BBQ REDFISH
Grilled, Louisiana Bayou Style (BBQ) Redfish:
At redfish cleaning time cut fillet off the carcass, do not skin or scale
the fillet (important), leave both on it, you may trim out the rib
bones. Just don't get easier than that !
Cooking: gas or (charcoal low fire well burnt down to coals) don't try to rush
this it only takes about 20 minutes anyway. Place redfish fillets skin and scale
side down onto grill, do not turn, let scales turn black and smoke, not to worry
just go slow.
Baste every couple of minutes with BBQ mix of butter / bbq sauce, spices, it's
customary to add a lot of spice (red pepper) in the bayou country but some onion
and Gallic are important. Amounts are to taste:
A 1 lb butter tub (do not melt !), 3/4 of a 16 oz. bottle of your favorite BBQ
sauce, finely diced small onion, and a clove of minced garlic will get it
started. Take the sauce ingredients and run through a blender, slather on
thickly top side of fish only, very often (1-2 minutes).
Its easy to tell when the redfish is done, you can check it with a fork from the
top side to see if it flakes nicely and has turned white all the way through.
caution when it's done use a spatula and some tongs to pick it up skin and all.
You can, with a little practice slide the meat off the burnt black skin (normal
condition) it just slides right off so be careful, onto a plate intact, discard
nasty looking skin, or better yet, eat as the locals down the bayou do, slide
right on a toasted hamburger bun, plain or "dressed" as they say down there with
your favorite fixings, lettuce tomato pickles onion, whatever.
Very easy to clean the fish for this, sauce takes less than 5 minutes to make
(keep it cold) not melted, one dirty knife and a blender, simple.
First timers will be put off if they see the burnt skin before tasting, don't
show them, it's left there to protect the meat and tin foil is a poor
replacement (it sticks), for this type cooking. Note: this recipe is best for upper-small, to medium size redfish, the large fish are just too thick to cook like
this without a lot of practice and a darned small fire! Small fish will cook
very quick but will work (12 minutes).
Jurgen and Sam & family, Fishing E Net Magazine. (I went for about 15 years of cooking red fish before learning this way to do them and it really moves red fish up the food chain a long way!) |
ps. I know the above are trout and the recipe is for redfish but this was the only current family picture we had and usually by the time we have the redfish grilled, nobody is thinking about the camera.....Jurgen |