Going fishing has been a theme on the blog recently, but if you don’t have the time or the geographic good luck to go fishing anytime soon, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy eating the catch of the day.
One of my goals when I wrote GUMBO LOVE was taking the mystery out of cooking seafood at home. In the book, I give some tips on how to buy, store, prepare, and of course cook whatever fresh fish you can find where you live. Another way to enjoy some lovely fish on your plate is to go out and let somebody else do all that for you!
Whatever is locally caught and the most fresh is your very best bet when ordering fish from a restaurant, but a lot of fish can be flash frozen or even shipped overnight without sacrificing too much in quality. One of the easiest ways to order the best-tasting fish of the day is simply to ask the waitstaff which fish dish they recommend.
At LuLu’s I am absolutely fascinated by the Fish Trax program. For our red snapper dishes, each piece of fish that finds itself on a guest’s plate comes with its own Fish Trax tag. You can scan the QR code on the tag and find out WHO caught that fish and WHERE they caught it! How cool is that? At LuLu’s our red snapper comes straight from the Gulf from dedicated fishermen who are committed to responsible harvesting practices. So if you can’t catch the fish you’re eating yourself, at least you can know the guy or gal who did!
Sure, fish that you just caught yourself tastes the best of all—it’s as if all your patience, preparation, “hard work,” and good luck have gone into the flavor. But even when we don’t catch it ourselves, we can still be mindful of where it came from and appreciate the good souls who brave the seas everyday to bring it to us and of course pay homage to Mother Mother Ocean who provides so much nourishment for our bodies and souls.
