Volume XV - Fish, fish, & more fish
 We never in
our wildest dreams expect to be so successful in our efforts to
feed ourselves from the sea as we were during our
Summer in the Sea of Cortez. Don became quite accomplished with his
spear gun and even I had some success with my Hawaiian sling (pole
spear). Then there was the occasional dorado caught trolling, and,
when Don’s spear gun broke in late September, we broke out
the dinghy rods and kept right on putting fish on the table.
Although I think Don could
eat fish tacos ad infinitum, I did make some effort in the galley
to serve up our catch in different ways.
And since the other cruisers were in the same boat (so to speak…heh,
heh), there was lots of recipe swapping.
My everyday technique
was to dredge the filets lightly in seasoned flour and sauté in
a deep fry pan is a little oil, then add a little liquid, vegies
and or seasoning to make a sauce into the
same pan and steam a bit with the lid on. Lemon juice and wine, tomatoes
and green chiles, Veracruz or Creole, amek up our favorite toppings.
 Our friends Katherine
and Alan on The Good Neighbor, on the other hand, were masters
of foil cooking. Nearly every evening Katherine
would place a filet in a square of foil, add some diced vegetables,
dried mushrooms and/or some “international flavoring of choice” (ensuring
there was a touch of liquid in each for steaming). Then she would
fold the foil into a tight envelop and cook this on their gas grill.
This was an ideal cooking method for them as it kept the heat out
of the boat and, since they didn’t have a watermaker, reduced
water needed for clean-up.
Both these ways of cooking fish are pretty intuitive, quick and
easy, and as variable as your imagination.
 Probably the most exciting
recipe of the summer, however, was one for fish sausage. Instead
of being oriented to making a quick supper
out of the afternoon’s fish, it was oriented to using up a
big catch and making it last. Long time Cortez cruisers Marilyn and
Rick of Tortuga brought it as hors d’oeuvres to a cocktail
party at Punta Chivato, and since this batch was made with trigger
fish is was dubbed Roy Rogers Fish Sausage. Captain Don thought he’d
died and gone to heaven. My Indiana boy sure does miss his Jimmy
Dean pork sausage!
Roy Rogers Fish Sausage
6 cups ground fish (You can process it in a food processor, or mince
by hand)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 ½ teaspoons ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Mix together and form
patties, sizing the patties for your planned use: small for hors
d’oeuvres, medium for breakfast sausage,
and burger-sized for great fish sandwiches!
Using a Teflon pan, fry patties in a little oil until browned and
cooked through. Eat right away, store in fridge for several days
or freeze!
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