Shellfish with their shells
Delicious on the barbecue, shrimp, prawns and grilled lobster will be much better if cooked in their shells. This will keep all their juices inside and prevent them from drying out. In addition, the spices, herbs, sauces, etc. in which you have marinated them beforehand (from a few hours to a night before cooking, as these are fragile products) will diffuse better into the flesh. For uniform cooking of small shellfish, the ideal solution is skewers!
For lobster, spiny lobster or giant prawns, simply cut them in half, season them as desired and place them on the barbecue grill, shell side down. When the flesh is no longer translucent but slightly pearly, turn them over and leave them to cook on the embers for barely 2 minutes. The idea is simply to mark them and give them delicate « grilled » notes, because by cooking mainly shell side down, the flesh is not attacked by the embers.
Furthermore, whether you choose fresh or frozen shellfish, make sure that they are raw and have not been cooked beforehand.
Our recipe ideas for shellfish at Kokko:
Shellfish in indirect cooking
Before cooking your shellfish, remember to purge them in salt water so they eliminate sand and impurities. If this tedious step isn't for you, be aware that mussels are often sold vacuum-packed in supermarkets or at the fishmonger. They are cleaned, and you just need to rinse them before cooking.
Good news, shellfish don’t need much to be delicious. To cook them on the Kokko, we recommend a cast iron plancha cooking plate that you place on the cooking grid. Let it heat up well before potentially browning some onions in a drizzle of olive oil, perhaps with diced ham or chorizo, garlic, herbs and/or peppers. Once the plate is hot, put the shellfish on to cook and close the lid for a few minutes so that the heat spreads well throughout the chamber. Reopen the Kokko and continue cooking with the lid open. If you want to deglaze your cockles, clams, carpet shells, mussels: now is the right time because the alcohol will be able to evaporate. Stir regularly and when most of the shellfish are open, they are ready to be enjoyed!
Find our recipe idea:
Grilled squid or cuttlefish on the barbecue
Squid – or cuttlefish – has the particularity of being easily stuffed if purchased whole. On the barbecue, this is one of the best ways to enjoy it. If you've never tried it, we'll explain how to do it. Go to your fishmonger to choose beautiful cuttlefish that you will have cleaned by the latter. After rinsing them under water and drying them with a cloth, prepare your stuffing.
Kokko reveals its homemade recipe! For 4 large squids, mix:
- The heads and tentacles of the 4 squids, cut into small pieces
- About fifteen slices of chorizo, cut into small dice
- One large white onion, thinly sliced
- One crushed clove of garlic - About ten small shrimps, cut into small pieces
- A small bunch of cilantro Then drizzle this mixture with a little olive oil and lemon juice, pepper, and salt (lightly, because the chorizo is already quite salty!).
Before stuffing the squid, so that the barbecue cooking is faster and does not make the squid rubbery or too dry, Kokko's trick is to microwave them for 3 to 5 minutes to tenderize them. Once cooled, the squid can be stuffed with this mixture. To close them and prevent them from opening during cooking, seal the opening with a toothpick.
For cooking, place them on a hot grill, having taken the precaution of lightly brushing the squid on each side. When they have a nice golden color on each side, they are ready!
Other recipe ideas to vary the pleasures:
Want to continue the meal with seafood? Our advice for successfully barbecuing fish.
