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Rockin' with Rockfish!

Wild Rockfish with Jumbo Lump Crab and Sherry Dijon Cream
Herb crusted rockfish
Rock in the rough
Rockfish with saffron cream sauce
Rockfish Fillets Kinship
Mediterranean Rockfish
Grilled Rockfish With Citrus Salsa
Baked Imperial Rockfish
Free State Stuffed Rockfish
Rockfish Stuffed With Crab
Rockfish on Bed of Leeks
Stuffed Striper Under Sail
Encrusted Striped Bass with Sauteed Crab, Papaya and Pineapple

Wild Rockfish with Jumbo Lump Crab and Sherry Dijon Cream
From B.S. of Crofton

6 to 8 ounces rockfish fillet per person
6 ounces dry sherry
8 ounces lump crab meat
1 shallot, minced
1 pint heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 ounces white wine
Kosher salt and pepper

In one quart sauce pan on medium heat, cook shallots and sherry and reduce sherry by half. Add heavy cream and reduce by half. Stir in mustard. Remove pan to very low heat or double boiler. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoon butter. Fold crab meat into sauce, making sure to avoid breaking lumps. Hold sauce warm until ready to serve.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat large ovenproof skillet on top of burner at medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter to pan. Season rockfish with salt and pepper and saute in pan 2 to 3 minutes. Turn fish over, add white wine and place skillet in oven. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of fish. Remove fish from oven and top with sauce. Yields 4 servings.

Herb crusted rockfish
By Greg Taylor

2 8-ounce rockfish fillets
2 ounces potato chips
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 egg white
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon melted butter or oil
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper

Salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Place potato chips and herbs in a food processor or mixing bowl. Process or crush until small. In a separate bowl, combine egg white and Dijon mustard, mix thoroughly. Place seasoned fiish in Dijon mix and coat thoroughly. Place potato herb mix on a large plate and press rockfish into mixture firmly, coating the entire fillet. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Place fish skin sides down in hot oil, saute until crust is golden brown or about two minutes. Remove from pan and place browned side up in an ovensafe dish with juiced lemon and melt butter. Bake 4 to 8 minutes in a preheated 450 degree oven until white and flaky. Garnish with sprig of fresh dill or parsley.

Dill Beurre Blanc

4 ounces dry white wine
1 teaspoon minced shallots
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
4 ounces soft whole butter, sliced
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Place wine, shallot and vinegar in a small saucepan, boil until liquid is almost gone. Remove from heat and add dill. Add soft butter, piece by piece, to pan, stirring constantly, low heat may be needed to help melt butter. Add pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Serve under fish.

Note: This recipe won second in the 2000 rockfish cooking celebration.

Rock in the rough
By Don Young
Grilled rockfish

2 pound rockfish fillets with skin removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cucumber, Kiwi, Mango Relish
2 kiwi, skin removed and quartered
1 mango, skin removed and diced
1/2 cucumber, skin removed, seeded, coarse diced
1 tablespoon prepared pickled ginger
1 clove garlic, coarse diced
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon Accent
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Put all ingredients in food processor and mix until the consistency of relish. Remove to a container and refrigerate.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

2 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned, seeded into quarters
1/4 medium yellow onion, skin removed, roasted and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons sambal Oelek, available at Asian food stores
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon Accent
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper

Grill peppers until skin is blackened on all sides, remove from grill and place in bowl, cover with foil. After 10 minutes remove from bowl. Skin, seed and cut. Set aside. Grill onion while grilling the peppers. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from grill and cut into quarters. Set aside. Put the peppers, onion, parsley, celery seed, dry mustard and other seasonings in a food processor and mix until very fine. Slowly add olive oil to mixture and blend until smooth. Put contents from food processor into sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add cream and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste and Keep warm.

After preparing the relish and cream sauce, brush fish with oil and lightly salt and pepper. brush grill surface with oil. Grill fish 3 to 4 minutes ser side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

To serve, put cream sauce in the center of a large plate and swirl it out to the sides. Place the fish on the plate. Put spoonfuls of the relish on the sides of the plate. Garnish with minced parsley and Old Bay seasoning.

Note: This recipe won first place in the 1999 Rockfish recipe celebration.

Rockfish with saffron cream sauce

2 pounds rockfish fillets
1/2 ounce Cajun seasonings
3 ounces all-purpose flour
2 ounces olive oil

Sauce

1 cup white wine
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic glove, minced
1 pinch saffron threads
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

For sauce, combine white wine, shallot, garlic and saffron threads in small saucepan. Cook until liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency. Add heavy cream, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cook until thickened slightly. Sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce and keep warm until needed.

Divide fillets into 4 8-ounce portions. Combine flour and Cajun seasoning. Heat olive oil in saute pan. Dust rockfish with flour mixture and place in saute pan. Cook fish on both sides until golden brown and cooked through. Spoon sauce over rockfish and serve.

Rockfish Fillets Kinship
from Seafood Marketing Program in the state Department of Agriculture.

1 pound rockfish fillets
3 tablespoons margarine, softened
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup of dry white wine or water
Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Place fillets in a well-oiled pan and season with salt and pepper. Chop or slice mushrooms thin and sprinkle them with lemon juice. Chop or sliver blanched almonds. Make a mixture of the softened margarine, mushrooms, lemon juice, almonds and parsley. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Add the white wine to pan. Spread mixture evenly and rather thickly over fillets. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Mediterranean Rockfish

2 pounds rockfish fillets
1 large, mild onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow and red pepper, thinly sliced
28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes or fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, coarsely chopped
cup extra-virgin olive oil
cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lemon peel, thinly sliced in stripscup Kalamata olives

Heat olive oil in electric skillet set at 350 degrees. Saute onion and bell peppers until crisp and tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes to skillet and blend with vegetables and cup basil leaves. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until slightly thickened. Salt and pepper rockfish and place on top of vegetables; cover with lid or aluminum foil. Cook rockfish until it's opaque and flakes easily, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice, remaining basil leaves and lemon peel. Serve on warm platter. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Rockfish can also be cooked in a 350-degree oven after first sauteing vegetables.

Grilled Rockfish With Citrus Salsa
From Don L. Young

2 pounds rockfish fillets, skin off
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
4 mandarin oranges, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon finely diced yellow, red and green bell pepper
1 teaspoon finely diced jalapeno pepper
1 tomatillo, diced
1/3 cup Triple Sec liqueur
Salt and pepper, to taste

Lightly oil rockfish fillets and sprinkle salt and pepper. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily. Mix oranges, cilantro, onion, peppers and tomatillo together. Stir in liqueur. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve with fish.

Baked Imperial Rockfish
From Janice Marshall

1 large rockfish
1 pound crab meat
2 pounds potatoes
1 large onion
6 strips bacon
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 stick margarine
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
Old Bay seasoning, to taste

Clean and wash fish. Salt and pepper to taste. Lay bacon strips on rack of baking pan. Place fish on rack on top of bacon strips. Set aside.

In frying pan, melt margarine, 2 tablespoons flour and stir. Add milk and water mixture. Stir until thick paste forms. Remove from heat. Add mayonnaise, mustard and Old Bay to taste. Mix in crab meat. Stuff fish with mixture. Put bacon around fish and secure with toothpicks.

Spray sheet cake pan with vegetable shortening. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour on bottom of pan. Peel and slice potatoes. Spread potatoes in bottom of pan. Put fish on rack in pan. Peel and slice onion over fish and potatoes. Pour 1 cups water over all. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees about 1 hours. Remove foil and bake until bacon and fish are brown, no more than 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes. Serve on platter with potatoes accompanied by applesauce and cornbread.

Free State Stuffed Rockfish

4- to 5-pound rockfish, dressed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups Skipjack oyster dressing
Salt and pepper
Fat or oil for basting

Wash and dry fish thoroughly. Sprinkle inside cavity with salt, pepper and lemon juice, Put in shallow, foil-lined baking pan. Stuff cavity of fish loosely with dressing and secure edges. Baste liberally with fat or oil. Bake at 350 degrees, basting frequently, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork, 45 to 60 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Rockfish Stuffed With Crab
From Crab Feast Mania Cookbook

6-pound rockfish, cleaned
1 pound crab meat
1 large egg, beaten
12 saltine crackers, coarsely crushed
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons capers, optional
1 egg, well beaten
1 large bake-in bag

Wash fish thoroughly and pat dry. Using two forks, mix crab meat, crackers, mustard, Worcestershire, mayonnaise, capers, and egg. Place mixture in cavity of fish. Any additional stuffing can be placed next to fish. Place fish in bag and make 3 steam holes in top of bag. Place in cold oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 11/2 to 2 hours or until fish flakes. Remove from oven and place on platter. Garnish with parsley and pepper strips. Serve with a mild rice. The stuffed fish can be baked in an oven outside of the bag but it will be drier. If baking it without the bag, add a small amount of water or tomato juice. Serves 4 to 6.

Rockfish on Bed of Leeks
By Joe Hoggard of the Ships
Cabin in Norfolk

4 rockfish fillets, 6 ounces each
1/2 cup capers
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 to 1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fish stock
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 leeks
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place rockfish fillets in baking dish. Pour wine, capers, fish stock, 2 tablespoons butter and half of the lemon juice over fish. Salt and pepper to taste. Place in 400-degree oven for 8 to 12 minutes, basting periodically. Cut leeks lengthwise and wash thoroughly. Slice in julienne strips. Saute in remaining butter until tender. Stir in remaining lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.

Serve fillets over bed of leeks and top with remaining sauce from baking pan. Garnish with parsley and lemon. Serves 4.

Nutritional content: 332 calories; 35 percent of calories from protein; 48 percent of calories from fat.

Note: This recipe placed first in a national seafood cooking contest sponsored by Simply Seafood magazine.

Stuffed Striper Under Sail
by Dee Van Nest
Marinade:

2 pounds rockfish fillets
Salt-free lemon pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash of Blue Crab Bay Co.'s Herbs for Seafood

Cut fillets into 12 equal portions. Place in a glass or nonreactive dish. Cover with marinade and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Bay Side Filling:

1 large portobello mushroom
1 teaspoon olive or spray oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 ounces shiitake mushrooms
Dash of lemon pepper seasoning
8 slices of bacon, cooked, crumbled

Thinly slice mushrooms. Stir-fry mushrooms with oil over high heat until limp. Sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning and set aside. Fry bacon, drain, crumble and set aside. Chop parsley and set aside. Remove fish from marinade and position 2 fillets together to form one serving portion. Separate each fish portion and fill with a layer of mushrooms and bacon. Sprinkle with parsley.

Encrusted Striped Bass with Sauteed Crab, Papaya and Pineapple

4 skinless striped bass fillets, 6 ounces each
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups salted potato chips, crushed
4 ounces clarified butter
1/2 pound backfin crab meat
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced
2 tablespoons fresh shallots, chopped
1/2 cup fresh papaya, diced
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons whole butter
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste

Dredge the striped bass fillets in flour, then buttermilk, then crushed potato chips. In large skillet, heat the clarified butter and brown the fillets on both sides, being careful not to burn the potato chips. When brown, place on baking pan and place in 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes or until fillets are cooked.

Pour off excess grease from the skillet and add shallots, papayas and pineapple. Cook 1 minute on medium heat and deglaze pan with the white wine and the orange juice. Add fresh cilantro and gently fold the crab and the whole butter into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the fillets from the oven and pour the sauce over the fish. Serves 4.

Nutritional content: 432 calories; 47 percent of calories from fat; 37 percent of calories from protein. Fish is an excellent food to cook on the grill. A variation on grill cooking is to wrap chunks of white fish with bacon and grill with sliced green onions and tomatoes or other vegetables of choice. Fish and vegetables are coated with Italian-style bread crumbs before grilling.

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