The Seafood Trick You Need To Take Advantage Of At Publix

No matter where you go in the United States, you'll come across regional convenience and supermarket stores you might have never heard of before. If you live in Pennsylvania, New York, or Maryland, for example, you may have been to a Weis Market before. If you live in the Southeast, you've probably driven past a few Piggly Wiggly or Food Lion stores. If you call the Southeastern parts of the United States home, especially in Florida and Georgia, you might be more familiar with the name Publix than anyone else.

According to Publix, the company remains the largest employee-owned company in the world, with everyone from associates to the board of directors holding a share of the supermarket's stock. The chain is also well-known for a wide variety of reasons, from cheap prices and surprisingly delicious food to its Publix sub sandwiches With all of these factors, and many more reasons, Publix can become a very hectic place, considering how many people enjoy shopping there.

If you're a die-hard Publix fan or a first-time visitor who's new to the store, it's suggested that you try the seafood — especially if you know a certain trick to ordering it. You can have your seafood steamed and ready to eat by the time you're done shopping.

Okay, if we're being honest, the idea of made-to-order seafood at a supermarket probably doesn't have you craving some popcorn shrimp. While it's true that some seafood is best prepared fresh in an actual restaurant, it certainly doesn't hurt to try this Publix hack at least once. There's actually a way you can get your seafood prepared fresh and be ready to eat by the time you leave the store.

It turns out that in a Publix, you can approach the seafood counter and order your choice of seafood — be it fish, crab, or lobster — and get the employee behind the counter to steam and season it for you. At no extra charge! You can choose from lemon pepper, Old Bay, or Cajun seasoning. The steaming only takes a few minutes, so you're free to browse while it cooks. Luckily, it's short enough that you don't have to hang around the store for an hour or so until your food is ready.

But while the idea of hot and fresh seafood waiting for you when you're done shopping may sound like an appealing idea, you have to wonder if Publix's seafood would be any good at all. What exactly are the options for steamed seafood you can get at Publix?

When you think of grocery store seafood, you usually think of lobsters in a tank or fish filets laying out on ice. While Publix does have those options, the grocery chain claims to boast a surprisingly diverse range of seafood that you can have served or steamed.

According to Publix, you can order what it calls "cook-in-bag dinners," which is seafood that is packaged in a special bag that allows the food to be cooked inside of it. These dinners can include anything from shrimp, scallops, or four flavors of fish. Customers can also order from a wide variety of sushi options and can even ask for one to be custom-made for you while you wait. If a customer wants seafood that's ready to eat without having to wait for an employee to steam it, they can also choose from the "ready-to-eat" section, which includes pre-steamed lobster tails, smoked fish, and tuna spreads.

It would seem that not everyone was aware that you could order steamed seafood at their local Publix. One Twitter user, professional stock car racer Grant Enfinger, was surprised by the fact that they could order steamed lobster legs, joking that this information could "lead to a problem."