STRIPED MULLET, FRIED MY WAY!

Many people do not consider the Striped Mullet that inhabit the canals that empty into Sarasota Bay (FL) a food fish, however, if you follow my recipe you may think that you are eating grouper or snapper when you taste the results!

MARINADE:

1. 1 cup whole milk
2. 1/4 cup Coconut Rum
3. 1 lime, juiced
4. 1 TBS EVOO
5. 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
6. 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
7. 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
8. 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle Pepper Flakes (the milk will nullify the heat so this is not really hot here)
9. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

Mix all ingredients together in a non-porous dish and marinade fillets; then cover & refrigerate for at least 1 hour (2 hours is better), turning every half hour.

I call this recipe my Magic Mullet Marinade! The ingredients listed here will make enough marinade to easily marinate 4 six ounce fillets - and you can really use it on any fish; especially on fish with a strong natural flavor.

PREPARE THE COATING: (For 4 fillets; approximately 6 oz. each)

1. 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
2. 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
3. 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
4. 1/4 teaspoon coarse black pepper
5. 1/4 teaspoon Chipotle pepper flakes (optional)

1. Mix all above ingredients together in a large ziplock or paper bag.
2. Remove the fillets from the marinade and place them (while still wet) 1 at a time in the bag containing the cornmeal. Gently toss and shake the bag to completely coat the fillet.
3. Remove the coated fillet and let it rest on a plate while you coat the next fish fillet, etc., etc., etc.

• Cover the bottom of a heavy non-stick frying pan or cast iron skillet (my preference) with a high temperature cooking oil (I used Sunflower Oil). (You will want about 1/4" of oil in the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, this may take 3/4 to 1 cup of oil, however, the coated fish will actually only absorb about 1 TBS of oil each).
• Once the oil is really hot (it will splatter if you drop a couple of drops of tap water into it), add the fillets and fry until golden brown (about 2 or 3 minutes per side). Fry them in batches if necessary; although they swim in schools you don't want to crowd them! (If subsequent fillets start to brown too quickly, reduce the heat to medium).

When the fillets are done, remove them from the pan and let them drain on paper towels.

I didn't really feel like "fussing" last night, so I simply made myself one big, fat, fish sandwich (crispy, flaky, fried striped mullet, 2 slices of Ezekiel Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Bread, and homemade tartar sauce). It tasted so good, that after eating the sandwich I went back to the kitchen and ate a second fillet (no bread this time; just my fingers)!

Mangiare!

I have estimated the nutritional value of the ingredients used in these recipes to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer.

Although I did use about 3/4 of a cup of Sunflower Oil to fry the fish, I have estimated that the 4 fillets only absorbed about 4 tablespoons of oil.

After the fillets were removed from the marinade about a 1/3 cup of liquid still remained in the container I used, consequently I am estimating the calories of the marinade absorbed to be approximately 10 per fillet.

In essence, I estimate that the total calories per serving to be about 500 (bread and tartar sauce not included in this estimate).