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Commander's Wild Side
Bold Flavors for Fresh Ingredients from the Great Outdoors
Herb-Roasted Snapper with Brown Butter Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Plain old butter can't stand up to the nutty, fragrant flavor of browned butter. In this recipe we take browned butter and make a luscious, thick sauce that has the consistency of hollandaise. It goes great with grilled lobster, shrimp, and whatever else you normally put butter on. In our case, that would be everything!
Ingredients:
Brown Butter Vinaigrette
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large egg
Juice of ½ lemon
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of ground white pepper
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh tarragon
4 sprigs fresh basil
4 sprigs fresh cilantro
Four 6-ounce snapper fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup dry white wine
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
Instructions:
Prepare the brown butter vinaigrette: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat, swirling it occasionally, until the butter is brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl and let it cool to almost room temperature.
In another small bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. Gradually whisk the melted butter into the egg mixture and continue whisking until thickened and smooth. Set aside at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Scatter the herb sprigs on a rimmed baking dish. Season the snapper fillets on both sides withsalt and pepper, and arrange them on top of the herbs. Pour the wine and lemon juice over the fillets, and rub the tops evenly with the butter. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. It should be moist, with the edges just starting to turn brown. Serve the fish drizzled with the brown butter vinaigrette, and place the herbs alongside.
Whole Grilled Snapper with Citrus, Herbs, and Chiles
Serves 4
This is get-your-hands-messy cooking. You work a big bowlful of lemons, herbs, and chiles with your hands to release their juices and oils. Then the mixture is poured over the fish and the whole thing, baking sheet and all, is placed on the grill and cooked. This is the best and easiest way we know to grill whole fish without losing some skin and pieces of fish to the fire gods.
A warning: use rubber gloves when handling chiles in this and any other recipe. Trust us on this one.
Ingredients:
Two 2½- to 3-pound snappers, scaled and cleaned
1 medium poblano pepper, julienned
1 lemon, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 lime, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 orange, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, julienned
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
¼ cup olive oil
Instructions:
Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill.
With a sharp knife, score the fish to the bone three times: once right behind the gills, once in the middle, and once toward the tail. Make three more scores along the other side of the fish.
Combine all the ingredients except the fish in a large bowl, and working with your hands, crush the chiles, citrus, and herbs to release their liquids and essential oils. Arrange half of this citrus mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet, and place the fish on top. Stuff more citrus mixture inside the fish and in the slits, and top the fish with the remaining mixture. Place the baking sheet directly on the grill, and cover the grill. Grill the fish for 40 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through.
Commander's Wild Side
Bold Flavors for Fresh Ingredients from the Great Outdoors. Copyright © by Adelaide Martin. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.