They’re bass-like fish, sure, but their a little tall in the saddle, like porgies or sheepshead, and when they’re huge, you get different cuts off them. (Hat tip to my friend Chef John Currence for the inspiration for the remoulade, which appears in his awesome book Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey ). Or hell, really any firm, white fish. Really press in the Saltines, and it's OK to have a few bits that aren't pulverized. A little ghetto, but damn good. The story of snapper bites is simple. As the fish fried, the chef cut down two plantains from the bunch hanging in the kitchen to prepare our side dish, tostones. Cut the fish into chunks of about two bites each. So we left, happy and laden with red snapper. And in Alabama, you can create your own mini-reef if you want to, so there are thousands of little bits of structure everywhere in state waters — the main reason that Alabama has so many red snapper, which can be hard to find in other Gulf states. Hey there. Step 1) Decide and choose your batter Flour (1 cup) Baking Powder (1 tsp) Salt (1 tsp) Milk (1/2 cup) Water (1/2 cup) What the heck is a snapper bite? The sauce on this fish is the same used for our Thai Sticky Chicken Wings recipe… It works beautifully on both! How to Make Fried Red Snapper Rinse the fish in cold water, drain but do not dry. Dust the fish in the corn flour and rub it into all the cuts as well as inside the belly. allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9765/beer-batter-deep-fried-snapper.aspx Once cooked, drain for a minute or so. Basically it’s fried snapper. We ate them without a sauce in Alabama, but I decided to make a New Orleans style remoulade when I made this again at home. The remoulade can be made up to a week in advance, and making it the night before lets the flavors mellow. You are ultimately making 1 inch chunks of goodness for easy picking later. Even though I call this fried snapper bites, it can be done with any firm. A sweet and salty sauce over crispy fish. This trick will keep your homemade or store bought pizza base as crispy as if you had a pizza oven, all without a pizza stone! They became snapper bites. I basically came up with the recipe on the spot. Step 3, Put in the refrigerator while you heat up the oil and drink a couple cold beers. Drain on paper towels and serve with the remoulade, and some lemon wedges if you have them. I really like the added zip of the remoulade, too. And Joe and I hadn’t even finished tying new leaders when Emery’s friend Joey had a huge snapper on the line. Using your scissors, cut off the side fins, trim the tail by at least half and cut off the top dorsal fins. Mix together in a bowl the eggs, mustard, Creole seasoning and heavy cream. In a bowl, put the flour in the bowl. Pour enough peanut oil hot into a frying pan to come about a half-inch up the sides. In minutes, all four of us had our two snapper apiece, none smaller than 15 pounds. I like the New Orleans remoulade with this, but you can use any sauce you like. With a sharp knife and at a 45 degree angle, score the fish 1 inch apart then repeat crossing the lines you have just scored. Heat 1 quart oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Any grouper or other reef fish were safe from us because we simply could not get a bait past the snapper. Carefully place the fish in the … white fish. From the giant side comes the center-cut above the ribs, which is primo, then two tail-side fillets, one on either side of the centerline, which I cut out. We were there in time for opening day of snapper season, which is a big deal in the Gulf. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. King Oyster Mushroom with Anchovy Parsley Oil, 900g (2lb) Whole Snapper, gutted, cleaned, 3 x Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce (see recipe notes), 3 x Tablespoon Thai Coconut Sugar (otherwise brown is fine), 2-3 litres of Vegetable Oil (such as Canola or Sunflower), 1-2 Birdseye or long red chilli, finely chopped, 1 Tablespoon finely chopped Green Shallots or Chives, Serve with Steamed Rice & Pak Choi or similar, 1 Large Wok (you can use a deep fryer but most home version are too small to fit the fish). © 2020 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved. Turn over the fish and repeat. Whilst the fish is cooking put the fish sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and ginger into the small pot and cook on a medium-high heat until the sugar completely dissolves (around 3-5 minutes), Remove from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice, mixing well to loosen the sauce. The fish bits are soaked in a combination of beaten egg, ballpark mustard (I picked that tip up in Louisiana), Cajun seasoning and a little heavy cream, then dredged in the Saltines. The primo “loins” we saved for another day. While the oil is heating, dunk as many snapper bites in the egg wash as will fit. By Hank Shaw on July 2, 2018, Updated July 14, 2020 - 10 Comments. When the oil is hot, dredge the fish in the mashed Saltines. Place the fish on a serving plate and coat with the sauce then top with chilli and shallots or chives. You can do this in a bowl or in a plastic bag. We couldn’t have fished that reef more if we tried. When life gives you buckets of snapper, you might as well make snapper bites. You do want the chunks you fry to be at least the width of a finger, and even twice that, so use that as a guideline. Mix all the ingredients for the remoulade together and set aside. He peeled them, and eased them into the frier. Their spot was off where there were no other boats, a miracle on the opener. Filed Under: American Recipes, Appetizers and Snacks, Featured, Fish, Recipe, Summer Recipes Tagged With: easy recipes, fish recipes, snapper, southern food. How d0es it taste? It’s fried red snapper with a crust made from mashed up Saltine crackers, fried in peanut oil. Red snapper like to live on structure, reefs, rockpiles, sunken boats and such. Step 2, Place the pieces of fish in a glass bowl or container and pour the hot sauce over the fish. My friend Joe Baya of the magazine Great Days Outdoors and I were visiting his dad Emery on Dauphin Island, south of Mobile, Alabama. Step 4, Heat oil in … Salt lightly. While the oil is heating, dunk as many snapper bites in the egg wash as will fit. Trim all red meat from fillets, and cut into finger-like pieces. When the oil is hot, … Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.