An Evening at the Farmers Market- Grilling for Ozone House

Friday, September 14th, 2012 | posted by mike

Last Friday night was the annual Ozone House fundraiser, “An Evening at the Farmers Market”. The Ozone House is an important local organization that’s been helping young kids, who are either runaways, homeless or at high risk, in our area since 1969.

For several years now we’ve been grilling fish for this event (along with other food folks in town) and it’s been great to be part of this important fundraiser.

Each year we prepare something that’s seasonal or local. We’ve served bluefish, because fall is bluefish time, last year was Lake Superior whitefish and this year the Lake Huron lake trout has been looking great so we decided to grill some nice fillets served with a tarragon aioli.

We simply grilled the fish, basted with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. The tarragon aioli added a creamy rich compliment to the flavorful lake trout. If you don’t feel like cooking out, this recipe would also work well with broiled or pan seared lake trout. The aioli is also great with grilled vegetables (I like it with asparagus) or over grilled steak or lamb.

Grilled Lake Trout with Tarragon Aioli

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Tags: grilling, lake trout

Cedar-Planked Copper River King Salmon

Thursday, May 24th, 2012 | posted by mike

Serves 4

1 1/2–2 lbs. King Salmon fillet
untreated cedar plank (wide as the width of the salmon fillet), available at Monahan’s
Irish Whiskey Maple Glaze, make your own or buy it from us

Soak plank by submerging in water for 2 hours. Preheat grill. Place salmon on the wet plank and baste with glaze. Cover with vented lid and baste occasionally for about 12-15 minutes until salmon is opaque in the center. No need to flip the fish. Serve salmon on the plank at the table.

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Tags: cedar plank, Copper River King Salmon, grilling, salmon

Grilled Soft Shell Crab

Friday, May 11th, 2012 | posted by mike

Although the classic preparation for soft shell crab is pan-fried, this is a great variation for summer. Super easy. Just serve with the dipping sauce of your choice or a simple squeeze of lemon.

Soft Shell Crabs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Sale & Pepper to Taste

Clean your soft shell crabs or have your fish monger do it for you. (VIDEO)

Heat your grill and make sure it is clean and oiled. Brush the crabs with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and place them on the grill at a 45 degree angle so that the claws and legs are not hanging down below the grate. Grill the crabs for about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a platter and serve with lemon wedges and the dipping sauce of your choice: cocktail, tartar, peanut, etc., all available at Monahan’s.

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Tags: easy, grilling, soft shell crab, video

Grilled bluefish fillets with oven roasted tomatoes, green olives & capers

Friday, September 16th, 2011 | posted by mike

Fresh, local tomatoes and bluefish are at their peak this time of year…it’s a flavor explosion!

Serves 4

1 1/2-2 lbs. bluefish fillets
2 lbs. fresh plum tomatoes (sliced in 1/2 lengthwise)
4 T green olives with pimientos, coarsely chopped
2 T capers
2 large cloves garlic- peeled
6 fillets anchovies- chopped
1 T balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper

Pre – heat oven to 500º. Toss tomato halves and garlic in olive oil and arrange on a sheet tray or cookie sheet with sides, sliced side up. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 min. or until tomatoes are browning around the edges.

Chop the garlic and cut the tomatoes in large chunks.

Heat pan over med- high heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and add anchovies and garlic. When anchovies start to break up, add tomatoes, olives, capers and vinegar. Stir then take off heat until bluefish is ready.

Fire up the grill and with these large thick fillets, use indirect heat method (do this by separating the coals and piling them up on opposite sides). Make sure grill is clean and oiled.

Cut fillet in half or if you want to present a whole fillet, flip carefully with 2 spatulas. Lightly baste fish with olive oil on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Make sure grid on grill will be diagonal to fish, so you’ll get those nice grill marks.

Place fillet meat side down in center of grill (so that it’s not over coals). Cover with vents open and grill lid slightly ajar (to give it a little more air and heat). Don’t move the fillet, let it set.

Grill for 4 min. a side or until fillet is opaque in center (gently cut into center to check). Carefully transfer to platter and spoon heated tomato mix over center of fillet.

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Tags: bluefish, grilling, olives, tomatoes

Grilled Spanish Mackerel with Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Friday, September 2nd, 2011 | posted by mike

This sauce is loaded with flavor; a little will go a long way. Serves 4

For the tomatoes:

2 lb. plum tomatoes cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1 med. onion sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
8 sprigs thyme
1 small jalapeño pepper
Olive oil
1 t balsamic vinegar
Splash of dry red wine
3 anchovies fillets (optional)

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

In a mixing bowl toss all ingredients except vinegar and wine with olive oil on an oiled sheet tray or cookie sheet (with sides on it). Arrange ingredients with tomatoes sliced side up

Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper

Roast for 25-30 min. or until tomatoes are caramelizing and browning around the edges

Heat a med. saucepan over med. heat

Coarsely chop everything and add to pan, drizzle in a bit of the oil from the sheet tray and add a splash of wine and the balsamic vinegar

For the fish:

1 1/2 – 2 lb. Spanish mackerel fillet- substitute bluefish, North Atlantic mackerel, or swordfish
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat coals until white or over med- high heat on gas grill

Clean and oil grill

Lightly baste fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper

Place fillets meat side down, diagonal to grids

Don’t move fillets, let them firm up

After 3 min. flip and grill for another 3 min.

Grill until fish is barely opaque in center (cooking time will vary with thickness of fish, rule of thumb – total time 10 min. per inch of thickness

Serve with sauce in the center of fillet

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Tags: fish, grilled, grilling, mackerel, spanish mackerel, tomato sauce, tomatoes

Garlicy-Lemony Grilled Bronzini with Rosemary

Friday, June 17th, 2011 | posted by mike

Bronzini have a bone structure that’s easy to navigate, a buttery texture and a sweet delicate flavor. It’s a perfect fish for a whole fish novice and, like the yellowtail snapper from last week’s report, you slowly enjoy every part from the cheeks and collar on down. It’s a wonderful, simple dish that goes great with some crusty bread and a nice green salad. This recipe would work for any small whole fish on the grill such as snapper, porgy, orata or bluefish. Serves 2.

1 1/2–2 lb. whole bronzini (gutted, gilled and scored for grilling)
1/2 c olive oil
8 cloves garlic
4 springs rosemary
lemon cut into slices, then halved
kosher salt & pepper

Heat grill to medium (if gas) or heat coal grill using the indirect method (hot spots on either side of the grill with an open space in the center). Make sure the grill is clean well-oiled.

Stuff fish with 4 cloves of crushed garlic, 4 of the lemon slices, a sprig of rosemary and salt & pepper. Mix olive oil, the remaining garlic cloves (minced) and the other 3 sprigs of the rosemary (crushed) in a dish with the rest of the lemons. Place stuffed fish in this marinade for about 10 minutes. Just before grilling, remove the fish and bring marinate to a boil so you can use it as a sauce for the finished fish.

When coals are hot and white (or gas grill has heated). Place fish gently over the open space with no coals directly under it and grill for 5–6 minutes a side. Flip gently with a spatula and tongs so you don’t lose the crispy skin (this is why you want a well-oiled grill). Remove to a platter and top with the sauce you made from the marinade.

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Tags: bluefish, bronzini, grilling, mediterranean, orata, porgy, snapper, whole fish

Cuban Mojo & Grilled Whole Yellowtail Snapper

Friday, June 10th, 2011 | posted by wendy

Besides being a Florida Keys favorite, Cubans love yellowtail snapper. I thought that for this week’s recipe a Cuban Mojo might be great with grilled yellowtail.

Mojo is a Latin garlic citrus table sauce that is served with many foods. Great on meats, veggies, fish, it’s kind of a Latin vinaigrette. It’s made with sour oranges (available at Latino groceries) but you can mix fresh OJ and lime juice with good results. The intense, garlicky, sour citrus flavor worked perfectly with the sweet flavor of the yellowtail. The sauce has plenty of flavor so we didn’t marinate the fish. We just basted it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

For the Mojo
1/3 cup olive oil
8 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup sour orange(available at Latino grocery stores, or equal portions fresh orange and lime juice)
1/2 tsp cumin seed (roasted in a pan, then ground with a mortar & pestle, if possible)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly toasted. Just about 30 seconds should do it.

Add the sour orange juice, cumin and salt and pepper. Bring to a rolling boil. Taste and balance seasoning.

Cool before serving. Mojo is best when served within a couple of hours of making, but it will keep for several days in a tightly sealed container, in the refrigerator.

For the Fish
Whole yellowtail snapper, scaled, gutted & gilled
Olive oil
salt & pepper

Score the sides of the fish, baste with a little olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Cook over a hot, well-oiled grill for several minutes a side (internal temperature should read just over 120 degrees. Remove the fish from grill, transfer to serving platter, and garnish with fresh mojo (which has been cooled) before serving with fresh crusty bread.

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Tags: Cuban, grilling, snapper, whole fish, yellowtail snapper

Fresh from the Florida Keys...

Friday, June 10th, 2011 | posted by mike

Monahan's Seafood Market | fresh whole fish | Ann Arbor, Michigan

Former fishmonger Vic demonstrates how to eat a whole grilled fish

It’s grilling time and what could be more fancy, elegant and beautiful than a grilled whole fish on a platter.

Out of all the whole fish that we offer there are not many as gorgeous and tasty as the yellowtail snapper. Sure the red snapper is the more famous cousin and the mangrove, mutton, vermilion and lane snappers are no slouches at the table but there’s something about the sweet, subtle, delicate flavor of a fresh yellowtail.

These sub-tropical beauties range from Florida to Brazil. Our fish are caught by hook and line in the Florida Keys and shipped to us still stiff, shining and so fresh they still have a surprised look on their faces. Freshness is everything to us fishmongers. Proper handling from the boat to the plate make all the difference. Yellowtails are very perishable and don’t travel well. Out off all the snapper species we handle, these fish have to move quickly. This could be a reason that you don’t often see this fish on many menus outside of Florida—they just lose it so fast. That fresh sweet delicate flavor will begin to disappear within a couple of days after they’re caught, so make sure when buying that what you’re getting are super fresh domestic fish. A good percentage of all snappers sold in the U.S. are now imported from Central America, Mexico and beyond. Most snapper species travel fairly well and you might find an edible import, but to enjoy yellowtails at their finest they’ve got to be brand fresh from the U.S.A. (which is the only yellowtail snapper we carry at our market).

Besides being a Florida Keys favorite, Cubans love yellowtail snapper. I thought that for this week’s recipe a Cuban Mojo might be great with grilled yellowtail. Mojo is a Latin garlic citrus table sauce that is served with many foods. Great on meats, veggies, fish, it’s kind of a Latin vinaigrette. It’s made with sour oranges (available at Latino groceries) but you can mix fresh OJ and lime juice with good results. The intense, garlicky, sour citrus flavor worked perfectly with the sweet flavor of the yellowtail. The sauce has plenty of flavor so we didn’t marinate the fish.We just basted it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

We’ve got plenty of Florida Keys Yellowtail Snapper coming in this weekend, so come on down!

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Tags: Cuban, Florida Keys, grilling, whole fish, yellowtail snapper

Grilled Razor Clams

Friday, June 3rd, 2011 | posted by mike

Razor Clams are something we try to get into the market when we can…we don’t see them a lot here in Michigan because harvesting is difficult and they are very brittle, fragile, don’t travel well and are very perishable. Our Razor Clam supplier, Harbor Fish in Portland Maine, gives us a heads-up whenever they have them but unfortunately that is not often enough. Sweet and tender they are one of our finest clams (when we can get our hands on them).

Rinse clams under running cold water. Set aside.

Prepare grill…when it’s nice and hot, make sure the grate has been oiled. Lay clams meat-side-up over grill. Baste with soy sauce or garlic and olive oil (a nice variation is to add a little chopped jalapeño pepper and cilantro or you’re favorite fresh herbs).

Grill until clam opens up and the meat firms up (about 4-5 min). Arrange on a platter and serve with more sauce for dipping with some nice crusty bread.

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Tags: grilling, razor clams

Big 10 Tailgate Seafood Magic

Friday, October 8th, 2010 | posted by mike

There are a lot of proud and creative tailgate cooks out there these days Anyone who’s been down to the Big House in recent years has seen some pretty elaborate tailgate fare. Aside from your everyday burger & dogs, you might see a Mexican themed feast, a Hawaiian Luau, sushi under the awning of a giant RV watching the game on a big plasma TV…you name it! It’s quite a spectacle and a competition to see who can outdo their neighbors. What better way to really impress everyone than with goodies from Monahan’s? The sweet smoky aroma of cedar planked salmon with our Irish Whiskey Maple Glaze (so easy, no flipping involved, served right on the plank), Monahan’s Salmon Burgers with our mustard-dill mayo, swordfish kabobs (great with our teriyaki), pepper-line shrimp kabobs, squid satay with Thai peanut sauce…all available all this weekend! The wafting aromas will surely draw large, drooling crowds.

You can also make your tailgate super simple ans serve any number of Monahan’s ready-to-eat chowders, smoked fish, market slaw, pickled & creamed herring, shrimp cocktail, salmon paté or how ’bout the piece de resistance: Lobster Rolls made with Bernie’s Maine Lobster Salad? What could be easier or more delicious.

This week’s recipe for Bernie’s Maine Lobster Salad is our recipe of the week, or come on down to Kerrytown and we’ll make it for you!

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Tags: grilling, ready-to-eat, tailgate