Green Eggs and Fish (w/ Beurre Blanc)

wdan

Tonight, I confirmed that the first time was not a fluke. For those of us who are not "coasters," we are generally relegated to procurers of store-bought fish when we desire said fare. Tonight's guests were salmon and tilapia filets...and they came out as good as the first time I experimented with them. I cooked them over direct heat at about 300 F dome temp with lump only (no special smoking wood).[p]I just don't care for plain, un-sauced fish. And like many Europeans, I use sauces in much of my cooking (OK, the French really turned this into an art to cover up the flavor of rancid meat in the years before refrigeration...if you need to get over this, think of it as Freedom Fish). So, I made a Beurre Blanc that stood up not only surprisingly well, but also, stood out as a co-star with the fish itself.[p]Here is the recipe I used for the Beurre Blanc:
Throw into a sauce pan-
-about 2 Tbs finely diced shallots
-2 tsp white wine vinegar
-1/2 cup Chardonnay[p]Reduce to about 2 Tbl liquid
Pour in 1/4 cup cream, reduce for a bit.[p]Turn heat to low, and whisk in 1 & 1/2 sticks butter, 2 Tbs at a time. If you're a true egger, you have the patience to do this right. If you don't do it right, the butter will separate and there ain't no way to put it back together again (but it will still taste OK). When it is all whisked in, the consistency of the mixture should be like a thin custard.[p]When all butter is incorporated, grind in a liberal amount of white pepper. Place pan of sauce in another pan of hot water to hold until serving (the cream you added helps to keep the butter from separating). If you are a good multi-tasker, you have been heating up and stabilizing your egg during this time...now, go cook your fish, but give a periodic whisk to the sauce.[p]

Unknown

WDAN,
being you have the technique down path, try this one for your steaks:
6 oz. Lea Perrin
2 sticks butter ( not margarine )
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
fresh ground black pepper to taste[p]place all ingredients in a skillet
heat on med. fire swirling skillet as butter melts and makes an emulsion, as soon as there is just a little butter showing turn off heat and continue swirling skillet until butter is all melted and incorporated.
Pour about 1/4 cup on top of your steak
should yeild nearly 6 servings.

Aussie_Hugh

Thanks for that WDAN. About how long did the fish take to cook? Did you have to flip it? And were they cooked on a str grill or raised grill set up?[p]Thank you,
Hugh.

wdan

Wil,
Duly noted...thanks.
With all the Lea & Perrin's in there, it sounds like it could be close to a Meuniere sauce that I stole from Emeril to use on crab cakes a while ago.

wdan

WDAN,
Come to think of it: Has anyone out there done crabcakes on the egg? Crab is such a delicate flavor...

Unknown

WDAN,
someone not long ago posted a pic of crabcakes on here, but I'm sure they would be good on the egg. I know crabcakes very well, about 4 years ago, my 1st home (work)
slowed down quite a bit so I launched the best crab cake
dinner anyone had ever experienced, within 3 months I was back on track. My recipe is like Bush's Bake Bean recipe, hidden beneath the bayou's of Louisiana, but just a hint, I make 2 and 1/2 crab cakes with 1 pound of lump crabmeat.
Looks like 1 of those mega muffins....LOL

Unknown

Aussie_Hugh,
Goo'day, my friend. It's been a few years since I've been down your way, but it has still been one of my favorite trips in recent years.[p]Cooking time for the fish is ultimately a judgement call on your part. Our governmental protectorates recommend 10 minutes per inch of thickness. But at the dome temps I've used, a 1-inch thick salmon filet requires more like 20 minutes total. Salmon is especially convenient because I place it skin-side down on the grill (for the entire time, no flipping)and when done, I use a thin metal spatuala between the skin and the fish to remove. The un-burned fish goes to the platter while the flame/radient heat-exposed skin stays behind on the grill.[p]Even without a skin on one side, any fish should work. For me, the splendor was, the lump-smoke flavor combined with the Beurre Blanc...my 9-yr-old daughter even said, "Oh, that egg."[p]Here's one for you to tell me about:
Can you do Bail Main Bugs on the egg?

wdan

Wil,
I've got your number, my friend...my crab cake recipe is probably not as good as yours (hey, I'm a Yankee), but it is something I've been working on for a few years. There is absolutely one thing we can agree on...ya gotta have good crab meat, and ya gotta have a lot of it.[p]Have you had any experience with Meuniere sauce ("as seen on TV" with Emeril)?

Unknown

WDAN,
yes I have, I like Trout Meuniere with toasted almonds, seasoned lightly with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice when you take the almonds out of the oven.
Emeril, honestly I am not fond of him, he try impersonating Cajuns in a way we really are not. I prefer Bobby Flay and the NAked Chef.

mad max beyond eggdome

WDAN,
i posted a recent crab cake recipe. . .this is a very traditional chesapeake bay recipe with the slight update of using dizzy pig tsunami spin. ... [p]crab cakes[p]1 Lb crab meat (use "lump" or "backfin", never 'special" or claw"). .. loosly picked for any extra shell or cartilage[p]two slices of white bread, crusts removed and cut up into small cubes[p]mix together:[p]1 egg
1 tblspn mayo
1 tblspn dijon mustard
1 teaspoon 'old bay'
1 teaspoon 'dizzy pig tsunami spin'
(if you don't have this, just go with 2 tspns of the old bay)[p]mix all of the ingredients together gently in a bowl (you should use your hands for this. . .[p]form into four nice patties. . .refrigerate for one hour.. .[p]set up the egg for a direct cook at about 350. . .i use a fish grid on top of the egg grid. . .oil the grid and grill the crabcakes for about 8 - 10 for the first side and about 6-8 minutes for the second side (until a nice golden brown). . .by leaving them on a little longer for the first side they will hold together nicely for you. .. .[p]spritz with a little fresh lemon juice and serve with cocktail or tarter sauce. .[p]enjoy

nikkig

mad max beyond eggdome,
I was able to salvage it from the archives. I guess when they get moved, they get assigned a new address, so thats why my links did not work. They have now all been fixed. [p]One question though..in the original recipe you have 1Tbsp. worcesterchire sauce. Did you just forget about that in this recipe, or did that flavor not work and get striked from the recipe?[p]~nikki
[ul][li]Original Post[/ul]

mad max beyond eggdome

nikkig,
you know, i think i forgot about it. . .not that it was missed though last time i made them. .. lets just call that an optional ingredient. . LOL

Aussie_Hugh

Howdy WDAY,[p]I cannot see why that you could not make a tastey job of Balmain Bugs (Moreton Bay bugs) in the egg. I have not tried them though. Mostly they are sold already cooked down here and I would prefer to start from uncooked.[p]Thanks for the fish feedback.[p]Cheers,
Hugh.

Unknown

Aussie_Hugh,
enlighten me please, what kinda bugs?

wdan

WIL,
Tell him, Hugh. I was either in Sydney or Mt. Gambier when I first tried them ...delicious, and one whale of a lot better than vegemite!

Pakak

WIL,[p]Bug is a slang term for lobster cuz they look kinda like bugs, don't they?

wdan

Pakak,
To me, they looked like they could be cousins to the lobster albeit, on the prehistoric side of crustacean evolution. The one I was served was split lengthwise. I couldn't resist playing with my food, so I put it back together. The face reminded me of a cross between a very large crab and one of those Trillobites you see in the dinosaur books. It didn't seem to have much of a body in that the head moreorless transitioned right into a lobster-like tail. The meat pretty much had the color, consistency and general flavor of lobster.[p]This experience was about 4 years ago...how good is my memory, Aussie Hugh?

Pakak

WDAN,[p]I just looked them up, online. Phew, I see what you mean - they are odd looking creatures. I just knew that, in my experience, lobsters in general are refered to as bugs. The link says they are a type of lobster.[p][p]Moreton Bay Bug[/p]

wdan

Pakak,
Yep, that's the critter. It is even more unique in appearance if you can find a pic looking straight at its face.