Saturday, April 23, 2011

You Caught It, You Cook It: Hogfish

This month's recipe from yacht chef Victoria Allman is Chili Lime Marinated Hogfish

Photo courtesy of Victoria Allman

This recipe was sent to us by yacht chef and author Victoria Allman, a regular contributor to our You Caught It, You Cook It column.

Why not take a break from the ordinary and try hog instead of ham this Easter Sunday - or any day. Hogfish that is! The next time you're looking for a new seafood dish, try this unexpectedly delicious treat. And if you like this recipe, consider Victoria's latest book, SEAsoned: A Chef’s Journey With Her Captain, when you're shopping for Mother's Day (which is coming up quickly by the way.)

If you've never tried hogfish before, even Wikipedia raves about the tropical treat, stating, "The meat is considered to be high quality with a soft, white, firm consistency. The meat is considered one of the finest eating due to its shellfish diet." Intrigued? Keep reading for the full recipe.

Chili Lime Marinade

1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon brown sugar

6 fillets hogfish
6 hamburger buns
Mango salsa
Boston lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade. Place each piece of fish in the marinade and roll it around, making sure they are evenly coated. Pour excess marinade over fish and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Heat the barbecue to high. Place fillets on grill at a 45-degree angle. Cook 3-4 minutes and gently flip. Grill for another 3-4 minutes until fish is cooked through and flaky.

Place each fillet on a toasted bun. Top with mango salsa and lettuce leaf.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango
½ red onion
4 tomatoes
¼-½ habanero pepper, depending on heat tolerance
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 teaspoon sea salt

Dice the mango and red onion to uniform quarter-inch size. Cut the inner seeds and pulp out of the tomato leaving a flat fillet of tomato to work with. Dice the fillet to a quarter-inch size. Chop the habanero as small as possible to evenly distribute heat. Mix all ingredients together; taste for seasoning.

Serves six

Victoria Allman has been following her stomach around the globe for twelve years as a yacht chef. She writes about her floating culinary odyssey through Europe, the Caribbean, Nepal, Vietnam, Africa and the South Pacific in her first book, Sea Fare: A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean.

Victoria’s second book, SEAsoned: A Chef’s Journey With Her Captain, is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The new book is a hilarious look at a yacht chef’s first year working for her husband while they cruise from the Bahamas to Italy, France, Greece and Spain; trying to stay afloat.
You can read more of her food-driven escapades through her web-site, www.victoriaallman.com.

1 comment:

  1. I haven't heard of hogfish yet. That dish above is also applicable on any type of fish because it is easy to prepare especially on those fresh off-the-hook fish.

    ReplyDelete