Fish Freshener

Fish Freshener

Three or four times a year, I have a chance to venture out into the Texas bay system and fish for Speckled Trout and Redfish.  Because my fishing buddies are more skilled at consistently finding and catching fish than any guide I’ve ever been out with, I always come home with more fish filets than we will eat in a couple of weeks. That means some of those fantastic fresh filets will be frozen and end up hiding in the back of the freezer for a couple of months.  There are several tips I’d like to share that will significantly improve the flavor of the cooked filet, especially if it has been hiding in the freezer for two to three months.

Before you freeze

·         Always rinse the filets one more time before you bag them up, making sure there is no evidence of entrails on the filet.

·         If your filets have the skin on, for instance Redfish “on the half shell” where the filet is left with the skin and scales so it can be cooked on the outdoor grill, you need make sure that if you are putting two filets in a bag for freezing that the skin side never touches the meat. Always position them in the bag meat to meat.

·         Always squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing. Some people like to freeze their filets in a bag of water to keep air from causing freezer burn. I think the filet takes on a chlorine flavor when you leave them in tap water.

Thawing your fish

The best method is to remove from the freezer to the refrigerator for a slow thaw. I rarely have thought that far ahead. The next best choice is to thaw the filet, while still sealed in the bag, in cold water this should take about 30 minutes.

The secret rinse

After the fish has thawed and before you cook, give the fish filets one final rinse. While the filets are still in the bag squeeze in half a lemon and add a quarter cup of water. Seal the bag and flip it forward and back making sure the filets are completely exposed to the lemon water. After a quick swish, remove the filets rinse them in tap water and pat dry with paper towels. Now you are ready to cook your refreshed fish filets.

Recipes for Success

There is no higher compliment for a cook than when someone samples your meal and says, “This is great, may I have the recipe”. Or when as a parent someone meets your children and says, “What lovely young ladies your girls have become, what advice do you have”. And it’s an even higher compliment when the ones encouraging you to share the recipes and the advice are your own children.

My Father’s Day gift for 2011 is this beautifully designed blog site and a year’s worth of topics my family would like for me to write, so they can have a resource of recipes, cooking techniques and a few memories from their formative years that made them who they are today, beautiful, smart, young ladies. I hope you will enjoy what I have to share.

The Man Behind the Island

A man of many qualities writes this blog. Some would say a renaissance man of sorts. A man of few but brilliant and inspiring words. A man with a passion for both food and family that believes that those two things aren’t truly amazing unless the other is in existence. A man that has formed us and taught us more than we could have ever imagine and we can’t wait to learn more.

We are thankful he has taken the time to make us who we are and for making sure that every evening for more than two decades, we have had a fabulous meal topped with interesting, knowledgeable and fun-loving conversation.  Our hope is that he can sprinkle his passion and love into the lives of others like he has ours, and that he teaches you too to make NO MISSED STEAKS.

Enjoy and indulge in his knowledge.

His loving daughters