Cooking Your Catch at Bolivar Peninsula

There are all kinds of delectable seafood to catch at Bolivar Peninsula, and there are even more ways to cook them. Below are some recipes we recommend trying with your next Gulf Coast catch.

Flounder

This tender and flaky white fish is not only a common catch on the Bolivar Peninsula, but is perfect for frying. Try this Pan-Fried Flounder recipe featured by Chef Bobby Flay.

Pan-Fried Flounder
Recipe courtesy Martha Nesbit
Show: FoodNation With Bobby Flay Episode: Savannah

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/foodnation-with-bobby-flay/pan-fried-flounder-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
4 skinless flounder-fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste
Flour, for dredging fish
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 lemon, juiced
1 small bottle capers
Directions
Wash fillets in cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge fillets in flour. Place oil and 2 tablespoons butter in flat, heavy-bottomed skillet and heat on medium-high until butter melts. Keeping heat at medium-high, cook fish on 1 side about 3 minutes (more or less, depending on size of fillets), until deep brown and crispy. Turn fish and cook on second side, about 3 minutes. Turn fish only once.

Remove fish to serving platter. Turn off heat. Into hot skillet, whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add lemon juice. Pour in capers, liquid and all. Whisk. Pour thin sauce over fish fillets. serve at once.

Speckled Trout

If you catch some speckled trout, try this recipe for Speckled Trout Amandine – Cajun seasoning is a popular choice, as it compliments this fish’s unique flavor and texture.

http://www.thekitchn.com/new-orleans-roundup-john-beshs-48567

Louisiana Speckled Trout Amandine From Lüke Restaurant, New Orleans (John Besh, Chef/Owner) serves 6
olive oil
6 each 8-10oz (each) fillets Lake Pontchartrain trout
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon Creole seasoning*
2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup blanched and sliced almonds
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350° F.

To a cast iron or heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, add 1/2 inch olive oil.

Season trout fillets with salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Dredge trout in flour and shake off excess. Then place trout in buttermilk, and again in flour; shake off excess. Place fish in pan with hot oil and cook on both sides until completely brown, about 5-7 minutes per side. If trout are thick and not completely cooked throughout, finish them in preheated oven, cooking for a few minutes.

To another sauté pan over medium-high heat, add butter. When butter has completely melted and begins to brown slightly on the sides, add almonds, lemon juice, and parsley. Continue to move butter around in pan until almonds have browned, about 3-4 minutes. Season sauce with salt and remove from heat.

Place each trout fillet on a plate and spoon amandine sauce liberally over top.

Redfish

Another common catch in the Gulf Coast is the Redfish. This mild and slightly sweet flavored fish is perfectly complimented with a savory, blackened crust, so try the recipe below the next time you reel one in.

Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish
By FRED FERRETTI

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/10177/paul-prudhommes-blackened-redfish.html

INGREDIENTS

3 teaspoons salt, optional
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
8 skinless, boneless fillets of fish, preferably redfish, pompano or tilefish, about 1/4 pound each (see note)
1/2 cup melted butter
PREPARATION

1. Combine the salt, red pepper, white pepper, black pepper, thyme, basil, oregano and paprika in a small bowl.

2. Dip the fish pieces on both sides in butter. Sprinkle on both sides with the seasoned mixture.

3. Heat a black iron skillet over high heat about five minutes or longer until it is beyond the smoking stage and starts to lighten in color on the bottom.

4. Add two or more fish pieces and pour about a teaspoon of butter on top of each piece. The butter may flame up. Cook over high heat about a minute and a half. Turn the fish and pour another teaspoon of butter over each piece. Cook about a minute and a half. Serve immediately. Continue until all the fillets are cooked.

YIELD 4 servings

Crab

One of the most popular activities on the North Jetty of the Bolivar Peninsula is crabbing, so get your line, bait, and a crab net, and see how many you can get in your bucket.

http://www.texasgulfcoastfishing.com/crabmeat_au_gratin.html

Crabmeat au Gratin

1 stalk celery (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1/4 lb. margarine
1/2 cup flour
1 can evaporated milk (13oz)
2 egg yolks (broken and stirred)
1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 lbs. crabmeat
1/2 cup grated cheese

Saute onion and celery in margarine until tender. Add flour, slowly add evaporated milk. Cook until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and egg yolks. Stir well. Add crabmeat, stir. Pour into casserole dish, top with cheese and bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Serves 4-6 moderately hungry adults.

Note: One pound of shrimp may also be added if desired.
Saute pealed shrimp with onions and celery until shrimp is nearly done. (Baking later will complete cooking of the shrimp.) All other directions remain unchanged.

Black Drum

Almost year-round, you can find Black Drum off of the Gulf Coast. The larger Black Drum yield a nice, firm meat that is great for grilling.

GRILLED BLACK DRUM FISH

by Chef Tim Byres, SMOKE, Dallas
http://www.ediblecommunities.com/dallasfortworth/fall-2011/grilled-black-drum-fish.htm

8 servings

8 (5-ounce) portions of Black Drum, without skin
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

If preparing a wood fire, begin 30 minutes before cooking time and allow it to burn down to hot coals. Distribute your coals so that you have a hotter side and a cooler side for cooking. On a gas grill, heat one side of the grill to medium high and the other to low.

Using great care, lightly oil a rag with cooking oil and wipe down the grill grates using a long spatula or tongs to push the rag. Let the oil burn for a few moments and then wipe the grill with oil again.

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the oil over the fish and make sure each piece is evenly coated.

Place the fish on the hot side of the grill. Grill for 2 minutes and then, without flipping, turn the fish ¼ turn to achieve crosshatch marks. Cook one additional minute. Flip the fish over and cook for approximately 1½ to 2 minutes and then, rotating the fish ¼, remove the fish to the cooler, outside of the grill to finish cooking for an additional minute.

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