Paige Knight - 05 / Jul / 2024

The Ultimate Shark Week Feast

Celebrate Shark Week the right way by making our three-course Shark Week feast for your viewing party. Featuring a wide array of nautical-themed dishes.

Since 1988, Shark Week has held the world captive for one week out of the year. Drawing millions of viewers each year, this week-long Discovery Channel event features shark-themed documentaries that entertain and inform in equal measure. Originally intended to spearhead shark conservation and correct common shark misconceptions, Shark Week has become the longest-running cable TV event in history, with 2023 drawing in over 20 million viewers. By all accounts, Shark Week 2024 is expected to have just as much, if not more, hype.

For many, Shark Week is a great excuse to get together with friends to share in fun, aquatic-themed food, drinks, and decorations. However, the pressure of curating the perfect Shark Week menu can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve curated the perfect 3-course Shark Week feast.

Shark Week Appetizers

Shark-Bait Ceviche

Not only is ceviche the perfect appetizer for a Shark Week party, but it’s also the perfect light and flavorful appetizer for any summertime gathering. For an added touch, serve this in individual martini glasses for your guests to take on-the-go.

Ingredients

Instructions

1 ½ pounds of sashimi-grade kingfish, swordfish, mahi mahi, and/or shrimp, cubed
Half of a red onion, thinly sliced
Half of a fresh jalepeño, finely chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 limes, juiced
1 avocado, cubed
Half a cup of tightly packed cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

Prep your ingredients
- Use a mandolin to thinly slice your red onion.
- Remove and discard the seeds from your jalepeño and finely chop with a knife or slicer.
- Use a serrated knife to slice your tomatoes into halves or quarters.
Combine your ingredients
- In a small bowl, add your cubed fish, sliced onions, chopped jalepeños, and tomatoes.
- Juice your limes over the ingredients, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix everything well.
- Set aside for 5 minutes while the lime juice cooks the fish.
Finish with avocado and cilantro
- Meanwhile, dice your avocados and use a knife or herb chopper to chop your cilantro leaves.
- Once your fish mixture has cooked, add in your cilantro, avocado, and more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips

A shark corkscrew sits on a blue surface with wine corks around it.

^{True’sShark Corkscrew is perfect for adding that extra touch to your Shark Week festivities.}

Shark-Attack Salsa

Is it really a party without some type of dip? This is an extra low-maintenance appetizer because, honestly, it’s just regular salsa. Go the extra mile for Shark Week by adding a plastic shark head to poke out of the murky, red depths.

Ingredients

Instructions

6 vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered
14.5 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes
2 green onions
Half a red onion, chopped
Half of a fresh jalepeño, seeds removed and roughly chopped
½ cup tightly-packed cilantro
1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste

Prep your ingredients
- Use a serrated knife to quarter your fresh tomatoes.
- Trim the ends of your green onions and slice into thirds
- Use a knife to chop your red onion.
- Remove the seeds from your jalapeno and use a knife to roughly chop.
Blend your ingredients
- Add your ingredients into a food processor and pulse until all of the ingredients are finely chopped.
Refrigerate for 1 hour
- Pour your salsa into an air-tight container and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to cool and marinate the flavors.
Serve with tortilla chips

Shark Week Main Course

Mini Lobster Rolls

Shark Week is the perfect opportunity to make this New England specialty. We decided to add an extra twist by adapting a traditional lobster roll recipe to make several mini lobster rolls. This is perfect for gatherings with lots of guests, as they can be left out on a serving tray to be picked over throughout the night. This recipe makes 12 mini lobster rolls, but feel free to double it according to the size of your Shark Week watch party.

Ingredients

Instructions

16 oz of cooked lobster meat, sliced into chunks
12 pack of Hawaiian rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 rib of celery, finely diced
2 green onions, finely sliced
Half a lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Lettuce leaves
Celery salt, to taste

Toast your Hawaiian roll
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C)
- Cut a small strip out of the center of each of your Hawaiian rolls.
- In a small bowl, mix your melted butter and Old Bay seasoning.
- Brush your butter mixture over the top of your rolls.
- Place your rolls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Make your filling
- In a medium bowl, combine your mayonnaise, lemon zest, celery, green onions, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
- Use a spoon or spatula to fold in your lobster meat.
Assemble your sandwiches
- Once your Hawaiian rolls have finished toasting, let them cool for a few minutes.
- Line each Hawaiian roll with a lettuce leaf to prevent the bread from getting soggy, then add your lobster filling.
Serve with celery salt
- Arrange your lobster rolls on a serving tray and serve topped with celery salt, to taste.

FishAye Trading Co.'s Psycho Shark Placemat, which features an abstract blue, yellow, and pink shark on a white background.

^{FishAye Trading Co.Psycho Shark placemat is the perfect whimsical addition to a Shark Week feast.}

Shark Week Dessert

Life Preserver Donuts

No day is complete without a sweet treat, and these homemade donuts add the perfect nautical Shark Week twist. This recipe makes about 18 mini donuts, the perfect hand held dessert for big groups.

Ingredients

Instructions

1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1 packet of active dry yeast
⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
4-8 cups of vegetable oil
2 cups (240g) confectioners’ sugar
⅓ cup (80ml) heavy cream
1-2 drops of white food coloring
Red icing

Make the dough
- In a saucepan, warm your milk until a food thermometer reads 110°F (43°C).
- Whisk your warmed milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
- Cover your bowl with a clean towel and set aside for 5 minutes, or until a foamy froth has developed on top of your dough.
- Add the rest of your sugar, eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, nutmeg, salt, and 2 cups of flour.
- Use a wooden or silicone spatula to fold the ingredients in.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and continue folding together until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Pour your dough onto a clean, floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until it feels soft.
Leave your dough to rise
- Grease a large bowl with oil, place the dough inside, and coat with oil on all sides.
- Cover with a clean towel and leave to rise until it doubles in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Once risen, punch your dough down to release excess air.
Make your doughnuts
- Place your dough on a floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it to ½ inch thickness.
- Use a 2 ½” biscuit cutter to cut your dough into small rounds.
- Use a 1” thick biscuit cutter to punch a hole in each dough round.
- Take the excess dough scraps, re-roll, and cut out more doughnuts until there’s no dough left.
- Place your doughnuts onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, cover with a clean towel, and allow your dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Fry your doughnuts
- While your dough rests, pour 4-8 cups of oil into a dutch oven and place on the stove on medium heat.
- Heat your oil until an oil thermometer reads 375°F (191°C).
- Meanwhile, prepare a wire-rimmed cooling rack and set aside.
- Once your oil is ready, add your donuts in batches, cooking for 1 minute on each side.
- Remove cooked donuts and set aside on your prepared cooling rack.
Glaze and decorate your doughnuts
- Whisk your confectioners sugar, heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and white food coloring to make your glaze.
- Dip your warm donuts into the glaze, coating both sides.
- Set aside on your prepared cooling rack for 20 minutes.
- Once the glaze has set, decorate each donut with red icing stripes to mimic a life preserver.