Bold flavors in this dish, I’m telling you! I have Creole roots (as opposed to blond) and whenever it comes to anything that includes andouille, crab, hot sauce, and wine, I’m in with all chips.

This adventure began as a meager mission to Whole Foods to grab some dry-aged rib-eyes. Of course, I had to make a quick pass by the seafood section on my way to the cashier, right? How could I not? Here I spot, fresh red grouper. I mean FRESH! As in arrived a few hours ago from the Gulf of Mexico.



I very rarely see red grouper in my local fish monger’s case. For the most part, I can only find red grouper on a menu in a seafood restaurant or in one of the few gourmet food stores and then it’s $25 per pound. You can imagine my lust when I saw the price was a mere $13 per pound on this day.



The red grouper is primarily found in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic. I asked a buddy of mine who is an avid angler and he told me that the red grouper fishing has a lot of restrictions which is why it is so expensive and allusive.

Nevertheless, it is one helluva tasty beast. It is in the sea bass family, although the taste is closer to red snapper. The flesh flakes like flounder and is very mild thus making it conducive to a vast array of cooking applications. So it was settled, it was panko.

This particular day I was in the Creole spirit and decided to do a Creole/Cajun inspired dish. My first inclination was to simple dredge the fish in flour and saute then smothering it in the crab sauce, but my wife loves most anything with a panko crust because it adds texture and hold up to saucing much better than ordinary bread crumbs.

In most any fish dish that I create, I will always make an excuse to top it with a wine sauce containing either small shrimp (redundant?) or crab meat. And NO! Not crab with a “K". Real honest to goodness crab meat, typically lump. Here the crab meat is seasoned with my blend of Creole spicing. A little of this, a little of that, and lots of cayenne!



The sauce is rounded out with white wine and andouille sausage, but the secret weapon was the Cajun Sunshine.



That’s right. Up a notch, it was kicked!

...

Panko Crusted Red Grouper with Spicy Crab Andouille Sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

Red grouper fillet ~2lbs (can substitute: snapper, flounder, haddock, pollock)
4oz lumb crabmeat (picked over for shells and nastiness and tossed with 2 tsp Creole seasoning blend - recipe follows)
4oz andouille sausage (one sausage) sliced in 1/4 in segments
1 medium shallot diced finely
1 lemon sliced in half
1/2 stick butter
hot sauce (as much as you can stand!)
panko (~1 1/2 - 2 cups)
2 tsp all purpose flour
1 clove garlic pressed or finely minced
1 large egg beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dry white wine (the kind you drink! not cooking wine)
vegetable oil
salt & pepper

METHOD

1. Slice fillet into serving size pieces if not already. Season with salt and pepper. Set up crusting station with beaten egg and panko crumbs. Dip fillet pieces into egg wash then roll in crumbs. place onto a rack over a sheet pan. Preheat oven to 200 degrees-F.

2. Pour 1/2 inch vegetable oil into a large skillet. Heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is ready, fry fillets (in batches if necessary) until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Line a sheet pan with newspaper and place a rack onto the paper. Remove fillets and place on the rack to drain. Place pan into warm oven.

3. Wipe out the pan and place over medium high heat. Add the andouille sausage and brown. Whe the sausage is done, remove and set aside.

4. In the same pan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the shallot and garlic. Place the lemon halves into the pan cut side down. Cook until shallot is soft. Squeeze the juice from the lemon halves into the pan and discard the lemon.

5. Stir in the flour. Cook for about 2 minutes then add wine. Bring to a boil then simmer until reduced by almost half. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in cream and crab meat. Warm through.

6. Plate fish and top with sauce.

Serve some saffron risotto alongside if you like.

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Creole seasoning blend:

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp cayenne
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried thyme

METHOD:
Mix together all ingredients in a bowl. Store in airtight container for up to 3 months. Potency will begin to deteriorate after that period of time. So use it!