When I lived in Tulsa and Mississippi I fished quite a bit. When I lived in Memphis I did not due to traveling every weekend back to St. Louis. When I moved back to St. Louis initially I also did not fish much. Working 9 hour days and commuting 1 1/2 to 2 hours each work day did not leave a lot of free time. What free time I had I chose to expend else where.
Run the tape forward and now I am retired. I have started fishing again as every day is Saturday. Since the government sees my income as only social security they chose to send me a stimulus check I did not want or need. But since they sent the money, I was going to cash it. “Well then,” I said, “Let’s spend it on something vaguely foolish.” I bought a fishing kayak made in the USA. I figured that would jump start the economy a wee bit. Owning the kayak has given me even more motivation for fishing. Truth is I could just float around on the water in the kayak enjoying nature whether I caught any fish or not.
I-can-bait-my-own-hook Señora Weinhaus also loves to fish. We have been going out to the multiple lakes at Busch Conservation Area, but our favorite spot is Craghurst. Craghurst is a 2000 acre hunting reserve and “health spa” owned by Steve Maritz. Robin’s son does a lot of land restoration work for Mr. Maritz and has access to the property. They graciously allow us to come out there to fish. This works out nicely as there are two big lakes on the property that get very little fishing pressure. When we go out there we generally come back with a dozen or more fish, a combination of bass, blue gill and crappie.
All this as a way of saying we have been eating a lot of fish this pandemic summer. Traditionally, the way to cook these type of fish is to roll them in a cornmeal mix and fry them up. They are without a doubt tasty this way, but it is not the healthiest way to eat fish. Not to mention the mess of frying.
I looked around YouTube and found lots of folks grilling fish on the ole barby. They were using various methods of seasoning the fish, but I have found a recipe for blackening spices to use on fish that I really like. In fact, I like it a little too much. I find myself overeating fish with this recipe.
Grilling fish
Clean and scale the fish. For some reason Señora leaves this job to me. You can fillet the bigger fish, but for grilling the whole fish works out nicely.
While the grill is heating up brush olive oil on both sides of the fish liberally.
Then sprinkle one side freely with the blackening spices, recipe below. I have a gas grill and turn my flame down to cook the fish slowly. Put the fish on the grill spice side down then sprinkle the spices on the remaining side. After a few minutes flip the fish.
It does not take long, a few minutes on each side. One of my pet peeves is overcooked fish so be careful.
Recipe for blackening spices used on fish and whatever. Easy to mix and out of this world flavor wise. I’ve eaten blackened fish in a few restaurants, they tend to go too heavy on the cayenne pepper as well as the blackening seasoning for my taste. Like all things in life, moderation.
1½ tablespoons paprika (I’ve been using a smoky paprika)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon ground dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Mix all the spices in a bowl until evenly mixed. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. I repurposed a spice jar with a sprinkle top for this.
Keep well.