Every once in a while you come across something new in the culinary world that really surprises you because you’ve never heard of it before and it turns out to be incredible. This is what happened when we dined at Quahog’s Seafood Shack, a new restaurant in Stone Harbor, NJ that locals remember as Tridi Jo’s.

Quahog’s Seafood Shack is owned and operated by Argentina born Chef Lucas Manteca who also owns another Stone Harbor Restaurant that my wife and I dined at called Sea Salt. I’ll write about that experience another time. Quahog’s is a casual restaurant that welcomes kids, is named for the large hard clam and is all about seafood.

Among his most popular dishes are his soft shell crabs, Maine Lobster Roll, Cape May Salt Oysters and my entry, Pacu fish ribs.

While many local restaurants are serving salmon, swordfish or tuna, you’ll find sustainable fish like barramundi or escolar. Chef Lucas post grilled fish but what he serves each night changes depending on what’s fresh and available.

My wife shared the Lobster Bake with my youngest daughter and feasted on lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, potatoes and corn on the cob. They also served a tasty cole slaw that had a spicy flavor to it. Both of them thought it was excellent.

The blackboard posting the daily specials listed Barbecued Pacu Ribs with coconut rice. When I asked our server for more information about Pacu and how they can be served as barbecued ribs, she told us Pacu is a Brazilian fresh water fish that grows to over 60 pounds. When she told us the ribs looked just liked pork barbecued ribs I knew I had to give them a try and I’m glad that I did.

They purchase their Pacu ribs from Samuels & Son Seafood Company so I looked up their web site and here is what they say, “Pacu grows very fast to very large sizes. They can eat almost any food, and are now being raised in huge fish farms throughout the world as a food fish, especially in Brazil.”

“The large and meaty pacu ribs, whether fired, grilled or barbequed on a spit are a unique, and highly appreciated delicacy. Whole pacu is normally prepared by oven baking or grilling on the barbeque.”

When our food arrived, I couldn’t believe how much the Pacu looked like barbecued ribs. They were stacked up on the plate the same way I’ve been served bbq ribs in restaurants. They were glazed with a rich barbecue sauce that had a hint of chipotle in it that gave it a tangy spiciness. What a great summer alternative to barbecue ribs.

When I took my first bite, I noticed the fish was meaty, tender and delicious.  If I remember correctly, there were three thin, flat bones per rib and the meat pulled off the bones with every bite.  Although the texture wasn’t exactly like meat ribs, Pacu comes pretty close. I don’t think you will find them in most fish markets, but you may want to ask your favorite fish monger if he can order you some. I’ll see if I can interview  Chef Lucas and get some tips for cooking and maybe his recipe for barbecue sauce.

photo from samuels and son seafood - I forgot my camera.

I receive a lot of emails every day from people young and old interested in going to culinary school. Some want to start their careers in the restaurant industry, some are looking to change careers. Either way, www.reluctantgourmet.com has been a great culinary arts school resource by offering articles, schools listed by state, chef interviews and opinions both pro and con about attending school.

Recently I received this email from Wendy who wrote me and said,

“I have a culinary degree and a baking and pastry degree. It was my dream to become accredited in pastry as soon as I got out of school, but I got stuck making salads in a job I hate because no one will hire me, not even as an assistant because I lack the 3 years experience. How do I get experience if no one will hire me? I’m 41 years old and I’m sick of not having my dream job.” Wendy

I sent this email to my friend Chef Jennifer Field, a graduate of the Orlando Culinary Academy, Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts School. Chef Jennifer has worked as a pastry chef in several restaurants and offered Wendy the following good advice:

Hi, Wendy.

I do feel for you.  I graduated from culinary school in baking and pastry when I was 39, and it can be hard to break into a game that is generally a “young person’s” game.  Sounds like you are working at a garde manger station.  Many garde manager folks are also dessert platers–is that your situation?  If so, perhaps you could work into a full-time pastry position.

What market are you in and how competitive is it?  I’m a little surprised that there is a 3 years of experience rule to even get an assistant position.  Do you want to work in fine dining?  Catering?  Banquets?

You might have to put in your time in a less-than-ideal (for you) pastry position to gain the necessary experience that the job market you’re in requires.  Are you in a position to stage somewhere to get some experience?

You might have to think outside the box a little and consider advertising that you’ll make special desserts for dinner parties or something.  Craigslist is great for things like that.  And of course, take pictures of everything you do, even if you’re just experimenting.

Also, you might consider asking for a working interview for a job you’re interested in.  Tell them that you’ll be happy to do a Mystery Basket or just work in production or on the line for a few hours as part of the interview process.  That way, the person hiring you (not to mention the people you could potentially be working with) would get a chance to see you in action.  Then you’ll be able to show them what you can do.

Those are just a couple of ideas.  I know that breaking in can be frustrating.  Sometimes when doors aren’t opening when and where you want them to, you have to just get out the Skilsaw and cut out your own door.

Best of luck to you.

I was reading my August 2008 edition of Bon Appetit while sitting on the beach and found this summer recipe that looked perfect for all the local ingredients available this time of year. Jersey corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and local scallops that turned out to be a disappointment.

I purchased local scallops over frozen scallops because they were supposedly fresh and were on sale. I purchased them in a supermarket, not a local fish store which may of been a mistake too.  They turned out to be chewy and rubbery so I will be making this dish again with day boat or diver scallops some time in the future.

The good news is the dressing and salad were incredible and very easy to prepare. In fact you could use the salad with any grilled fish or shellfish as well as chicken or maybe even pork. We did grill nectarines but I would like to try this dish with fresh, local Jersey yellow peaches.

Grilled Scallops and Nectarines with Fresh Corn and Jersey Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea Salt

Basil Puree

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves (loosly packed)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Salad

24 sea scallops, side muscle removed and patted dry
(If you can’t find day boat, diver or dry scallops, opt for frozen)
3 firm but ripe nectahrines cut into 6 wedges (You may want to try peaches too)
Olive oil for brushing on scallops and nectarines while grilling
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels cut from 2 large ears of fresh Jersey corn. (Of course any fresh corn will work)
24 grape tomatoes cut in half
1/3 cup thinly sliced basil leaves for garnish
Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to Prepare Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime peel and chilly powder. When combined, slowly add the oil while whisking quickly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

How to Prepare Basil Puree

Start by blanching the basil leaves in a small pot of boiling water that has been salted for just 30 seconds. Drain in a colander and squeeze as much of the water as you can out of the basil.

Coarsely chop up the basil.   The article suggests to use a blender to puree the basil with oil, but I found the blender we had available at the beach house we were renting didn’t do a very good job. If you have a mini food processor, try that. If not, I would chop the basil up fine by hand and then whisk together with the oil. Season with some sea salt.

Note: Both the Dressing and the Basil can be prepared 1 day ahead of when you are going to make this recipe but be sure to remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using.

How to Prepare the Salad

Get you grill to a medium high heat. If using a gas grill, this can take 10 to 15 minutes to get the grate hot. A big mistake lots of home cooks make is they turn the gill on, wait a couple of minutes and start grilling. Always preheat the grill the same way you preheat your oven before baking or roasting.

Brush some olive oil on the scallops and nectarines and season with some salt and pepper. Grill the scallops until they are slightly grilled and cooked through. The article says this takes about 2 minutes per side but everyone’s grill is different and found that it took a little longer.

Be sure the scallops are completely dry or they will steam and not give you the charring.  I think this is one of the many mistakes I made with this dish.

Grill the nectarine sections until slightly charred. Again, depending on your grill, this could take 1 1/2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and reserve the scallops and peaches until ready to plate.

Plating the Scallops

If serving 6, arrange 4 scallops on 6 plates. Just before serving, toss 2 tablespoons of dressing with the corn and 1 tablespoon of dressing with the tomatoes. Season both with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon a little corn around the scallops and “scatter” the tomatoes over the corn. Tastefully arrange the nectarine slices on the plate and drizzle a little dressing over the scallops. Finish the plate with a little basil puree & sea salt over the corn and tomatoes.

Serve