The Grilled Seafood Platter is the perfect dish for kicking off the carefree vibes of summer. I got inspired to make this epic seafood feast after my good friend, Mitchell, gifted me with 16 fresh blue crabs from his boating trip off the coast of Georgia. Now, that’s my kind of friend! If you’ve never tasted the meat of a succulent and tender blue crab, spoiler alert: it’s so freakin’ delicious.
While a simple squeeze of lime juice can make the freshest seafood perfectly satisfying, this recipe deepens the whole flavor experience Over-the-Fire-cooking style. We’ll mingle the seafood with some acidity, deep flavor, and heat from my FYR GLD Hot Sauce.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love the Grilled Seafood Platter
- Ingredients
- This sauce is FYR!
- How to make seasoned butter
- How to Make the Grilled Seafood Platter
- What to Serve with the Grilled Seafood Platter
- Leftovers & Reheating Grilled Seafood
- More from the Sea
- FAQs for Grilled Seafood
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Grilled Seafood Platter Recipe
Why You’ll Love the Grilled Seafood Platter
Creating a seafood feast that captures the essence of summer may look intimidating but it’s super straightforward. I’ve loved making batches of Smoked Salmon Burnt Ends and even Shrimp Jalapeño Poppers for our guest when they come over. Even better, while you’re entertaining your friends and family, you won’t be anchored to the kitchen for six hours.
This feast takes less than 20 minutes to cook (outside of boiling the potatoes and corn), making it perfect for feeding your hungry seafood-loving crew while also enjoying their company. If you don’t like one of the seafood options included in our feast, just know they can be substituted for something else like Spanish Garlic Shrimp or Grilled Lobster with Hot Honey Butter.
Some of my other favorite seafood meals include: Stuffed Lobster Tail with Garlic Butter, Grilled Lobster with Hot Honey Butter, Stuffed Shrimp, Fire Baked Oysters, and Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail.
Ingredients
- The Seafood – The gifts of the sea in our platter are blue crabs, fresh shrimp, lobster tails, and oysters.
- Lemon Herb Sauce – Lemon juice, Italian dressing, Cajun seasonings, vinegar, garlic, FYR GLD Hot Sauce, and some canola oil help create our marinade. It’s also the tastiest basting sauce for the oysters and shrimp.
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This sauce is FYR!
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- The Sides – Seasoned boiled red potatoes and fresh yellow corn complement the grilled seafood perfectly.
- Garnishes – Parmesan cheese garnishes the crab while seasoned butter with fresh herbs like chives or parsley provides the finishing touch.
How to make seasoned butter
Creating seasoned butter with chives is super easy. Start by softening a stick of unsalted butter at room temperature. Finely chop fresh chives (or parsley) and add them to the softened butter along with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Once everything is well combined, transfer the seasoned butter onto plastic wrap or parchment paper. Roll the butter into a log shape. Refrigerate the seasoned butter until firm, then slice it into rounds or use it as desired.
How to Make the Grilled Seafood Platter
Prepping the Seafood
Alright, first things first, make sure your seafood is clean, deveined, shucked, and split accordingly. Keep everything chilled on ice or in the fridge until it’s showtime.
Next up, mix all the ingredients for our delicious lemon herb sauce. I used a Pyrex measuring cup with a spout for easy pouring.
In a bowl, bathe the shrimp in some of that spicy goodness and at the same time pour some sauce over the crabs. Let them sit for about 10 minutes. Pull the shrimp out in preparation for the skewers.
Grab some wooden skewer sticks to assemble your shrimp skewers. Next, season the lobster with a mixture of Cajun spices and your favorite seafood rub.
Grilling the Seafood
Now, let’s fire up the grill, aiming for a high heat of around 400° degrees F. For extra smoky flavor add some hickory wood chips. Once the fire is ready, it’s time to cook our seafood, taking into consideration the different cooking times.
- Crab – Cook the crab shell side down for 8-10 minutes. Pull them off after a quick sprinkling of some Parmesan cheese. For another fun way to enjoy crab, check out my Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail!
- Lobster Tails – Our lobster‘s up next. Just a quick 2-3 minutes per side until they’re no longer translucent but a beautiful opaque white.
- Oysters – We’ll add some of our sauce and let the oysters cook for about 3-4 minutes until they’re nice and bubbly. Once they’re done, pull them off the grill.
- Shrimp – Last but not least, our shrimp. Cook them for 2-3 minutes per side, basting them in that delicious sauce as we go. Once they’re nice and pink, they’re all set.
Serving Time
Now, let’s show off our grilled seafood extravaganza on a platter alongside our boiled potatoes and corn. Don’t forget to top everything off with some seasoned herb butter for that finishing touch. And there you have it—time to dig in and enjoy the fruits of the sea!
What to Serve with the Grilled Seafood Platter
The beauty of this Grilled Seafood Platter recipe is that you have everything you need for a complete feast: seafood, potatoes, and fresh corn. For that classic squeeze of lemon over the seafood, serve with sliced lemons. If you have a super-hungry crowd, get some crusty bread to go with the feast. On your table, lay out some small bowls with extra virgin olive oil mingled with red chili flakes.
Leftovers & Reheating Grilled Seafood
Chances are slim of any leftovers, but if you do have them, store the cooled grilled seafood in airtight containers for 1-2 days in the fridge. When you’re ready to reheat, gently warm everything in aluminum foil on the grill over medium heat. If you have leftover crab, consider layering the meat over a fresh salad. For shrimp, consider making some of my grilled shrimp rolls.
More from the Sea
FAQs for Grilled Seafood
If you follow the timing suggested in the recipe card you shouldn’t have any problems making sure that the seafood meat is fully cooked. If you have any concerns, feel free to use a meat thermometer. Fully cooked lobster, for example, is 135 to 140 degrees. Crab, shrimp, and oysters should be 145 degrees.
If blue crab isn’t available near you, consider alternatives like snow crab legs, known for their sweet and delicate flavor, or Dungeness crab, prized for its tender meat and slightly nutty taste. King crab legs offer large and meaty portions with a rich and sweet flavor profile.
While it’s hard to beat the classic Old Bay, the Spiceology Seafood Seasoning is definitely one of my favorites!
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Grilled Seafood Platter
Ingredients
Seafood:
- 6-8 Fresh Blue Crabs cleaned
- 2 lbs Shrimp peeled & deveined
- 3-4 Lobster Tails split
- 10-12 Oysters shucked
Lemon Herb Sauce:
- 4 Lemons juiced
- 16 oz bottle Italian Dressing
- 1 cup Cajun Rub
- ½ cup Seafood Rub
- ½ cup White Wine Vinegar
- 3 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tbsp FYR GLD Hot Sauce
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil
Platter:
- Boiled Red Potatoes seasoned
- Boiled Corn seasoned
- Parmesan Cheese Garnish
- Seasoned Butter w/Chives
Instructions
- Clean and prepare all of your seafood. Keep cold until ready to cook.
- In a bowl, mix together the lemon herb sauce. Reserve some of the sauce so that we can use it to baste the seafood later.
- Slather the crab and shrimp with the remaining sauce and marinate for 10 minutes. Pull the crab and shrimp out and discard the marinated sauce. Skewer the shrimp up, then season the lobster in cajun and seafood rub and set to the side.
- Preheat your grill to high heat (about 400 degrees F).
- Add the crab, shrimp, lobster, and oysters to the grill to cook.
- Oysters: Add the sauce to the oysters and cook for 3-4 minutes until bubbling. Pull off once done.
- Crab: Cook the crab for 8-10 minutes shell side down, then garnish with parmesan cheese and pull off.
- Lobster: Cook the lobster for 2-3 minutes per side until no longer translucent but opaque white. Pull off once done.
- Shrimp: Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side while basting in the reserved sauce. Once pink, pull off.
