One of the best courses to serve during summer is smoked seafood. For a light yet delicious meal, consider an appetizer of smoked oysters to start. These tasty treats can be bought in most markets as well as chosen farms that specially breed them to sell. If you are lucky enough to live by a port or in a town near the ocean, you will probably find oysters easily. Some may need to venture further away, but the trip will be worth it.

Summertime is probably the best time of the year to enjoy a smoked seafood treat, but there is no reason why you can't spoil yourself year round. Even in the fall or winter, smoked seafood will still add an exotic and mysterious flare to any social event or gathering.

Clams are a very popular addition to pasta dishes. Hard clams, also called quahogs, live in sandy coves and can be caught when the tide is low.Smoked seafood also includes clams, smoked scallops and mussels. Farm-raised cultured mussels are fresh and readily available. And, of course, there is always clam chowder! Wild varieties are equally delicious.A great dish to enjoy with butter and garlic is stuffed quahogs.

Scallops require very little preparation and are meatier than clams. Sea scallops are delightfully large, though must be shucked (removed from their shells) almost immediately after capture to ensure they don't lose moisture and die. It is important not to overcook smoked scallops, or you will end up with a chewy, inedible food.

Their meat is usually an orange color and they are full of protein. As with clams, mussels taste great smoked and should remain encased in their shell until cooked. Mussels have blue-black shells and brown hairs called byssal threads attached to their shell.

Other smoked seafood includes smoked crab and smoked shrimp.Once you get down to the meaty goodness of crab legs, you will want to make this smoked seafood part of your everyday diet! Crab is maybe the most popular shellfish and is widely bought and eaten. The crabbing industry is a multi-million dollar one.While eating crab can be messy and often difficult, special tools have been created to make cracking crab easier.

It adds a Cajun flavor to classic Creole dishes such as Jambalaya and gumbo. Whatever way you choose to serve, it, shrimp cooked in this manner will make any meal one to remember. Shrimp can be added to any meal and is a great variation in burritos, tacos, pasta dishes and more. Smoked shrimp spices up stews and soups.

When all other food choices have been exhausted, there is always smoked seafood. Not only is this an under utilized seafood dish, it is also extremely tasty. Serving smoked seafood will certainly liven up any social event you either throw or attend. Surprise everyone by showing up with a serving dish full of different types of smoked seafood.