Baked Wild-Caught Black Drum

| Lulu
luluesque-baked-black-drum
{sorry this photo showcases the salad more than the fish! Try the salad recipe, too! It’s good.}
Black drum is one of those foods that were too far down on the culinary totem pole to ever be appreciated. My best guess, from reading various articles, is because they are “bottom feeders,” like catfish and we Americans are fortunate to have a plethora of culinary options.
The white-flesh fish has large flakes and tastes out-of-this-world, if you are a fan of shellfish! I learned from my favorite adventure Foodie, Andrew Zimmern, that your food will typically taste like the food it has eaten. I never thought about it before, but upon consumption of the black drum, a light-bulb lit up over my head! Ding! This tastes like eating lumps of crab meat because the black drum’s food staple mainly consist of shellfish, small crabs, oysters, and clams.
This is a simple but amazing recipe. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 fillets of wild-caught black drum ~ leaven skin on if you like (our fishmonger de-scaled our fish)
  • 1 lemon ~ leave skin on, slice 1/4″ thick, discard the top and bottom ends of the lemon
  • 5-6 garlic cloves  ~ peeled, sliced thinly
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh organic curly parsley ~ leaves only, minced
  • 2 tbs butter sticks ~ sliced from frozen butter sticks
  • sea salt
  • freshly-ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350º F.
  2. Tear out a large sheet of heavy duty foil, large enough to wrap the fish. Smear some butter all around the center. Sprinkle some sea salt, black pepper, garlic slices, and parsley on the butter.
  3. Place both fillets in the center of the foil. Put a few slices of butter on top. Sprinkle some sea salt, black pepper, garlic slices, and parsley on the fillets.
  4. Layer the fish with slices of lemon. Wrap the fish well.
  5. Bake at 350º F for about 25-30 minutes. (Warning: the garlic will be potent as it will not be fully baked.)
  6. Serve with a delicious winter salad!