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Striped Bass with Guanciale and Tomatoes, with Lemon Risotto

stike
stike Posts: 15,597
edited July 2012 in EggHead Forum
Since Easter or so, haven't been doing much other than standard fare, your basic typical cooks. so when we hosted 'Essexcounty' (erstwhile forum member) and his wife Saturday, we decided to try something a little different.

Essexco and his wife are both monster cooks. She's a former caterer, and both cooked at the first two NH fests. it's always a great time when we have dinner at their place. but this was our turn.

about a month ago we were given SIX slabs of striper (bass) that a friend of a friend had caught. almost 15 pounds of fresh caught fish.  we had some that night, but I had to freeze five of them, regrettably.  they froze well though.

decided to cook some of that. this was one side (slab), cut into four decent chunks, and the tail (for leftovers)

image

witness the 'foodsaver' texture on them.

what else do we have around here?  aha.  something i have been waiting a long time to cook with.
the Guanciale... in front. this was hung to dry in March

image

zippy (old-forum denizen) cooked a fantastic pasta dinner with some of this when we were in georgia for the GA Mtn Fest. but i hadn't cooked with it yet myself. so i had to find a way to introduce it.

I sliced it up

image

rendered the slices on low in the cast iron (stove top).  but they were cooking before rendering, so i pulled them and chopped the slices

image

back in to render more quickly, before it would have crisped up too much.  got it just between 'crisp' and 'chewy'

image

not a lot of pics for what was next. That's below if you want to read it.

here's the dinner, plated

image

made a Lemon Risotto as a side dish. I was leery, but it sounded light, and lemon would be good with the fish, right? It was fantastic. simple blanched then grilled asparagus. would have liked more grill/smoke on it, but hey, asparagus is always good.

here's how we did the fish:
render the guanciale, set aside and keep the fat in the cast iron pan.

fry/sear the bass in the fat on one side for about 4 minutes. flip, sear about a minute on the other side. take it off and set aside.

thin sliced onion and garlic goes into the pan til translucent, then

crush a few tomatoes whole, maybe add some sauce or a can of tomatoes if need be.  cook down (in the same pan/fat). add back in most of the guanciale (about a third of a cup total). season, add a decent three-finger pinch of pecorino cheese, stir to melt and to bring it together.  keep some cheese for serving, too.

as the sauce is coming together, put the bass on the hot grill (the lesser-cooked side down), with a little smoke (oak, in my case).  give it some grill marks, about three minutes or so. plate it grill marks up, lay some of the sauce across it, top with more cheese. sprinkle remaining guanciale bits/crisps on the sauce

the sauce was really good. i kept wanting to add herbs or something, thinking it wouldn't have 'enough' but my wife convinced me to just follow the recipe. she was right. the guanciale flavor came thru surprisingly.  

the guanciale is a cross between bacon and pancetta.  i think it may be the most flavorful part of the pig.  but it's a lot of fat.  not to be served to your cardiologist
ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante

Comments

  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    Great cook. If I had that stuff hanging in my basement my wife would be filing for divorce.

    I enjoy following your process.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    OK, your house for dinner
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    most of that stuff hanging there IS my first wife
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873

    most of that stuff hanging there IS my first wife
    Nice. Reminds me of a guy I worked for out of college. He was married to his second wife and always referenced his "first divorce." Second wife did not like that phrase very much.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
  • burr_baby33
    burr_baby33 Posts: 503
    I also egged some striper last night that I caught over the weekend.  Mine was just standard grilling, nothing elaborate like yours but so good.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited July 2012
    yeah, burrbaby. simple is good too.  last night's sounded more complicated than it was.  it's an easy cook.
    striper is good on the grill.

    i caught these fresh, and did them the next day simply direct on the grill
    image

    and this was another cook. pan fried and served with some white sauce. i think it may have been garlic. dunno.

    image

    image

    in the back, with some potatoes, summer squash, and grilled romaine
    image
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Damn Stike!! Great looking food and excellent playing!
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Striped bass is one of my favorites. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • yeah, burrbaby. simple is good too.  last night's sounded more complicated than it was.  it's an easy cook.
    striper is good on the grill.

    i caught these fresh, and did them the next day simply direct on the grill
    image

    and this was another cook. pan fried and served with some white sauce. i think it may have been garlic. dunno.

    image

    image

    in the back, with some potatoes, summer squash, and grilled romaine
    image
    You caught them? You need to find some new fishing buddies
    :((
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    yeah. the ones i have been fishing with just drink.  need to find some new fishing clowns
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Just look at it this way...our cost per pound will go way down when we get one
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    so far it is about a thousand dollars a fish
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • burr_baby33
    burr_baby33 Posts: 503
    Stike, do you catch them off Atlantic coast? I fish Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. Have small house overlooking the lake. Having the house, boats marina, etc runs up the cost per fish. Probably be less expensive if I just hired a guide.
  • burr_baby33
    burr_baby33 Posts: 503
    When I fish in Alaska the cost of fish brought home is around $100 per pound. On my lake it is around $2,500 per pound
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    the striper from last night was from a gifted batch. i didn't catch them.
    the other meals were from a few we caught off Marblehead MA a year ago.

    image

    was a commercial venture. we split one fish and the owner of the boat sold the rest.

    i don't get out much.  maybe once a year.  steven is referring to some striper we were going after on Lake Lanier.

    we two do pretty well, but there was a drunken hillbilly and  philly lawyer on board, and they really cramped our style


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    A fine looking meal. Good ingredients, nice prep. Not many homes could have a sign over the dinner table, "Today's special, house made charcuterie."

    But the earlier pan fried bass... Looks great. My wife, who officially hates fish admitted she would eat it.
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    Looks great Stike! I just picked up some sea bass and oysters in Portsmouth today....really looking forward to the bass on the egg. Oysters will be on the half shell. Will be serving asparagus as well. No risotto though.

    Love the front porch pic too!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    we didn't have oysters (looked for some, but they weren't that good). but we did buy some cherrystones and littlenecks to have as appetizers

    we like to open the littlenecks by putting them on a paella pan or plate, in the egg raised indirect.  a little smoke, too.

    as they pop open we take them off and eat them.

    this was a batch from a long time ago, but we did them the same way
    image

    the cherrystones we just knifed open and ate raw. 
    you in portsmouth NH?

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    Love littlenecks on the grill!

    Not too far from Portsmouth....about 1/2hr away.
  • most of that stuff hanging there IS my first wife

    =)) =))

    Made my day right there.

    Great looking grub by the way. I love striper. Your's looks just like halibut with that line running through the middle of the filet. Great looking fish
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • brianwdmn
    brianwdmn Posts: 371
    I will echo the praise for a beautiful cook and presentation.  Thank you for sharing the detailed photos and descriptions of the steps in preparation.  You're a very good teacher.
    Marietta, East Cobb, GA
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    so C~T, is that stripe supposed to be there? hahaha

    brian: thanks for the ego boost.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • lakewade
    lakewade Posts: 385
    Outstanding Stike!  

    -----------
    I feel a whole lot more like I do now than I did when I got here.
  • so C~T, is that stripe supposed to be there? hahaha

    brian: thanks for the ego boost.

    We used to sell a lot of it and I don't remember it but I'm was drunk most of the time. Great fish though


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited July 2012
    Here are the recipes.  I modified the Bass recipe from a pasta recipe which used gunaciale that I found on the web.  I used more guanciale than a quarter cup i think, more like half a cup.  You could use bacon or pancetta for this too.  Not maple bacon though, too sweet.  Savory bacon (Ruhlman/Polcyn) if you have it.

    Striped Bass with Guanciale Tomato Sauce

     

    Adapted from Michael Tucker

     

      

    Ingredients:

     

    • four to six thick chunks of striped bass

    • 1 medium onion, sliced thin

    • 3 cloves garlic, sliced

    • 1/4 to 1/3 pound guanciale, diced or in long thin batons

    • 3 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes (about a 28-ounce can)

    • and/or fresh tomatoes as desired

    • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, or to taste

    • Salt

    • 1/4 cup grated aged pecorino cheese, more for serving

     

     

    Directions:

     

    • Render Guanciale in a 12 inch skillet until crisp, pull the guanciale (leaving the fat) and set aside

    • Sear sea bass in the hot fat briefly, flesh side down first, about a minute or until just colored. Flip to skin side and pan sear for four minutes approx.

    • Remove bass to plate, set aside. Turn down the flame or remove the pan too cool a bit and to keep the fat from burning

    • Over medium heat, to the heated fat add onion and garlic, and sauté until transparent.

    • Break up tomatoes and add. Cook about 15 minutes, crushing tomatoes with a spoon, until sauce has become somewhat concentrated and homogenized. Season with chili and salt and stir in a large pinch of cheese. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked guanciale (keeping some aside for serving)

    • While sauce is coming together, about five minutes from serving, place bass flesh side down on a hot grill, three to four minutes (thickness varies, cook until 145-150 or so).

    • Plate Bass skin side down, top with sauce, cheese, and remaining guanciale bits


    Lemon Risotto

    Bon Appétit  | May 2002



    • 6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

    • 3 1/2 tablespoons butter

    • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

    • 2 large shallots, chopped

    • 2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

    • 1/4 cup dry white wine

    • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

    • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice  (I used juice of a medium lemon)

    • 4 teaspoons grated lemon peel (I used all the zest from the same lemon)


    image

    Preparation

    Bring broth to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and stir until evaporated, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups hot broth; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is creamy and tender, about 35 minutes. Stir in cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in parsley, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante