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This fish is found in nearly all Atlantic Coast waters and sometimes in the Gulf. There are a number of different varieties of the fish, all very popular as game fish. It has great commercial value, but is more readily obtainable in coastal markets than inland because it is so seldom filleted. It usually weighs from 3/4 to 2 pounds.

SAUTÉED PORGY

Follow the directions for sauté meunière on page 10.

PAN-FRIED PORGY

Roll the fish in seasoned flour, crumbs, or corn meal and fry in butter or oil. Serve with tartar sauce (pages 35–36).

Redfish

The redfish or red drum is a valuable commercial fish used extensively in Southern cookery. On the West Coast it is known as spot bass. In both the West and South it is regarded as a fairly good game fish.

Something of a gourmet in its own right, the redfish likes shrimp and crab, occasionally varying its diet with mullet and minnows. Redfish comes whole, in steaks, and in fillets. The fish vary in size from about 2 to 25 pounds.

BROILED REDFISH

You may broil steaks, fillets, or whole fish according to the directions on pages 9–10. Serve with lemon (page 31) or parsley butter (page 33) or with a sauce Italienne (page 29), diable (page 29), or Provençale (pages 30–31).

PAN-FRIED REDFISH

Use steaks or fillets for pan frying. Dust the fish with flour, dip in beaten egg, and roll in crumbs or corn meal. Sauté in butter or oil according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with lemon wedges, lemon butter (page 31), or tartar sauce (pages 35–36). I like plain boiled potatoes with plenty of butter and cole slaw with this particular dish.

BAKED REDFISH CREOLE

4 slices bacon

3 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 cups cooked or canned tomatoes

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 4- or 5-pound redfish

Sliced hard-cooked eggs

Olives

Try out the bacon until crisp. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside. Add the butter to the bacon fat. Sauté the onions and garlic in the butter and bacon fat until tender. Rub the tomatoes through a sieve or put them through a food mill and add them to the onions and garlic. Add the bay leaf, cloves, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer this for 30 minutes.

Clean the fish, but leave the head and tail intact. Salt and pepper the interior of the fish and place it in an oiled baking pan. Pour the sauce over the fish and bake in a 425° oven according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste often during the cooking.

Remove the fish to a hot platter and garnish it with the bacon slices, sliced eggs, and black olives. Pour the sauce around it. If the sauce seems too thick, dilute it with a little red wine.

With this serve saffron rice, garlic bread, and a salad of mixed greens dressed with garlic and oil. Amazingly enough, a rosé wine seems to be an excellent accompaniment.

CREOLE COURT BOUILLON

Follow the recipe for New Orleans court bouillon (pages 53–54), substituting redfish for red snapper.

POACHED REDFISH

You may poach either a whole redfish, a large piece, or fillets. Cook in a court bouillon (page 18), and serve with any of the sauces used for similar fish: Hollandaise (pages 25–26), Béarnaise (page 26), Mornay (page 22), or oyster, shrimp, or lobster sauce (page 21).

COLD REDFISH

Serve poached redfish cold with sauce rémoulade (page 35), sauce gribiche (pages 36–37), mayonnaise (page 34), or vinaigrette sauce (page 36).

COLD REDFISH BAYOU

1 3-pound piece of redfish

1 sliced onion

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 envelope gelatin

1/4 cup cold water

Poach the redfish in boiling water with the sliced onion and salt and pepper, according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 12). Remove it from the broth, and when it is cool enough to handle, skin it and take out the bones. Add these to the