Michigan Cottage Cook: FISH FILLETS TWO WAYS

To those in Western Michigan there is a new place to get really!!! fresh fish. It is at the Muskegon Farmer's Market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at The Fish Monger's Wife.

Amber can answer questions and is dedicated to providing only the freshest fish. Contact her at: thefishmongerswife@verizon.net

Fresh fish straight from the Great Lakes is so good that it doesn’t need fancy seasoning or cooking methods. We purchase fresh Whitefish fillets from Lake Michigan at the Muskegon Farmer’s Market. With just a shake of a spice or spice combination, a quick grill or time in a fry pan, and dinner is ready. Combine with fresh corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes from the garden or market, cucumbers in ice and vinegar, and German Butterball potatoes mashed with garlic and sour cream for a the ultimate simple gourmet meal of fine food.

Whitefish is a mild fish and takes well to just about any spice or fish sauce. The traditional sauce is almonds browned in butter. We like to sprinkle a fillet with a little of our favorite spice blend and then we either grill it or sauté/bake. We did two fillets. One we did with Penzey’s Northwood Seasoning and grilled it. The other we used Fox Point Seasoning and sauté/baked it. Both methods are quick and easy. We like that in a method!!

Penzey’s Spices of Wisconsin give their blends charming descriptive names. Northwoods Seasoning brings to mind Friday night Wisconsin fish fries at taverns, churches and fraternal organizations, cabins clustered around inland lakes, loons calling out for their mates at dusk, and the Apostle Islands scattered like stones thrown, by the legendary giant Paul Bunyon with Babe his Blue Ox, in Lake Superior. It is a blend of salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic and chipotle. Salt, paprika and black pepper are the usual spices found on fish. The thyme, rosemary and garlic have Italian roots. Northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are where the copper and iron mines are located. The mines brought the Italian miners to those areas and therefore their influence on the food of the regions. The chipotle gives a kick as would red pepper.

Penzey’s Fox Point is a lighter and more sophisticated tasting blend. Fox Point is a village in Wisconsin with “tree-lined lanes, wooded areas and beautiful ravines situated on stunning Lake Michigan” according to their website. It was built on a former Dutch settlement. It is south of the Village of Whitefish Bay, appropriate for a fish seasoning blend. The seasoning contains salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion and green peppercorn.

To make your own blend for a fillet, melt some butter in a small sauté pan. Add seasoning of choice. Blend together. Brush on the fish and proceed to cook according to your preferred method.

The Fish Monger's Wife fish has the scales and pin-bones removed.

GRILL METHOD

Season fish with seasoning of your choice.

Oil fish rack and place on grill with medium-heat coals. Grill fish for approximately 6 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish and the heat of your coals. Tom cooked the tail section less time than the other part as the tail section is thinner.