Friday, October 23, 2009

Another Semi-Successful Fish Tuesday

Immediately after leaving the incomparable Smoque, I headed a few blocks over to the Fishguy Market for $10/lb fish day (as discussed last week).  I ended up with some Mahi Mahi filets.  I still had bbq on my mind, having just eaten my fill of pulled pork, so I wanted to do a bbq fish.  The normal bbq sauce I make always ends up being best the day after it is made, and way to vinegary the day it is made.  This posed a problem since I wanted to eat dinner that day, so I was forced to find a new recipe.  I looked for one that didn't contain much vinegar since that is the ingredient that takes the longest to marry with the other flavors.  I ended up finding a mango bbq sauce in the Tru cookbook that contained no vinegar (outside of the ketchup) and only took about thirty minutes to make.  Well...I'm not sure if I skipped a step or if the recipe is wrong (probably the former), but it tasted like a mix of puke and death.  The picture in the book was a nice, deep red bbq sauce, but mine looked like I ground up a bunch of orange peels.  Lucky for me, I've learned from my years of cooking to taste everything as you are cooking it.  I'd like to think anyone would have tasted it before putting it on the fish just because of its absurd color, so maybe I'm giving too much credit to cooking experience.

Anyway, outside of the death bbq sauce, everything else turned out very nicely.  I made a grain mustard, honey, and soy sauce glaze.  The fish was then grilled (on my indoor grill) and served with wild rice and green beans.  Here is the recipe:

Glazed Mahi Mahi (serves 2)
2 mahi mahi filets (about 3/4 pound)
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grain mustard
soy sauce
cayenne pepper
kosher salt
pepper

Note:  If you don't have a grill, just use a frying or saute pan

1. Salt and pepper both sides of fish before preheating the grill.  The salt will pull some of the protiens to the surface so the fish doesnt get that white gunk on it when it cooks, so this step is important.

2.  To make the glaze, mix honey and mustard together.  Add a few drops of soy sauce and stir together.  Glaze should be the consistency of paint.  If it is too thick, add more soy, if it is too liquid-y, add more mustard and honey.  When glaze is the proper consistency, add a couple dashes of cayenne pepper.

3.  Spray the grill with non-stick cooking spray.  Heat grill to medium-low.

4.  About a minute before putting the fish on the grill, brush the glaze generously on both sides of the fish.

5.  Put fish in the pan, and cook for 4-6 minutes per side, depending on thickness.  The glaze will carmelize and turn very dark brown.

For the wild rice and green beans, just follow normal cooking instructions for each.  When you put the green beans in a bowl, put a tablespoon of butter in the bowl and cover with foil for a few minutes so the butter melts.  Toss green beans with melted butter, and thank me later for the deliciousness.

Here is a picture.  I included the gross bbq sauce on the plate just so you could see what I meant.  I bet a nice fruity bbq sauce would be very good with this dish, but I didn't have the chance to find out.



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