Striped Bass US Fish & Wildlife
This past weekend I was on a bit of a road trip that took me by one of my old hunting buddy’s house so I had to stop in and see what was up. Jody had a couple of rock fish that had been caught earlier that morning he was getting ready to clean. Rock Fish or Striped Bass is one species of fish that I’ve always wanted to go after but thus far the opportunities to pursue them have alluded me.
Striped Bass or Rockfish are an Atlantic Ocean fish that come into fresh water to spawn so a number of river systems up and down the eastern seaboard are prime places to fish for them. They are a highly sought after sport fish as well as a commercial fish. Here in NC there has been a recent effort to have it officially declared a sport fish to help protect the specie from wasteful commercial harvesting practices that kills many more than they actually process.
Having a cooler in my truck paid off as Jody gave me two fish to take with me. That then began the quest to find the perfect recipe on how to prepare these fish. There were a number of suggestions from on line where I posted an inquiry as well as a few recipes I found in one of my wild game cookbooks but when it came down to decision time I opted for the traditional batter and hot grease.
So last night’s dinner was fried rock fish made with House of Autry Seafood Breader , some fries and some coleslaw. I took the fillets rinsed them off and dropped them in a ziplock bag of the breader giving them a good shake. Put the fries on to cook first and then mixed up the slaw. I make up a slaw by mixing the cabbage with some Miracle Whip, crushed pineapples, old bay, caraway seeds, and whatever other spices strike me. You get a spicy sweet slaw that I think is pretty good and goes well with fish. Adapt the ingredients to your own taste make it spicier or sweeter.
Rockfish and fries
Then the main event with the fries done I let the grease get back up to temperature then I dropped the rock fish in. The fish cooks a lot faster than the fries so be careful not to overcook it. The Rock fish was awesome and while I’m sure many of the other methods of preparation would have given me a great dinner as well the old fish fry was rocking last evening.
