GRILLED REDFISH PONTCHARTRAIN
Redfish Pontchartrain is one of those classic Cajun coastal dishes that can be found along the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. You can use other fish, but redfish are commonly caught in the bays along the Texas coast. In fact it is not legal to commercially fish redfish, so if you find it in a restaurant or market it is typically farm raised. Of course, it tastes even better when you catch it yourself. Redfish is great either grilled or blackened, but is a bit more difficult to grill then Mahi Mahi as it is a bit more delicate. Refer to my grilling fish section for tips on the actual grill method. For Pontchartrain Sauce and to find your inner cajun, you will need:
¼ pound of shrimp peeled and deveined
2 shallots diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup of celery diced
1 green bell pepper diced
5 cloves of garlic pressed
½ stick of butter
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
8 oz lump crab meat
2 tablespoons of Creole or Dijon mustard
2 count of sherry wine
Juice of one lemon
Salt & Pepper and your favorite Cajun Seasoning
Green onion for garnish
- Begin by adding the butter to a medium size saucepan and sautéing the celery, bell pepper, and shallots over medium heat. Basically, this is the trinity of Cajun cuisine. Sautee until the vegetables begin softening.
- Once the vegetables begin to soften add the garlic, crabmeat, shrimp and the lemon juice. Don’t be afraid to get a little of the juice from the crabmeat as well. Cook until the shrimp begin to turn orange. This should only take a couple minutes. While cooking the shrimp, and a little bit of sherry to the pan and reduce. Season with salt and paper and Cajun seasoning such as Emeril’s essence.
- Add the Creole mustard and the heavy cream and bring to a boil reducing slightly. Slowly stir the sauce together until it is a happy marriage.
- Squeeze whatever lemon juice is left in the lemon over the sauce to liven it up and garnish with the tips of green onion. Pour over the grilled redfish and yell ya’ll come and get it ya hear!
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