The Best Chilled Seafood Platter On A Tower Guide

The chilled seafood platter, called 'plateau de fruits de mer'in French, is a must-have for seafood lovers, especially during the Christmas season. It's a feast on a plate, or sometimes even a tower, filled with fresh seafood from the local fishmonger or seafood counter at grocery stores.

This appetizer platter is a favorite on special occasions, and it's easy to see why.

With little preparation, you can showcase the best from the fish market, all laid out on a bed of ice.

Whether you're shopping at a local seafood market or just the seafood section of your grocery store, the key is to pick the freshest favorites.

It's more than just a holiday platter; it's a celebration of the sea.

Jump to:

• Buying fresh seafood for Christmas Eve
• Type of seafood
• How to arrange it
• Cutlery for seafood
• Dips and sauces
• What to serve with it
• More Christmas Eve recipes
• 📋Ultimate Seafood Platter

Buying fresh seafood for Christmas Eve

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

Local seafood markets stock up on crabs, shells, lobster, shrimps, and especially fresh oysters.

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

In France, everyone will go buy their seafood on the morning of the 24th of December, it is chaotic and a proper plan is necessary.

If you are a seafood lover like us, here is what we do:

• Leave early: We 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.

Forget going later; your favorite seafood will be gone by noon.

• Have a list of seafood only: No distraction or diversion is accepted; we only buy seafood that day.

However, do not forget to buy plenty of crushed ice.

• A role for each person Everything is pre-planned with a strategy.

We know which stall will have the longest queues and we plan accordingly.

We all have a designated role and seafood to buy; the list is made the day before, and everyone has a copy, just in case.

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

So if you are planning to have a chilled seafood tower for Christmas Eve, here you will find a comprehensive list of seafood, sauces, and cutlery to plan your shopping.

For seafood ideas for the Feast of Seven Fishes, check out this Web Story.

For more seafood recipes we make at Christmas Eve you can check: fish pie, stuffed calamari, sea bream cooked in salt

Type of seafood

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

Raw Oysters

In France, we do not find the Kumamoto oysters, here we buy the Fines de Claire type.

Their quality is good, and they are local.

It is very important to buy local fresh 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 like them, we have his to share.

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

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.

In the United States, they serve them with mignonette sauce, although it is not a French tradition and we do not use it.

How to open an oyster

Live oysters are served open laying only on half shell over a bed of ice.

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 shell's hinge.
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, ensuring the water is retained inside the shell. The crushed ice will shape around the oyster shells, keeping them flat and in place.

Prawns, langoustines, shrimps

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

I buy them already cooked.

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

I like to serve them whole 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 learned 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 also eat those, but not as much as the whelk (bulot in French).

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

Crab claws

Crab claws make a seafood platter a Christmas seafood platter, at least for us.

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

Nothing compares to eating the fresh stone crab claws from Joe's crab.

Another great treat is the snow crab claws, originally from the northern ocean.

You can find them here in France, but they are expensive, so we only buy one long leg each.

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/us happy.

Mussels

Mussels are 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 they are not as easy to find in France.

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 one sliced clove of garlic.
2. Put in the mussels and stir fry covered until they are all open.
3. Stir from time to time
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 only over the bed of ice.

Other seafood

Much more seafood can be placed on a seafood platter: lobster tails, fresh shellfish like clams or cherrystone clams, scallops, and King crab legs.

I recommend buying whatever is local and fresh.

Usually, I never add seafood without shells, like salmon, squid, or cleaned shrimp.

The meat can get ice-burned or soggy as it lies on crushed ice.

I'm not too fond of lobster on a seafood platter as I find lobster meat too chunky, but of course, a whole lobster as the centerpiece will immediately bring a festive spirit.

How to arrange it

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

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

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

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

To decorate, 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.

You can also alternate the seafood with some decorative seaweed or fresh dill to give some color.

Cutlery for seafood

As the seafood is still served in its shells, you must 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 three separate items so they are easy to wash after 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 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
• Discard bowls: a few shallow bowls to collect and discard seafood shells and remnants during a meal
• Table lemon squeezer: You can also serve lemons cut in slices, but these table lemon squeezers are fun and easy to use
• Rose Ice Cube: I like to add extra decoration to my seafood platter with this rose Ice Cube 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 fresh seafood.

You do not need any strong or overwhelming sauce if the seafood is fresh.

I like to serve fresh lemon wedges, mayonnaise, and aioli with a seafood platter.

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.

Even if we like hot sauce, we prefer a mild flavor, such as Green Tabasco, so it doesn't cover the taste of the fresh seafood.

Something I learned from my three years living in Norway: Danish rye bread is fantastic with shrimp, 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.

As my husband used to love dipping his whelks into kosher salt and black pepper, I always serve them in a small bowl with a teeny spoon so everyone can place some on their plate.

What to serve with it

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

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

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

I would 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.

More Christmas Eve recipes

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