Get a grouper reuben while you can
I live alongside the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
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| Thru Flickr |
That body of water is why I live here. Usually, it's a calm, warm stretch of emerald sea that forms a backdrop to much of life in this part of the world. No other body of water I know exerts the pull on me that the Gulf, my Gulf, does. I've dallied in The Atlantic. I've dabbled in the Pacific. The Mediterranean's good for an occasional affair and the Caribbean's a nice fling too. But none of them can compare with my Gulf of Mexico.
I'm ill over what's going on five,000 toes underneath a niche 250 miles from wherein I'm sitting. Our beaches are not probable to be fouled the manner the seashores of Prince William Sound had been 21 years ago. But the waters here can be fouled by way of some thing a ways greater insidious. In the approaching months and years, the infection spreading outward from that spot at the floor of the Gulf is going to spread into every life shape, including the ones I want to consume, along this coast.
The Gulf of Mexico is a treasure trove of resources, and all of those resources are linked together. You can't isolate the fisheries from the oil deposits, or the people from from either. Allowing an essentially self-regulated industry to Drill Baby Drill is an insanity on par with enabling unsustainable fish catches or encouraging endless, pointless suburban sprawl. The spill wreaking havoc to my northwest is a symptom of a deeper problem and it has a lot more to do with a human inability to think and act for the long term than it does with which party's in the White House. So instead of Drill Baby Drill, how about a chorus of Manage Baby Manage?
To the outside world Florida has no culture of its own but those of us who live here know it does just as surely as any other place on earth. For better or for worse, Florida does have a culture and it has foods unique to the region. Many of those foods are linked to the Gulf of Mexico. Chief among them is the grouper sandwich. Every restaurant and every aficionado in the region has a pet variation on the theme.
I walked along the beach at Pass-a-Grille yesterday and I stopped at The Wharf for what well may be my last Gulf grouper sandwich for a long time. It was at The Wharf that I first experienced a grouper reuben. While The Wharf's reuben isn't exactly sublime, whatever it's lacking is more than made up for by the jukebox full of Elvis songs.
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| Thru Flickr |
My grouper reuben is elegant and here it's far. It begins with some Thousand Dressing.
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons bottled sweet pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons bottled chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Onto the sandwich.
- 4 grouper filets
- 1/8 cup milk
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
- pepper and salt
- olive oil to saute
- 2 cups of sauerkraut.
- 12 slices of a good aged swiss cheese
- 8 slices of good pumpernickel or marble rye
- butter to brush on the bread to grill
To put together the grouper, I simply placed the milk in a zip lock bag and then add every piece of grouper, separately. It simply offers a light base so the flour sticks properly.
Mix the flour, cayenne and salt and pepper once more in a dish or a separate bag after which drag each fillet in till it is gently covered. Heat up the oil in a pan over medium excessive and saute the grouper until lightly golden on every aspect. 4-5 mins in step with aspect is set proper but it varies with the thickness of the fish.
Drain the sauerkraut and set aside, butter your bread and have the cheese slices prepared to go.
Now heat up the pan to medium heat and construct your sandwiches. Now lets construct the sandwich. Take a slice of bread and smear it with Thousand Island dressing. Add a slice of cheese. Add your grouper filet and cowl it with sauerkraut and another slice of cheese. Add the top slice of bread and grill till gently golden on each side. The cheese ought to be melted and the sauerkraut well warmed.So whatever takes place available inside the coming weeks and months, I'm swearing off the grouper, the oysters, the stone crabs, the shrimp and the rest of the end result of the Gulf fisheries 'til in addition note. Thanks BP.