I have been talking about purchasing or catching fish that I can clean and cook myself. My husband and I purchased some Speckled Trout from a Market in New Orleans. The Market was called Westwego Seafood Market. The Market had so many Seafood booths to choose from. The particular one we chose had everything we were looking for; fish and shrimp of many sizes. I wish I had a photo of the place but bad weather was coming in. We ran in and out as quickly as possible.
The fish is already gutted for you, but the scales are still on the fish when you purchase it.
So at the bottom you can see one of the fish that I began to clean. I used the back of a spoon to remove the scales from the fish. Takes patience to do this step, but hey I did it and I was glad that I could finally experience for myself. But it was my least favor step.
I rinsed the fish off next and patted the fish dry. Once the fish was dry, I seasoned the fish inside and outside. The fish was seasoned with slap yo momma, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. I would suggest seasoning with a little salt on the inside. I don’t season heavy when it comes to fish.
I sliced the lemons and as you can see also pictured below is the Herbs I used. Dill goes well with seafood and a lemon thyme. I didn’t use a lot of lemon thyme since I had the lemon slices inside as well.
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| Herbs |
Below is the fish after it was seasoned and stuffed with the above items.
I baked the fish on the lower rack at 350 and covered the pan with aluminum foil in a stainless steal pan. The cooking time will vary. I would start with about 30 minutes and check it once you are done. If it isn’t cooked go another 10-15 minutes. The color will change when the fish is cooked. Lift the top of the fish and use a small fork to try the fish if you can’t tell by looking at it.
While the fish was baking, I peeled a few yellow potatoes and made some homemade mashed potatoes (pictured above). My mashed potatoes are simple. I used add my potatoes to my kitchen aid and I have a mixing attachment that’s used for whipping potatoes. I add milk, butter, slap yo momma, paprika and let it whip for about a minute. Taste and see if you need more seasoning. I added a little more slap yo momma and then it was ready to go.
When I was preparing my fish, I placed a pot of water on the stove with salt and begin boiling the water. Once the water is boiling add about a tablespoon of butter to the boiling water. Once the butter is melted and the water has began boiling again add your corn. Cook the corn in the boiling water approximately 20 minutes. But that time may vary depending on how tender you like your corn. I like my corn very tender.
The picture above is the cooked fish. The fish was delicious. I cut the head of the fish off before serving. Below is the complete plate of food. Fish, Mashed Potatoes and Corn add butter on top with salt and pepper or with slap yo momma.
Overall the dish turned out well. I am looking forward to cooking my very own fish that I catch and clean myself. Every chance I get, I go fishing with my husband, because I am determined to catch a fish that I can catch, clean and cook. Stay tuned one day it will happen.
