Seafood is favorite of mine and grouper is in the tops for fish I would order. But I have never had a piece of grouper cheek.
We try new recipes all the time. Occasionally we have a new food item that appears in a dish or as the centerpiece of the meal. Doug has eaten grouper checks before but for me...a new experience.
The man at Southern Seafood told us when fishermen come in they used to put the cheeks aside for themselves. They are that good. Grouper is a wonderful fish to grill...or cook in any number of ways, but the cheeks...wow. I was in for a treat.
FYI - Southern Seafood is where we try and purchase all of our seafood...so fresh...and it's a local business. We support local businesses whenever we can..
Start a charcoal grill and prepare your fish. Doug put just a bit of Tuscan olive oil and basic salt and pepper on the cheeks. These were about 3 inches thick, very white fleshed fish, very heavy in the palm.
In the meantime, I am roasting potato wedges, drizzled with that great Tuscan olive oil and parsley and salt AND trying out a green bean recipe from an Italian cookbook I have just procured from the local library. ( Williams Sonoma puts out some mighty fine cookbooks.)
This all came together beautifully...............the icy cold Chardonnay to quench us in this terrible heat, the sun-dried tomatoes slickly threading into the green beans...a fresh loaf of bread and best of all..........fork tender grouper cheeks. They cut through with a fork as if they were made of butter.
Great meal and the bonus on this is, the grouper cheeks were seriously cheap. Those two large fillets were had for $5.20. It was a steal.
Anyone else have a new taste sensation lately? I haven't been around to visit as much, as a matter of fact, I wasn't online all weekend. Hope to see you soon :-)
Also, let us hope this unbearable heat breaks soon. I am aching to wear a new Fall jacket and take off on a long, long motorcycle trip. C'mon fall!!!!
Cheers!
The grouper cheeks sounds fabulous! I've never had them before, but I've heard many times that fish cheeks are extremely tasty.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I know...fall, fall, fall, fall, fall, fall, fall (I'm chanting)! This sounds like a wonderful meal. I've never had fish cheeks of any sort...but I have heard before how wonderful they are. What a magnificent meal, Tina!!!
ReplyDeleteJanel - I admit, I was hesitant, I guess because of the name but what atreat!
ReplyDeleteGirlichef - I know. Seriously, heat indexes over 100 degrees. I will chant with you if the weather will be cooler. Oh please. I should be back in business on this lap top v soon. Windows 7 was hard for my puny brain but I am getting the hang of it.
I'm with you. I'm so ready for fall, sweatshirts, colored leaves, pumpkins patches, pot roast, hot cocoa....and cold nights!
ReplyDeleteI had grouper the other day for the first time and loved it. I saw that they had grouper cheeks. I shoulda bought those!
Looks great!
Fall, we barely had Summer here in Southern California ;-) The fish looks so yummie.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the cooler months coming in. I feel like I'm still in Fl. since I'm in N.C. and we are also having a heat index of feels like 105+, average temps being 95+ lately.
ReplyDeleteI am so missing the fresh seafood of Fl. and the absolute best thing about it is the grouper cheeks. We used to go to a little resaurant of of Clearwater Beach that served them and that is the only thing I ever ordered there. YUMMY!
I am a serious seafood and fish lover and we have it a couple times a week. I live far far from the ocean but I try to get it fresh but fast frozen can be rewarding for us inland folks.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I never heard of grouper cheek; maybe you are right and they are good, but I may need a couple of glasses of the chardonnay before I taste it.
Good post!
Rita
reminds me of my grandmother, she always wanted snapper throats, sweet meat too, just not as much meat.... the cheeks are hard to come by as you are right, they are often not sold to the public...
ReplyDeleteI always try to find new ways to cook fish. My son along with my husband go fishing and he is always very proud when he comes back home with his bag full. I love your recipe!
ReplyDeleteKim - I am on board with that - the fall clothes, the fall meals. Those are my favs. Let me know if you try the grouper :-)
ReplyDeleteJuliana - Thank you!
Carla and Michael, I will betcha you ARE missing some of the deals on seafood now. It is one of the best things about living in Florida, fresh seafood.
Rita - Thank you. I assure you, if it has the word throat or cheek involved, I am skeptical. But glad I tried it. We all love seafood here too :-)
Drick - It was the first time I saw them for sale at our fish market. Gotta try the throats next.
I've never had grouper before. I was supposed to cook it for a Michael Symon recipe but couldn't find it anywhere. Now I'm salivating over it over here. Excellent :P
ReplyDeleteI have to check out Michael Symon. Now everyone is cooking his recipes and I haven't seen his book :-( Thanks for visiting Joanne!
ReplyDelete*blushes with embarrasment* I've never had any bit of a grouper never mind his cheeks ... I'll talk to my fishmonger BUT the palaver I caused when I requested John Dory makes me think that he'll have a cow. What's it like?
ReplyDeleteMrs L
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete