overcook quite easily

For our Holiday Seafood Platter, we love Salmon, so are preparing it two ways

Salmon is one of the most common, and most loved fishes in the world. We here at Dinnertime Somewhere are no exception to that. We absolutely love Salmon! So much so that for this Holiday Seafood Platter we’re preparing the Salmon two ways. A raw Sashimi preparation, and a Ceviche

You want to ensure you’re getting Sashimi quality Salmon for this dish given we’ll be preparing it for a raw serving. Ask your Fish Monger what is the best cut of Salmon they have for a raw preparation. Fresh Atlantic Salmon is always our go-to for raw preparation so if you can find some, we’d definitely recommend it

It’s always good to get a mix of different Oysters for contrasting flavors

Unless you absolutely know which type of Oyster is your favorite, we always recommend purchasing a few different types of Oysters. It is amazing just how different Oysters will taste based on where they are grown and harvested

What you will find with Oysters are the flavor profiles or sweet, salty, and briny flavors. You’ll be surprised at how some Oysters taste quite sweet and rich. Others will have a very briny flavor that reminds you of the ocean

Everyone’s preferences are different when it comes to their favorite Oysters, so why not sample a few different types and see which ones you like the most when eating this delicious Holiday Seafood Platter. The Oysters look irresistible on the plate too, so you can get really creative with how you place them around the platter to make it look like a true Cold Seafood Platter straight from the ocean!

For optional opulence, why not add some Caviar and Blinis to the equation?

The craze sweeping the restaurant world now is Caviar Bumps. For a hefty upcharge you can get a small spoonful of Caviar to kick off your meal. Well, for the price of that small spoonful you can purchase about 10x the volume of Caviar and make your own Caviar Bumps at home! If you want your Holiday Seafood Platter to be super luxurious then we highly recommend adding some Caviar

Caviar can be found at good quality boutique food stores as well as many Fish Mongers. You can also order it online through a bunch of reputable vendors, so access to good quality Caviar is easy these days. There is no better way to serve Caviar than with homemade Blinis, which are basically small pancakes, and finished off with some Crème Fraiche

Check out our Caviar Bump with Blinis recipe for the full download on this amazing dish. Of course we’ve got the recipe for Blinis below as well!

Holiday Seafood Platter Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ lb. Raw Shrimp
• 8 Scallops, preferably with Shell
• 12 Fresh Oysters
• 1 lb. Sashimi Grade Tuna / Ahi Tuna
• ½ lb. Sashimi Grade Salmon, thinly sliced
• 20g Sturgeon Caviar
  
  

Tuna Tartare Sauce

• 1 tsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp. Ponzu Sauce
• ¼ tsp. Chili Crisp
• 2 tbsp. Scallions, chopped
  
  

Raw Scallop Marinade

• ½ cup Cherry Tomatoes, finely diced
• ½ Jalapeno, diced
• ¼ cup Scallions, finely sliced
• ¼ Red Onion, finely diced
• Juice of 4 Lemons
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Salmon Ceviche

• ½ lb. Sashimi Grade Salmon, cut into small squares
• ¼ Red Onion, finely sliced
• ½ cup Cucumber, finely diced
• ½ cup Cherry Tomatoes, finely diced
• Juice of 4 Lemons
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

• ½ cup Ketchup
• 4 tsp. Horseradish
• Juice of ½ a Lemon
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ tsp Salt
  
  

Blinis

• 1 Egg
• ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
• ½ cup Whole Milk
• 2 tbsp. Crème Fraiche
• 1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• ½ tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

Preparing the cooked ingredients in advance

1. Begin by preparing the Shrimp. Remove shells and devein the Shrimp then place in a large pot of boiling water. Cook for about 1 ½ minutes until the Shrimp have just turned Pink. Remove Shrimp then place in a bowl of ice water to cool and stop cooking. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
2. Prepare the Blini batter by combining the Flour, Salt, Egg and Milk into a large bowl. Whisk well to create batter
3. Place a large frying pan over medium heat on the stovetop and add half the Butter. Once melted, pour individual batter circles about the size of a quarter coin into the pan. Fit as many as you can without the batter touching each other
4. Cook for 2 minutes until bubbles begin to form on top of the batter. Flip and cook for a further 2 minutes. Repeat this process for the remaining Batter then set Blinis aside to cool at room temperature
   
   

Create marinade for the Scallop Ceviche and Salmon Ceviche

5. Combine the Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Scallions, Red Onion, Lemon Juice, and Salt into a medium sized bowl. Add the Scallops and mix through to ensure Scallops are well covered in marinade
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the Scallops to begin to ‘cook’ in the marinade
   
   

Create marinade for the Salmon Ceviche

7. In a medium sized bowl, combine Salmon, Red Onion, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Lemon Juice, and Salt. Mix well to ensure the Salmon is well covered
8. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the Salmon to ‘cook’ in the marinade
   
   

Make the Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

9. In a small bowl, combine Ketchup, Horseradish, Worcestershire, Lemon Juice, and Salt. Mix well and refrigerate for 20 minutes to cool
   
   

When you are ready to serve

10. On a large serving platter, carefully place your Oysters, Cooked Shrimp, and Sliced Salmon onto the platter. There is no right or wrong way to plate here – so get creative with where you place them
11. Make the Tuna Tartare by combining Soy Sauce, Ponzu, Chili Crisps, Scallions, and Tuna into a small serving bowl. Mix well to combine then place directly onto the serving plate (unlike a Ceviche, the Tartare does not require any marinating time)
12. Place the Salmon Ceviche and Scallop Ceviche into separate serving bowls and add them to the serving platter. If you have Scallops shells, try serving the Scallop Ceviche into individual Shells for added presentation points!
13. Add a generous dollop of Crème Fraiche to your individual Blinis and place about 6-8 of them on the plate. You can serve the Caviar on the side in its tin, or add the Caviar directly onto the Blinis with Crème Fraiche
    
    

Once you’ve plated your platter, it’s time to cook the Pan Seared Scallops

14. Heat a medium sized frying pan over high heat. Once hot, add the Butter and allow it to melt. Once melted, place your Scallops into the Pan and cook for 1 ½ minutes. Carefully flip them, and cook for a further 1 minute
15. Season Scallops well then plate immediately on the platter. If you have the Scallop shells, plate them onto the shells with a drizzle of Butter from the pan
16. Finally, serve the platter alongside several Lemon Slices and your cold Shrimp Cocktail Sauce and dive in!
    
    

Please note that throughout this article we have used the term ‘dive in’ several times as a pun in relation to the seafood in this dish. We make no apologies for this pun and hope you have a nice day!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this amazing Holiday Seafood Platter. It’s an epic dish that’s for sure – but so worth it for the unbelievable amount of flavor you get out of the Seafood. Not only that, this dish is a true show stopped for any Holiday Party

If you’re looking for more show stopping dishes, why not check out a few of our favorites recipes that look amazing on the plate:

• Heirloom Tomato and Stracciatella
• Pistachio Crusted Lamb Chops with Tabbouleh Salad
• Pan Fried Cod with Butter Sauce
• Braised Beef Cheeks in Pedro Ximenez
  
  

Happy Cooking!