How To Make A Simple Seafood Platter
Australian Summers are known for sunny-filled beach days, BBQs, and seafood. It’s a rich, food-filled culture that anyone who has ever stood in line for seafood at the Sydney Seafood Markets on Christmas Eve can attest to. A fresh seafood platter is the pinnacle of many festive gatherings and special occasions. Prawns, oysters and bugs piled onto ice with plenty of lemon and a couple of good seafood sauces. It’s simple, fresh and made for grazing.
Whether you’re putting together a seafood platter for Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve or a summer get-together, the trick is to buy the best seafood you can find and keep things simple. Anyone who’s ever stood in line at the Sydney Fish Market on Christmas Eve will know just how seriously we Australians take our Christmas seafood!
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We are a seafood-loving family. It wasn’t until I lived overseas for a few years that I realized how truly special the seafood in Australia actually is. Aside from the biggest (and BEST) prawns, our oysters are outstanding as are the fish, octopus, and bugs, to name a few. We really are a bit spoilt for choice!
While many think of a Seafood platter for Christmas Day or even Easter, in the last few years we’ve done a seafood platter for New Year’s Eve instead, opting for roast dinner on Christmas Day. Add a bottle of bubbles, some tunes, and a hot afternoon by the pool, and you have a party!
Why you’ll love this seafood platter
There’s no cooking involved. Buy, plate, and serve. Aside from cutting a few lemons into wedges, this seafood platter really couldn’t be easier.
Make it your own. Prawns, oysters and bugs are my go-to, but the whole point is to use the freshest seafood available where you live. Crab, lobster, smoked salmon or other cooked seafood can all work beautifully.
Perfect for summer entertaining. Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, Easter, BBQs or a lazy afternoon by the pool. Pop everything over ice, add a couple of dipping sauces and you’re done.
It looks impressive with very little effort. Which is exactly the kind of entertaining I like!
What to Put on a Seafood Platter
- Cooked prawns – Large tiger prawns are generally my go-to because, quite frankly, small prawns are a pain to peel! In Australia, cooked prawns are readily available, so I buy them already cooked and ready to serve.
Tip: If there are a couple of different prawns around the same size, ask your fishmonger which they recommend. They’ve never steered me wrong yet! - Freshly shucked oysters – Sydney Rock oysters are one of the most popular around here, although we’ve had some beauties from the NSW South Coast too.
- Cooked bugs – And no, I’m not talking about caterpillars! Bugs are a type of slipper lobster found in Australian waters, with a sweet flavour a little like crab. Moreton Bay and Balmain bugs are the two you’ll commonly find here.
If you buy them raw, you can cook them in salted boiling water for around 6 minutes, then cool in ice water before cleaning, cutting in half, and serving. - Ice – Essential for a cold seafood platter on a hot Australian summer day. I grab a bag from the supermarket and use it as the base of the platter. If the weather isn’t hot, a bed of rock salt also looks beautiful.
- Seafood sauces – Seafood/cocktail sauce and tartare sauce are the classics, but don’t stop there. Chilli sauce, soy sauce or a flavoured aioli such as chipotle or lime mayo are all great additions.
- Lemon wedges – Lots of them!
What to Serve a Seafood Platter On
You can use any large serving platter or board, but here’s a little trick I’ve been using for years – serve your seafood platter in an enamel cast iron shallow casserole.
Add a good layer of ice to the bottom, and the cast iron helps keep everything perfectly cold while you’re serving. I use my 30cm Le Creuset shallow casserole, which is the perfect size for a seafood platter for four.
Just keep the lid on until you’re ready to eat, then remove it and dig in!
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How-to…
1. Prepare the platter. Add a generous layer of ice to the bottom of a large serving platter or enamel cast iron shallow casserole.
2. Add the sauces. Spoon your seafood sauces into small dipping bowls and nestle them into the ice.
3. Arrange the seafood. Pile the prawns, oysters and bugs around the dipping bowls. Keep things relaxed – a seafood platter is supposed to look abundant, not perfectly styled!
4. Add the finishing touches. Tuck plenty of fresh lemon wedges around the seafood and serve immediately.
Ps, Don’t forget a finger bowl on the side!
A few more seafood platter ideas…
Want to take your seafood platter up a notch? Keep the cold seafood as your base and add one or two extras.
- Add something from the BBQ. Grilled scallops in the half shell, lobster, or Thai-style baby octopus are all brilliant additions.
- Add a pot of mussels. A steaming pot of mussels cooked with white wine, garlic and shallots occasionally makes an appearance alongside our seafood platter.
- Add something hot and crispy. Salt and pepper calamari, whitebait, crab cakes, crumbed prawns or battered fish pieces give you that hot seafood basket element.
- Keep it completely cold. Smoked salmon is an easy addition, as is good-quality canned seafood. I’m looking at you, Ortiz anchovies!
Can I make a seafood platter without oysters or bugs?
Absolutely. Think of this as a guide rather than a strict recipe. Start with the freshest cooked seafood you can find locally and build your platter from there. Crab, lobster, smoked salmon, scallops, or extra prawns can all take their place.
How Much Seafood Do I Need Per Person?
How much seafood you’ll need depends on whether your platter is the main event or part of a larger spread. If seafood is the main meal, I allow a minimum of around 400g of seafood per person. If you’ve got some serious seafood lovers coming, buy a little extra – leftover prawns in the fridge are hardly a hardship!
A quick note on prawns: When buying whole prawns, remember that only around half of their total weight is actually prawn meat once they’re peeled. So 1kg of whole prawns will give you roughly 500g of peeled prawn meat.
For a mixed platter, choose a few different types rather than trying to include everything. Prawns, oysters and bugs are my usual combination, then I’ll add extras depending on what looks good at the fishmonger that day.
How to Keep a Seafood Platter Cold
Seafood and hot Australian summer days aren’t exactly best friends, so I always serve my cold seafood platter over plenty of ice.
Keep the seafood refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the platter, then sit it directly over a good bed of ice while everyone is eating. This is another reason I love using my enamel cast iron shallow casserole – once chilled and filled with ice, it does a brilliant job of keeping everything cold. When its lid is on, it’s basically a fridge!
If you’re entertaining outside, don’t assemble the seafood platter hours beforehand and leave it sitting on the table. Keep it chilled until everyone is ready to eat and top up the ice as needed.
How to store leftover seafood
Leftover prawns and bugs should be returned to the fridge as soon as you’ve finished eating. I store mine in a bowl with a little ice and a damp cloth over the top. Oysters should also be kept well chilled and covered.
As always with fresh seafood, if something smells off or you’re unsure how long it has been stored, don’t risk it.
Cook’s notes
Buy from a good fishmonger. This is my number one tip. A dedicated fishmonger knows what’s freshest that day and can advise you on what to buy, how much you’ll need, and how best to store it. They’ll also usually clean and prepare your seafood if you ask nicely!
Buy what’s good, not what’s on your list. Think of this seafood platter as a guide. If the prawns look amazing but the oysters don’t, buy more prawns. Fresh, seasonal seafood will always win.
Keep everything cold. Buy your seafood as close to serving as practical, refrigerate it as soon as you get home and keep it chilled until you’re ready to assemble the platter.
Don’t overcomplicate it. A good seafood platter doesn’t need twelve different types of seafood and six sauces. A few beautiful fresh seafood options, lemon wedges and a couple of good sauces are really all you need.
Start slow. Cook confidently.
Cast Iron Cooking 101
From slow cooked stews to warm bread fresh from the oven, this guide will help you feel confident cooking with cast iron at home.
How to make a Seafood Platter
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 serves 1x
Description
A seafood platter is the pinnacle of many festive gatherings. Filled with fresh seafood, simply prepared it’s the ultimate share plate.
Ingredients
- 800g cooked prawns
- 1 dozen fresh oysters
- 2 Morton Bay bugs
- fresh lemons cut into wedges
- A selection of sauces that pair well with seafood – I use seafood sauce and tartare sauce.
Instructions
- Lay a bed of ice on the base of a cast iron shallow casserole or platter.
- Pop the seafood condiments into dipping dishes and place on the platter.
- Arrange the seafood around the dipping sauces.
- Finish with lemon wedges.
Notes
A finger bowl is an essential part of a seafood platter. A small bowl full of water with a slice of lemon is sufficient for people to wash their fingers in between bites.
I use a 30cm enamel cast-iron braiser/shallow casserole for this seafood platter.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Seafood
- Method: No-bake
- Cuisine: Australian
Great share platter, I made it for Easter Friday and was definitely the most popular dish. Will become a regular dish for summer in my house!
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience Matilda!
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