The Perfect Seafood Platter

A fresh seafood platter is a spectacular sight, something to make your eyes light up with glee. A plate or board groaning with fresh seafood, sauces, dressings, and other delights. I show you how to create the ultimate Australian seafood platter.

Considering they are rather easy to put together, there is something special about a platter of seafood. Be it a romantic platter for two, or a humongous platter to feed a group. They really are a dinner party hit.

The French call it plateau de fruits de mer. Which I feel sums beautifully presented seafood well, a platter of fruits of the sea.

I walk you through what I feel is the ultimate seafood platter. One with variety, interest, and one that simply looks stunning.

Sara xxx

What's in this post

• Key Components of a Seafood Platter
• What seafood to choose
• Portions per person
• Sauces and Dressings
• How to plate a seafood platter
• Sara's Top Recipe Tips
• Valuable Seafood Tips
• Printable Recipe

Key Components of a Seafood Platter

Variety is the spice of life. As glorious as all those crustaceans are, you want to keep things interesting. Some pockets of flavour and texture. This is best done with condiments, garnishes, greens, and unusual choices of seafood.

• Crustaceans: Are the heroes of the platter and the hero of them all has to be a lobster. Other delicious crustaceans are crayfish, prawns, jumbo shrimp, Moreton Bay bug/Balmain bug/slipper lobster (Thenus), crab, soft shell crab, crab claws or crab legs, etc.
• Bivalves: Bivalves always keep things interesting. An Australian seafood platter wouldn't be complete without oysters, especially Sydney rock oysters. Other bivalves include clams, pipis, cockles, scallops on the half shell, and mussels. If you don't like raw oysters you could always grill them in the shell, or serve them Kilpatrick style.
• Caviar/Roe: If money isn't an issue you could add the indulgence of Beluga, Ossetra, or Sevruga caviar. Or go for red caviar, such as large plump salmon roe or trout roe (pictured) works perfectly. If available fresh buttery uni (sea urchin roe) is a complete treat.
• Garnish: When I use garnish on a seafood platter I intend for it not to just look pretty but also to be eaten. Fresh dill adds fragrance plus a pop of colour, and tastes wonderful with seafood. Lemon and lime wedges. If you can find them, Australian finger lime. They look like caviar but are little balls of citrus joy (pictured on the oysters).
• Sauces/Dressings: At least two different sauces and one dressing to dip into. See further inspiration for sauces and dressings below.
• That little extra: You can always add a little more variety by way of salads on the side like a crunchy cucumber salad or green salad. Bread is also a winner for a bit of variety of texture and taste. Serve it with some smoked butter. You could also serve some prepared morsels like crab cakes, or crab lettuce cups.

What seafood to choose

What seafood you choose is all up to personal taste. But you do want to keep it easy for those eating the platter.

1. Always have a hero, like a lobster if possible. Remember to have your fishmonger cut large shellfish like lobsters and bugs in half for easy eating.
2. A variety of large and small cooked prawns/shrimp. You will be surprised at how different they taste. Some will be sweet, others slightly salty, and some even creamy and buttery. It is also a good idea to peel and clean prawns. Leave the heads and tails on for presentation, they always look more impressive and bigger.
3. It is probably a good idea to have a variety of cooked and natural oysters if catering to a crowd to keep everyone happy.
4. Fish or not to fish? I'm sharing my ideal cold seafood platter and tuna or salmon sashimi, or even smoked salmon, would be a great addition. If you are preparing a cooked seafood platter then fish is a wonderful option. A whole small steamed red snapper with an assortment of fried seafood.

Portions per person

Getting the seafood quantities per person is important. It is best to have a little more than you anticipate. Then again, you don't want to be stuck with a whole lot of leftovers. Seafood can be quite expensive.

Things to consider when working out how much seafood you need per person.

Variety of Seafood on offer

If there is a lot of variety then you will need fewer of each item per guest.

Example A: You have gone all out with crabs, lobsters, basically the whole sea is on offer. Then you only need a taste of each item per person.
Example B: Lobster and prawns. You are keeping it simple with a hero of lobster and a variety of prawns. Then you may want to cater a quarter or half a lobster per person, and 8 - 12 prawns (maybe more if they are small).

Who are you feeding?

Catering for a group of 10 men is different from catering to a group of 10 ladies for lunch. Plus how many children will you be feeding? Everybody eats differently and in different amounts.

Now I'm not saying that a group of women wouldn't smash through a large seafood platter, trust me we could. But do take into consideration of fussy, light, and hearty eaters.

Sauces and Dressings

Sauces and dressings are where you can get creative. You can go traditional, or really mix things up or create a flavour theme.

Have you ever thought of making an Indian, Korean, Japanese or Thai inspired seafood platter? Think about it, your choice in condiments really sets the scene.

• Homemade mayonnaise is magic. Store bought does not compare. You can keep it plain or flavour it with lemon juice. If buying, go for an egg mayonnaise, Kewpie is great.
• A classic with prawns is Marie Rose sauce. It's delicious with all seafood, even oysters.
• Herbs add another dimension, maybe a tarragon sauce or dill dressing?
• Another classic is a simple mignonette dressing.
• Hot sauce may not be obvious at first, but a bottle of Tobasco or other hot sauce really does add that extra punch of taste.
• Not a sauce, but lemon and lime wedges are essential. Or a combo of the two.
• Plus, don't forget the freshly cracked pepper.

How to plate a seafood platter

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a printable version of the seafood platter recipe

How to make your seafood platter the envy of all seafood restaurants? It's rather simple. Be generous, have a variety of seafood and condiments, and plate it gorgeously.

It is important to have all your seafood cleaned, lemons cut, sauces, dressings and any salads made before plating the seafood platter. Plating should be at the last moment and the platter hit the table as soon as it is all together and ready.

1. Cover a large serving platter with crushed ice. The size will depend on how much seafood you have. If feeding a big crowd you may need two platters.
2. Place any large seafood on the platter first, starting with lobsters, then crabs and bugs.
3. Next, add any bowls. Bowls that contain caviar, sauces, or dressing that you want on the platter. Ideally, serve the majority of the dressings on the side (that way they can be passed around easily), but it visually looks appealing to have at least one sauce/dressing on the platter.
4. Then add any large prawns followed by oysters.
5. Followed by the smaller prawns. These can be strategically poked into gaps.
6. Fill any remaining gaps with fresh sprigs of dill (or another herb of choice), and lemon/lime wedges.

Sara's Top Recipe Tips

Don't forget the drinks!

As you have gone to all the effort of creating a gorgeous seafood platter, put some thought into the drinks you will serve alongside. Champagne or sparkling white is a must alongside lobster and caviar. You can't go wrong with a crisp white wine. Cold beer is great with crab, go for a light ale.

Have the right utensils on hand

Be prepared with utensils. Make sure you have enough crab crackers and pickers at the ready, finger bowls with slices of lemon and extra napkins. A bowl for discarded shells is a great idea too. Make sure you empty it often if a large group, or once/twice for a couple.

Valuable Seafood Tips

Printable Recipe