A Small Seafood Christmas Eve Dinner

I picked up some rock shrimp and arctic char from Fin. I had never cooked either, so I wanted to see how things would come out if I tried some preparations that have been at the back of my mind for a while.

(This meal was actually for Cassie and I on Christmas Eve Eve.)

For the rock shrimp, I just wanted them coated in cornmeal and deep fried.

I spread them out on a dish and dusted some of my favorite seasoning on top and also sparingly added some salt and pepper. Then I dusted some fine cornmeal on top as well.

As far as which seasoning I like to use with shrimp…let’s just say mine has one of my favorite chefs on the bottle.

I lightly tossed everything together.

I deep fried the shrimp at about 345°F for about a minute, or just until the coating was crispy. I served it up with a chipotle aioli (which I made by just mixing one chipotle in adobo in my favorite store bought mayonaise).

These were crispy and delicious. The trick to rock shrimp is to very lightly cook them so they’re still moist. When done right, they have a crunchy coating and let out a great briny shrimp flavor when eaten.

For the arctic char, I went for a very simple preparation.

I just rubbed both sides with some Kosher salt, pepper, and olive oil and cooked it on a hot cast iron pan.

Skin side down first. I wanted a nice, crispy skin. (It’s the trick to a tasty oily fish — think about how good the salmon skin at the sushi bar is!)

Once the fish looked like it was cooked almost all the way through on the first side…

…I flipped it and cooked it for no more than 1 minute.

I served my arctic char with oven roasted potatoes.

The fish was absolutely delicious. Arctic char is a little more delicate than salmon, but the flavor is in the same ballpark. I actually drizzled a mixture of lemon juice and good Portuguese olive oil over the fish just to cut the richness and add some acidity.

I really enjoyed everything!

For a person who doesn’t like fish, I think I did pretty good; I’d eat either thing any day of the week. But it made for a very successful Christmas Eve Eve dinner.

Merry Christmas to you all!