Tips For Ordering Fresh Seafood For Beach Side Restaurant
Beach side restaurants that serve fresh seafood can be busy places during tourist seasons, so taking steps to make sure the seafood you order for your customers is the freshest is extremely important. The last thing you need as a restaurant owner is one of your customers coming back to tell you your food made them sick. Follow these tips for ensuring the seafood you order is the best and the freshest.
Follow Your Nose, Eyes And Sense Of Touch
When possible, always purchase your seafood supplies from a supplier you can visit. In this way, you are able to see, small and touch the seafood you are buying. Bear in mind that fresh fish have a firm feeling when you touch it, not soft and mushy. The freshest fish also still have shiny skin and scales like they did while swimming underwater. Fresh fish have bright eyes and their scales are close to their body. If scales are missing and are lifted away from the body, avoid buying them. The freshest fish will not have a strong fishy aroma as well.
Keeping Your Fish Storage System Up-To-Date
Maintaining an efficient freezer and refrigeration system in your restaurant is vital for keeping enough fresh seafood on hand to feed your customers. Having your system inspected regularly is the best way to know you count on it for maintaining the quality of your seafood. When your refrigeration system is running properly, you have lower risk of things like pathogenic bacterial growth occurring in your seafood.
Cooking Your Seafood Safely
The seafood you prepare for your customers needs to be done in a safe manner. Making sure the fish you cook reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees is a good way to determine whether it has cooked long enough to kill any bacteria in it. Also, if you serve whole clam and mussels, never serve the ones that open on their own while being cooked. Only serve mussels and clams that remain closed during cooking. Bear in mind that when cooking seafood of any kind, pay special attention to how long it has been out of refrigeration. On busy days at your restaurant, it can be easy to lay out several types of fish so they will be within easy reach, but doing so can increase the chances of the fish becoming unsafe to serve.
Running a successful seafood restaurant can be a lot of work and enjoyable challenges. Taking steps to ensure your foods are the freshest possible is the best way to also make sure the doors to your seafood restaurant stay open. Check out a restaurant, like Gulf Shores Steamer, for more information.