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The Great Shellfish Cookbook

From Sea to Table: More than 100 Recipes to Cook at Home

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From Matt Dean Pettit, the beloved author of The Great Lobster Cookbook and the chef behind Matty's Seafood, comes a new collection of delicious recipes for shellfish of all kinds!

Matt Dean Pettit, chef, co-owner and founder of Rock Lobster restaurants and Matty's Seafood Brands, is back with a new book to delight your taste buds. Whether you've been to one of his restaurants, picked up some of his food from your local supermarket, experimented in the kitchen with lobster recipes from his first book, The Great Lobster Cookbook, or are looking for a fresh, go-to resource, Matt's enthusiasm is contagious. As you can probably guess, seafood is one of his true loves and The Great Shellfish Cookbook brings that love to life.
     The Great Shellfish Cookbook takes any level of home cook on a delicious food tour that focuses on Matt's favorite kinds of shellfish. In much the same way as he demystified lobster in his first book, Matt is back to teach you shellfish 101, show you how and where to buy fresh shellfish, how to store it, and, of course, how to cook it. Inside, you'll find both fun and approachable dishes for every meal, featuring crab, oysters, mussels, scallops, squid, octopus, clams, prawns, and, of course, lobster. If you're a home cook ready to expand your horizons, you'll love the chapter on exotic shellfish like periwinkles, conch, crawfish and sea urchin. And with a focus on sustainability and protecting our oceans, you'll learn how to enjoy your favorite shellfish dishes while balancing a respect for our environment.
     A new cookbook classic for all seafood lovers, The Great Shellfish Cookbook will have you running to the kitchen to prepare new and exciting recipes for your family and friends.
Praise for The Great Lobster Cookbook:
"Everything you'll ever want to know about buying, cooking and serving lobster [...]." --The Globe and Mail

Advance praise for The Great Shellfish Cookbook:
"In The Great Shellfish Cookbook, Matt peels away the mysteries of preparing the perfect shellfish dish, offering up recipes for everything from the humble prawn to the ultimate in luxury, oysters and lobster. Whether or not you're a crustacean connoisseur, this is the only seafood cookbook you need to have in your kitchen. Oh, and for the record, the recipe for Matty's Jacked Up Lobster Roll is worth the purchase price all on its own." --Simon Majumdar, author of Fed, White, and Blue: Finding America with My Fork

"The Great Shellfish Cookbook is a go-to guide to preparing and enjoying a wide range of tasty seafood dishes, from street food to pub food to full-blown gastro-goodness. Matt's practical and comprehensive approach to recipe writing, his primer on Seafood 101, and the stunning photography all combine to make this a book that belongs in any cook's kitchen!" --Pete & Chris Neal, co-owners of Neal Brothers Foods and co-authors of Goodness: Recipes & Stories

"Like Matt's full throttle personality, The Great Shellfish Cookbook swings for the fences with fun, fast, delicious and sustainable recipes. Rock on Matt, shellfish for the win!" --Ned Bell, Ocean Wise Executive Chef and author of Lure: Sustainable Seafood recipes from the West Coast

"The only thing more charismatic than the delicious recipes in this book are the jealousy-inducing stories Matt shares of his travels. And his internationally-inspired recipes deliver. This is a love letter to all things shellfish that will have enthusiasts and novices alike celebrating these treasures of the seas." --Barton Seaver, author of Two If By Sea
© Brilynn Ferguson
Matt Dean Pettit has loved cooking since, at age 13, he got his first job as a prep cook in his home town of Midland, Ontario, Canada. In 2011, Matt started Rock Lobster Food Co., Canada’s first lobster-centric food company, showcasing lobster and making it easy and accessible for Canadians to eat on a regular basis. Matt is a Canadian culinary brand ambassador for Samuel Adams, and he is also the founder and owner of Camp 416 Food Trading Co., which distributes the Matty’s Seafood line and other quality food items across Canada. Rock Lobster started as a small pop-up food truck and now has multiple locations in downtown Toronto. View titles by Matt Dean Pettit
From "Shellfish 101"

In this section, I want to talk a little bit about the different kinds of shellfish you’ll find mentioned throughout the book. In the following pages, you’ll see a breakdown of each. But before we get started, there are a few general tips that I’d like to share with you too.

First off, some best practices:

• Always store shellfish in the lowest or coldest section of your fridge. I keep mine in the crisper drawer.
• Most types of shellfish shouldn’t be submerged in water. There are a few occasions where a bath will help clean the shellfish, but your best bet is to follow the recipe directions carefully.
• Your shellfish should smell fresh, like the sea. If it seems off in any way, toss it.
• Be careful when seasoning shellfish. You want the natural flavor to shine through, and many types of shellfish have a salty taste from the ocean water.
• When buying frozen shellfish, keep an eye out for “glazing.” This is when the manufacturer injects water into the shell to help protect the meat and potentially add more weight to the product. You can tell that a frozen shell has been glazed if it has a thick layer of shiny clear ice on it.
• Ask questions! Your fishmonger is a fountain of knowledge, and can help educate you on the different options available. This is especially important in terms of buying sustainable types of shellfish.

One reason I wanted to write this new cookbook was to educate readers on the importance of seafood sustainability. As the world’s population grows larger each year, it’s our shared responsibility to think consciously about preservation of the seafood we eat. For the health of our current and future generations, we must protect our global rivers, lakes, and oceans. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy seafood; we just need to think about how to do it in a responsible way.

About

From Matt Dean Pettit, the beloved author of The Great Lobster Cookbook and the chef behind Matty's Seafood, comes a new collection of delicious recipes for shellfish of all kinds!

Matt Dean Pettit, chef, co-owner and founder of Rock Lobster restaurants and Matty's Seafood Brands, is back with a new book to delight your taste buds. Whether you've been to one of his restaurants, picked up some of his food from your local supermarket, experimented in the kitchen with lobster recipes from his first book, The Great Lobster Cookbook, or are looking for a fresh, go-to resource, Matt's enthusiasm is contagious. As you can probably guess, seafood is one of his true loves and The Great Shellfish Cookbook brings that love to life.
     The Great Shellfish Cookbook takes any level of home cook on a delicious food tour that focuses on Matt's favorite kinds of shellfish. In much the same way as he demystified lobster in his first book, Matt is back to teach you shellfish 101, show you how and where to buy fresh shellfish, how to store it, and, of course, how to cook it. Inside, you'll find both fun and approachable dishes for every meal, featuring crab, oysters, mussels, scallops, squid, octopus, clams, prawns, and, of course, lobster. If you're a home cook ready to expand your horizons, you'll love the chapter on exotic shellfish like periwinkles, conch, crawfish and sea urchin. And with a focus on sustainability and protecting our oceans, you'll learn how to enjoy your favorite shellfish dishes while balancing a respect for our environment.
     A new cookbook classic for all seafood lovers, The Great Shellfish Cookbook will have you running to the kitchen to prepare new and exciting recipes for your family and friends.

Praise

Praise for The Great Lobster Cookbook:
"Everything you'll ever want to know about buying, cooking and serving lobster [...]." --The Globe and Mail

Advance praise for The Great Shellfish Cookbook:
"In The Great Shellfish Cookbook, Matt peels away the mysteries of preparing the perfect shellfish dish, offering up recipes for everything from the humble prawn to the ultimate in luxury, oysters and lobster. Whether or not you're a crustacean connoisseur, this is the only seafood cookbook you need to have in your kitchen. Oh, and for the record, the recipe for Matty's Jacked Up Lobster Roll is worth the purchase price all on its own." --Simon Majumdar, author of Fed, White, and Blue: Finding America with My Fork

"The Great Shellfish Cookbook is a go-to guide to preparing and enjoying a wide range of tasty seafood dishes, from street food to pub food to full-blown gastro-goodness. Matt's practical and comprehensive approach to recipe writing, his primer on Seafood 101, and the stunning photography all combine to make this a book that belongs in any cook's kitchen!" --Pete & Chris Neal, co-owners of Neal Brothers Foods and co-authors of Goodness: Recipes & Stories

"Like Matt's full throttle personality, The Great Shellfish Cookbook swings for the fences with fun, fast, delicious and sustainable recipes. Rock on Matt, shellfish for the win!" --Ned Bell, Ocean Wise Executive Chef and author of Lure: Sustainable Seafood recipes from the West Coast

"The only thing more charismatic than the delicious recipes in this book are the jealousy-inducing stories Matt shares of his travels. And his internationally-inspired recipes deliver. This is a love letter to all things shellfish that will have enthusiasts and novices alike celebrating these treasures of the seas." --Barton Seaver, author of Two If By Sea

Author

© Brilynn Ferguson
Matt Dean Pettit has loved cooking since, at age 13, he got his first job as a prep cook in his home town of Midland, Ontario, Canada. In 2011, Matt started Rock Lobster Food Co., Canada’s first lobster-centric food company, showcasing lobster and making it easy and accessible for Canadians to eat on a regular basis. Matt is a Canadian culinary brand ambassador for Samuel Adams, and he is also the founder and owner of Camp 416 Food Trading Co., which distributes the Matty’s Seafood line and other quality food items across Canada. Rock Lobster started as a small pop-up food truck and now has multiple locations in downtown Toronto. View titles by Matt Dean Pettit

Excerpt

From "Shellfish 101"

In this section, I want to talk a little bit about the different kinds of shellfish you’ll find mentioned throughout the book. In the following pages, you’ll see a breakdown of each. But before we get started, there are a few general tips that I’d like to share with you too.

First off, some best practices:

• Always store shellfish in the lowest or coldest section of your fridge. I keep mine in the crisper drawer.
• Most types of shellfish shouldn’t be submerged in water. There are a few occasions where a bath will help clean the shellfish, but your best bet is to follow the recipe directions carefully.
• Your shellfish should smell fresh, like the sea. If it seems off in any way, toss it.
• Be careful when seasoning shellfish. You want the natural flavor to shine through, and many types of shellfish have a salty taste from the ocean water.
• When buying frozen shellfish, keep an eye out for “glazing.” This is when the manufacturer injects water into the shell to help protect the meat and potentially add more weight to the product. You can tell that a frozen shell has been glazed if it has a thick layer of shiny clear ice on it.
• Ask questions! Your fishmonger is a fountain of knowledge, and can help educate you on the different options available. This is especially important in terms of buying sustainable types of shellfish.

One reason I wanted to write this new cookbook was to educate readers on the importance of seafood sustainability. As the world’s population grows larger each year, it’s our shared responsibility to think consciously about preservation of the seafood we eat. For the health of our current and future generations, we must protect our global rivers, lakes, and oceans. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy seafood; we just need to think about how to do it in a responsible way.