Stuffed Seafood

Stuffed seafood may either refer to seafood stuffed with various ingredients or several dishes like bell peppers, jalapenos, and mushrooms stuffed with seafood mix. Among various kinds of seafood, shrimp and crabmeat are the most popular ones, which can be either used as the stuffing ingredients or for being stuffed with various other ingredients. There are several variations of stuffed seafood with seafood stuffed patty shells being a well admired dish, prepared by stuffing flour based patty shells with crab and shrimp mix.

Commonly Used Ingredients and Preparation Overview of Stuffed Seafood

A popular stuffed seafood recipe suggests stuffing different kinds of seafood into patty shells. The ingredients that are suggested by this recipe consist of patty shells, green pepper, celery, butter, flour, cheddar cheese, milk, paprika, mustard, chopped parsley, beef flavored bouillon cube, cooked shrimp, and cooked crabmeat. The patty shells used in this dish refer to baked puff pastry shells formed in the shape of cups which can hold various kinds of food products.

The preparation process suggests sautéing green peppers and celery in some butter, before adding flour, milk, bouillon cube, cheese, mustard, shrimp, and crabmeat. The seafood stuffing is then spooned into patty shells, which are served after garnishing with parsley and paprika. Any remaining stuffing mix can be poured over the patty shells before they are served along with carrots and peas.    

Stuffed Seafood Recipe Variations

A few popular variations of stuffed seafood explained in terms of dishes stuffed with seafood mix, and seafood stuffed with various ingredients have been discussed hereunder:

• Grilled Seafood Stuffed Jalapenos- this is a great appetizer which is prepared by stuffing jalapeno peppers (with seeds and stems removed) with bacon and a mix of shrimp, crabmeat, and onions. Salt and pepper are used as the seasoning agents for the stuffing. The stuffed jalapenos are cooked on an oiled grill until all the sides are done.

• Seafood stuffed mushrooms- the recipe for this stuffed seafood dish suggests spooning crab and shrimp mix into clean mushroom caps. The other ingredients that are used to prepare the stuffing consist of green onion dip mix, cream cheese, garlic powder, and seasonings. The stuffing is chilled for around an hour before it is filled in mushroom caps.

• Seafood stuffed bell peppers- pre-boiled peppers are filled with a mix of crabmeat, cooked rice, shrimp, celery, chopped pimiento, onions, mayonnaise, pepper, salt, and curry powder, and topped with bread crumbs, before they are baked in oven. It is recommended to brush the tops with some oil before baking the seafood stuffed bell peppers.

• Stuffed crab- the stuffing for crab shells consists of a mix of crabmeat, onions, cheese, tomato puree, chicken stock, turmeric and white pepper. This crabmeat mix is filled into crab shells, which are then baked in oven or grill.

• Stuffed shrimp- the recipe for this stuffed seafood dish suggests stuffing butter coated and partially baked shrimp with a mix of crushed crackers, lemon juice, garlic powder, white wine, salt, pepper, and paprika, and baking the dish in oven. A recipe variant of this dish suggests using crabmeat as one of the stuffing ingredients. Mushroom based stuffing can also be used as a filling for shrimp.