Black Drum Fish

Once again we got some amazing fresh caught fish at our market today. We thought to try something new - a big white fish called a Black Drum.

Black Drum Fish from the Gulf of Mexico

Black drum are edible, with a moderate flavor and are not oily. Some restaurants in the southern US serve smaller black drum (puppy drum). Big drum can be challenging to clean; removing the large scales is a challenge. Many fishermen prefer to fillet with an electric knife, first removing the fillet from along the backbone, and then using the electric knife to cut the fillet from the skin and scales. Fish over 15 lbs can become tough and have a consistency comparable with chicken, rather than the flaky texture of many species of fish. Younger fish are often indistinguishable in flavor from red drum.

Once again - our dinner had a face. I know this photo is a little odd but I kinda liked the artsy aspect of the gray fish against the black and white tray with the red spilling out. Art in the kitchen!

My big eyes and lips freaked Mindy out

Here is nice black and white of him in case the red really turned you off.

 

 

 

 

Still has big eyeballs

We have baked many whole fish before but wanted to try something new so we put the whole fish onto our Weber grill. After Mike spent a long time getting all the scales off - we rubbed him with lots of oil, herbs and thinly sliced lemons.

Sliced sides and filled the belly

We also made slices into the skin of the fish and inserted the lemons, oil and fresh herbs directly into the slits.

Seasoning him up

We cooked him for about 40 min on the grill on a low/med heat. I thought the taste was good - a white fish but maybe a bit bland which was surprising due to how much we seasoned it. Overall a good fish to bring home for a high yield of meat that can be used in many ways!