The Saltwater Magazine for Gulf Coast Fishing!

Cook's Guide - Gulf Coast Seafood Specialties by Annette Lucido

States that touch the Gulf Coast offer their own special flavors and ingredients. Florida pompano and limes, Alabama fish fries and okra, Mississippi kingfish, Louisiana Creole and Cajun dishes and Texas barbecue all use shrimp, shellfish and fish to full advantage. So this issue offers a coastal feast keyed to the warmer months. Fish or shellfish that aren't iced immediately do not make our table, and this is a health measure during the hot, humid months. Fresh herbs work better too. We grow as many of our own herbs as possible. When we buy herbs we either buy them from bulk containers at co-ops or country stores where we can sniff, finger and taste before we buy, or we make sure that bottled spices that are supposed to look green haven't turned brown. You might also, as we often do with fresh spices, sprinkle the freshly chopped spices on the finished sauce - don't try this with bay leaves! Quality extends to other ingredients as well. FLORIDA POMPANO EN PAPILLOTE Tender pompano fresh caught from the gentle Gulf shore break and iced down immediately retain all their delicate flavor in this wonderful dish. It's traditionally made with parchment paper that's served in the bag and opened in a delicious burst of scent at the table. This is pretty fancy, but the ingredients can be prepared ahead and combined just before baking. 3 cups salted water, boiling 1 lime cut in slices 1 sprig of thyme, or (1/2 tsp. dry) 1 bay leaf   6 pompano filets (use small flounder, too) 3 tablespoons butter 1 minced mild onion like a Valdosta or 1015 1-1/2 cup fish stock - make ahead from scraps when you fillet - and/or white wine 1 cup cooked shrimp, in pieces 1/2 cup crab meat, cooked 12 sliced mushrooms fresh dill 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. white pepper Two egg yokes Add lime slices bay leaf and thyme to boiling water, reduce heat and poach pompano for 10 to 15 minutes or until they flake. Note: an electric frying pan works well for this step. Drain the cooked fillets and place them on a piece of parchment paper or foil at least three times bigger than the fish. Top with dill. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and brown slightly. Add the flour and brown slightly. Whisk in the fish stock until smooth. Add the shrimp, crab and mushrooms, remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolks. Spread the sauce on the fillets and fold the paper around the ingredients like a double folded envelope to tightly seal. Bake at 400 degrees and serve with rice. ALABAMA GREEK SHRIMP We had this on a Greek shrimp boat more than thirty years ago and I still treasure the recipe. The skipper's version used condensed milk, but we find heavy cream better suits our taste. This one cooks in the amount of time you need to prepare the rice upon which the dish is usually served. The only modestly exotic ingredient is the Feta cheese, a rather salty Greek cheese that also goes well crumpled in salads. If you don't have shrimp the dish works with strips or fillets of firm fleshed fish if you are careful not to overcook. 12 shrimp, the largest you can find or 24 large. All deveined and shelled 2 tablespoons butter 1 egg 1/4 cup heavy cream, or milk 1/4 to 1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled Tabasco 1 large tomato, sliced - peel it if you feel fancy juice of one lemon 2 tablespoons chopped parsley ground pepper to taste Heat oven to 400 degrees and start rice. Over medium heat in a saucepan cook the shrimp until they turn pink. Put shrimp and cooking butter in a single layer in a baking dish. Whisk the egg and cream together until smooth. Add Feta and Tabasco to taste and pour the mix over the shrimp. Top with tomato slices and bake until the mix bubbles or about 12 minutes. Top with the parsley and serve immediately. We let guests add pepper to taste as Louis is a "pepper wimp." MISSISSIPPI KINGFISH This is the kind of "dump and bake" dish we like when we've complicated deserts or we're simply too tired to fuss. We serve it with hot French bread, mashed potatoes or baked sweet potatoes. 3 to 4 pound kingfish balls or several kingfish steaks Butter Bread crumbs Mississippi Sauce - see below Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the fins and head off a small kingfish. Butter a baking dish and pour the Mississippi Sauce into the bottom. Add the fish, cover with buttered foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil. Top with dots of butter and bread crumbs and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer. Mississippi Sauce Make the sauce ahead - note that if you substitute meat stock for the fish stock it's a dandy sweet, yet spicy choice for meat as well. We save bones and freeze from our fish, and meat and make fish and meat stock in gallon batches. So it's easy to thaw cubes of stock in the microwave and whip up just enough Mississippi sauce the night before. The sauce freezes, too. 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons thinly sliced onion 1/2 c. green pepper, sliced 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms 24 green olives, quartered 1 cup strained fish stock - make from kingfish back-bone, fins, head etc. or use canned stock or clam juice. 1 can tomatoes and liquid dash of cayenne 1 tablespoon thyme 1 bay leaf 4 cloves, crushed 1/2 cup sherry Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat and add onions and peppers. Cook five minutes with a stir now and then. Add mushrooms and olives and cook five minutes more. Add stock, canned tomatoes and remaining seasonings. Cook for about 20 minutes, strain if you feel like it - at least, remove the bay leaf!* Save or serve. *If you do not have a bay tree make sure your bay leaf is green. Old leaves get sort of brown and lose their flavor so you'll need to use two or even three. LOUISIANA OYSTER GUMBO FILE Good fresh oysters and some of that specially good Cajun cured ham makes the difference here so long as you remember NEVER to cook the gumbo after you add the filé! We reconstructed this recipe after a visit years back and make a special effort to get real filé. 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1 medium mild onion, chopped 1/2 to 3/4 cup ham chopped into match sticks. 3 cups oyster liquor with water and/or white wine added to make up the volume 1 bay leave - if your's are not bright olive green, use two salt and pepper to taste - we use a mix of black, green, red and white pepper in a grinder. 2 dozen fresh oysters 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced 1 teaspoon filé. Brown the flour in the butter over moderately high heat. Add onions and brown. Add ham and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Add the water and oyster liquor, pepper and the bay leaf. Boil 10 minute, remove from fire, stir in the filé and serve with rice. TEXAS BARBECUED LEMON SHRIMP We make our skewers long ahead of time and cook 6 inches from a modest amount of coals for three to five minutes after guests arrive. We don't usually use ingredients like pre-made salad dressing, but this tastes just as good as homemade. 3 pounds raw, unpeeled large shrimp 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing 1/4 cup light soy sauce (or regular) 1/4 cup water or white wine. 4 to 6 tablespoons fresh parsley 4 tablespoons minced onion 2 cloves garlic, mashed 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. Peel and devein shrimp, string them on skewers, and place them in a shallow glass or ceramic dish. Dump everything else into a container with a lid and shake. Pour half the mix over the shrimp and refrigerate for at least a half a day. Turn the shrimp once or twice if you think about it. We usually do this early in the morning. Some marinate shrimp first and then skewer them. We find it's easier to turn skewered shrimp. Get the grill hot and cook six inches from moderate coals for three to five minutes a side. Baste with reserved marinade.   Home | Back