The Ultimate Seafood Platter

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The seafood platter (plateau de fruits de mer) is the French Christmas version of the feast of the seven fishes. One or two copious plates on a stand filled with an assortment of cold seafood displayed over layers of ice.

Jump to:

• Fresh seafood platter for Christmas
• Type of seafood
• How to arrange it
• Cutlery for seafood
• Dips and sauces
• What to serve with it
• 📋Ultimate Seafood Platter

Fresh seafood platter for Christmas

In France having a seafood platter for Christmas is a tradition.

Fishmongers stock up on crabs, shells, lobster, shrimps, and especially oysters.

Supermarkets rearrange their stands for the occasion creating a dedicated space to serve the different seafood and contain the long queues within a selected area.

If we are in France for Christmas, we will depart at dawn to be at the Supermarket doors by 7:30 am. Knowing that the store only opens at 8 am.

There is no other way, the seafood has to be fresh and cannot be bought the day before.

We go to a Carrefour hypermarket in Antibes as we know the fish is fresh and they have a good supply and variety.

Everything is pre-planned with a strategy in place, we know which stall will have the longest queues.

Each of us has a designated role, the list is made the day before and everyone has a copy just in case.

Forget trying to go later in the morning, the nicest seafood will be gone by noon.

No distraction or diversion is accepted, that day we only buy seafood.

We are always very focused and come out successful every time.

Type of seafood

My husband was the seafood expert, as an Irish growing up close to the sea, he knew it all.

Oysters

In France, we always buy the Fine de Claire oysters.

Their quality is good and they are local.

It is very important to buy local oysters as oysters should be eaten raw.

It is like taking a bite of the fresh sea, the less they travel the better it is.

We usually buy 3 oysters each, and as Francesco doesn't really like them we have his to share among us.

Each oyster is hardly a bite, but you couldn't eat too many as they are proteins after all.

I don't use any sauce for oysters, just a drop of fresh lemon juice.

The water formed inside the shell is the best seasoning you could have.

How to open an oyster

To open an oyster you need a special knife, the blade is strong, short, and pointed and the handle has a shield to protect your hands.

1. Hold the oyster with a towel as the shell is very sharp and you could cut your hand. You first insert the point of the blade inside the hinge of the shell.
2. Using the blade as a level, slowly move the knife to the side of the shell and rotate the knife until the shell opens.
3. Cut the muscle that is keeping the shells together. Make sure the flash is detached from the shell and can be eaten.
4. Arrange them in a bed of crushed ice making sure the water is retained inside the shell. The crushed ice will shape as the oyster shell keeping them flat and in place.

Prawns, langoustines, shrimps

A seafood platter is not a seafood platter if it doesn't have either prawns, langoustines, or shrimps.

I buy them already cooked.

They add color to the dish and anyone who likes seafood loves them.

I like to serve them wholes with heads, shells, and legs as they give character to the plate.

They are very easy to clean and eat.

After all to eat a seafood platter you need to use your hands.

Seasnails

Not everyone's favorite, but a seafood platter is not French if it doesn't have periwinkles and whelks.

My husband loved them, and we learn to like them through him.

They sell them already boiled.

He will take them out of the shell with a special hook, remove the soft end and the hard shell in front (it is like a door they close when they are inside the shells), dip them into salt, and eat them.

He could eat 20, one after the other all by himself.

The periwinkles are smaller and black, he would eat those as well but not as much as the whelk (bulot in French).

Not everyone in Ireland and UK appreciates them, so most of them are sent out to France.

Crab claws

Crab claws are what makes a seafood platter a Christmas seafood platter, at least for us.

We lived in Miami for 3 years and a trip to Joe's crab was a must every Christmas.

Once you eat the fresh crab claws from Joe's crab, nothing compares.

The crab claws we find here in France are shipped frozen and they are not as good as the fresh ones.

Unfortunately, the price doesn't match the lower quality.

However, the boys love them and at least once a year we can waste some money to make them happy.

Mussels

Mussels are definitely a must in a seafood platter.

They are the only ones I would buy raw and cook myself, better safe than sorry.

My husband loved the gigantic mussels which I think come from New Zealand.

They sell them in Ireland but in France, they are not as easy to find.

I buy the mussels already cleaned, you do not want to clean mussels on Christmas eve.

They are the first thing I cook as soon as we get home from the Supermarket adventure, as they need to be cold to be arranged in the bed of ice.

1. In a frying pan, stir fry 1 sliced clove of garlic.
2. Put in the mussels and stir fry covered until they are all open.
3. Stir from time to times
4. Add 1 cup of white wine and let it simmer for 1 minute until it evaporates
5. When they are ready, remove the mussels but keep the water as it can be added to fish stock.
6. Let the mussels cool down completely before placing them over the bed of ice

Other seafood

There is much more variety of seafood that can be placed on a seafood platter: lobsters, clams, scallops, King crab legs.

I recommend buying whatever is local and fresh.

Usually, I never add seafood without shells like salmon, squid, or cleaned shrimps. As they are laying on a bed of ice, the meat can get ice burned or get soggy.

Personally, I don't like a lobster in a seafood platter as I found it too chunky, but of course, a nice lobster as the centerpiece will immediately bring a festive spirit.

How to arrange it

Some seafood platters are presented as a copious plate where the seafood is thrown jam-packed overflowing from the platter.

Frankly, I do not like the look, especially if when you look closer the majority of the volume is taken by ice and periwinkles.

I like the seafood to be spread so I usually serve it in two separate plates, one on top of the other on a stand.

Even if we have only one platter, for example with just oysters and prawns, I still put the platter on the stand and the sauces underneath.

I like to put a rose ice cube in the center of my seafood platter, placed inside a half lemon. You can find the link to the rose ice cube mold on amazon in the next paragraph.

Cutlery for seafood

As the seafood is served still in its shells, you need to give all your guests a set of cutlery specific for seafood.

Seafood Tools Set: includes crab crackers and hooks to remove the meat

2 Tier Seafood Tower Set: two sets of metal plates with a stand. They should be 3 separate items so they are easy to wash after the use

Oyster Forks: they are small forks that will fit inside the shell and can scoop out the oysters

Oyster Knife: an oyster knife with a glove to protect the hand. Oysters should be served already opened as it is difficult and messy to open them at the table

Sauce Dishes: a set of small dishes for each guest to have their own sauce to dip the seafood

Wet Wipes: as the seafood platter is messy to eat, you should provide your guests with plenty of wet wipes to rinse their fingers after the meal. You can also provide small bowls with water and a slice of lemon for each guest at the end of the course

Table lemon squeezer: You can also serve lemons cut in slices, but these table lemon squeezers are fun and easy to use

Rose icecube: I like to add extra decoration to my seafood platter with this rose IceCube position in the center of the top platter. It perfectly fits inside a half lemon.

Dips and sauces

If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I like simplicity, especially if we talk about seafood.

If the seafood is fresh you do not need any strong or overwhelming sauce.

With a seafood platter, I like to serve fresh lemons, mayonnaise, and aioli.

Aioli is mayonnaise mixed with fresh garlic cloves.

I like to make the mayonnaise myself, especially since I have fresh eggs from my chickens.

It is easy to make and you can find the recipes here: Homemade Mayonnaise Everybody Can Make.

Something I learned from my 3 years living in Norway, Danish rye bread is fantastic with shrimps, prawns and lobster.

So I like to buy a fresh loaf at the local Copenhagen cafe and serve it at the table with the seafood platter.

What to serve with it

Seafood is a very rich meal, high in proteins and cholesterol.

If you are serving a seafood platter, you need to keep the rest of the meal very light.

I like to serve a simple salad or small bowls of miso broth.

I would definitely have a lemon vodka sorbet to cleanse the palates, before moving into a cheese platter or dessert.

For dessert, I like to serve something citrusy like the Lemon Magic Cake or to remain into the Christmas spirit, Chestnut Pavlova Mont Blanc Meringues and a nice cold glass of homemade limoncello.

If you are making the Ultimate Seafood Platter, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.