Pan Seared Fish

[Dana]

Hi! I recently went deep sea fishing and have lots of snapper, grouper and trigger fish. Yum! My favorite restaraunt always serves some type of pan seared fish and I wanted to try it, but have no clue. Can anyone help? Any other recipes to help me enjoy my catch would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[This message has been edited by Dana (edited 06-23-2000).]

[Shirley Panek]

Hi. Is your catch comprised of fillets or are there some fish steaks as well? If it's mainly fillets, I'd suggest sauteing them instead of pan searing them, because you generally need a firm cut of fish for searing.

You could also try grilling - if you have whole fish you might try a grill basket, I have a thing I put on my grill when I'm doing vegetables or anything that I don't want to have fall through the grill.

You could try an uncooked relish of some kind: Salsa; Roasted Pepper Relish with Olives, Capers, and Rosemary; Tomato Relish with Pine Nuts, Green Olives, and Lemon Zest; Corn, Red Pepper and Black Bean; or some kind of chutney.

Or you could try a pan sauce (if you're sauteing or searing): Lemon-Caper Pan Sauce; Mustard Cream Sauce; Horseradish Pan Sauce; Orange Pan Sauce with Pernod.

Let me know if you need any of the recipes. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Shirley Panek]

Dana -

I posted this one on the old BB for someone looking for grape leaf recipes. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounded really yummy. I might give it a try this weekend. If I do, I'll let you know.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Red Snapper Fillets Grilled in Grape Leaves

Recipe By :Nicole Routhier
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Fish and Shellfish Main Dishes


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
MARINADE:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

4 4-ounce skinless fillets of red snapper

HERB AND BREAD CRUMB TOPPING
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic

20 large grape leaves -- rinsed well and patted dry
olive oil -- for brushing
4 lime wedges -- for garnish

PREPARE THE MARINADE: Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Place the fish in a shallow dish and rub some of the marinade over both sides of the fish fillets. Set the fillets aside and reserve the remaining marinade.

PREPARE THE TOPPING: Add the parsley, thyme, bread crumbs, shallots, and garlic to the reserved marinade and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Cover 2 of the fillets with the herb topping. Pat the mixture in place with your hand to make the topping adhere to the fish. Place the remaining 2 fillets on top of the first 2 to form two pairs.

Prepare a moderately hot fire in a frill or preheat the broiler.

WRAP THE FILLETS: Snip off the stems from the grape leaves. On a work surface, over lap 10 of the grape leaves, smooth side down, to form a rectangular sheet of about 9 by 15 inches, or large enough to envelop a fillet pair. Place on pair lengthwise down the center of the sheet and fold the four sides over to completely enclose the fish. There is no need to tie the wrapped fish with string; the leaves adhere to themselves naturally. Wrap the second fillet pair in the same fashion.

COOK THE FILLETS: Lightly brush the wrapped fillets with olive oil. Grill or broil until the leaves are crisp and brown, about 6 minutes. Don't worry if the leaves burn a little; they will still taste delicious. Use a wide metal spatula to turn the fillets over and continue to cook for 6 minutes longer. To check for doneness, make a small slit through the fish with a paring knife. When properly cooked, the fish should be flaky and look opaque. If the fish is still slightly undercooked, continue grilling or broiling for 1 minute longer on each side.

TO SERVE: Cut each bundle in half on the diagonal and place on four warm dinner plates. Garnish with the lime wedges.

Description:
"The grape leaf wrapping in this dish keeps the fish succulent and
adds flavor, creating a clean, pure taste. It tastes even better
grilled over charcoal."
Source:
"Cooking Under Wraps"
S(page):
"10-11"
Copyright:
"1993"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 304 Calories (kcal); 15g Total Fat; (48% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 42mg Cholesterol; 900mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Serving Ideas : For a complete meal, throw chunks of vegetalbes such as bell pepper, squash, onion, and eggplant on the grill while you grill the fish.

For a simpler meal, season individual fillets with salt and pepper to taste, wrap in grape leaves, and grill. Serve with tomato sauce.

NOTES : The wrapped fillets can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 1242 0 0 3413 196 0 0 0 0 0

[BethH]

A good recipe for pan searing is one that I use for swordfish. It came from How to Cook Without a Book cookbook and is also posted on Epicurious.com. Shirley is correct about sauteing filets and searing steaks. This recipe works best with 1-1 1/2 inch thick steaks and it is so simple and tasty!

Directions for searing fish:
1.Set a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, while preparing the meal and seasoning the fish steaks. Three to four minutes before searing the fish steaks, turn on the exhaust fan and increase the heat to high.

2. Set steaks on a plate, drizzle with oil; turn to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. A minute or so after the residual oils in the skillet send up wisps of smoke, put the fish steaks in the pan. Cook over high heat until the steaks develop a thick, rich brown crust, about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Turn the steaks and continue to cook over high heat until the other sides develop a thick, rich brown crust and the fish is medium-rare to medium, 3 1/2 to 4 minutes longer. (For medium-well-done fish, turn the heat to low and cook, turning once, for 1 to 2 minutes longer.)Remove to a plate and let stand 5 minutes.

4. Serve with lemon wedges, or an uncooked relish or flavored butter.

If you are going to try a little flavored butter, I would recommend a pat of horseradish butter:
3 tablespoons bottled pure horseradish with liquid squeezed out
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Salt and ground black pepper

Mash ingredients together and smear a tablespoon of flavored butter over each portion and serve immediately.

Note: Garlic butter is tasty also! Enjoy!

ps..where did you go deep-sea fishing? I'm so jealous! I love to fish--esp. deep sea fishing! I also love to eat fresh fish that I caught--its definitely the best. Yum! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif


[This message has been edited by BethH (edited 06-26-2000).]

[Dana]

Beth and Shirley,
Thanks so much for you replies. I have fillets that are 1 to 1/2 inches thick. They are definetly grillable, so any tips there with marinades would be great. And cooking times, I'm not too good with the grill yet!

Beth,
I went fishing in the Gulf off the coast of Alabama (I live in Birmingham). And I'm going again July 4th weekend, so I'm going to have lots more (hopefully)!! Any idea how long I can keep this stuff in the freezer?

Thanks!
Dana

[NydiaC]

Dana,

When we went deep sea fishing, we'd keep the fish for about 1 year in the freezer. Much longer than that and it starts getting freezer burned.

I'm jealous too. I love deep sea fishing and haven't been in about 12 years. Before that, the SO that I had at the time, and I would go a couple times a month (floundering and shrimping too). I miss all that fresh fish. I need to talk my current SO into it. He loves to fish, but he's afraid he'll get sea sick. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[BethH]

Dana, I'm so jealous! I live in land-locked Indiana and only get to do a little deep sea fishing when my SO and I visit his parents in Jupiter, FL! (BTW, Jupiter is very near the gulf-stream so it does have some great fishing!)

NydiaC, you must convince your SO to take a little Dramamine so you'll be able to savor that fresh seafood! My very favorite fresh shrimp treat is made with shrimp we caught ourselves. We saute it with some cayenne pepper and cajun seasoning and then add to an omelette with cheese--so good with fresh shrimp! Its not light but who cares! Yum!

Anyway Dana, fish will keep for a long time in the freezer. We've always used it up pretty fast, but if its wrapped up well (I do individually foil wrapped filets and then put the whole bunch in a heavy-duty freezer bag), you'll be fine for around a year like NydiaC said. But--it will never last that long! Just make sure to date it in case it gets lost in the back of the freezer somewhere which always happens to me.

As far as marinades go, I don't use a whole lot of homemade ones. I typically use the gourmet grilling sauces and marinades that I'm, for some reason, unable to resist buying at little shops! I've been inspired to try homemade by this BB--check out some of the old posts and I think there are some recipes for good marinades for fish. Other good sources would be www.epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com) or www.foodtv.com! (http://www.foodtv.com!) Good luck this weekend and enjoy your catch!

Beth
who's jealously stuck in IN and won't be visiting FL until December! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif