REDFISH COURT BOUILLON

1 8 – 10 pound redfish, cleaned and cut into two fillets (snapper is a good substitute)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 pound large shrimp, shells reserved
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
6 bay leaves
1 24-ounce can whole tomatoes
4 cups shrimp stock
1 pint oysters
sliced scallions, for garnish
cooked white rice, for serving
homemade hot sauce, optional (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place fish fillets in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Peel shrimp and use peels to either make a shrimp stock or customize a store-bought fish stock by steeping the peels in the stock for 10 minutes. Keep warm on stove while assembling the roux.

2. Pour oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes a deep brown color. Add diced onions and cook until translucent. Add the peppers, celery, garlic, spices and bay leaves and cook 5 – 10 minutes until vegetables soften. Add canned tomatoes (with liquid) and stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning. The sauce can be made to this point and refrigerated or frozen for future use. Return sauce to a simmer before continuing with recipe.

3. Pour warm sauce over fish in roasting pan, cover with foil and bake for 45 – 55 minutes. Check fish doneness to ensure it is nearly cooked through. Remove foil, scatter shrimp and oysters over fish and return to oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

4. Carefully transfer whole fish fillets on top of a bed of white rice. Cover with shrimp and oysters and drizzle sauce on top. Garnish with diced scallions and hot sauce. Serves 8 – 10.

Inspired by a recipe in Mobile Bay Magazine here.

HOT SAUCE

From the same article as mentioned in the recipe above.

1 pound red jalapeño chiles
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

1. Pulse chiles and kosher salt in a food processor until a coarse puree forms. Transfer to a 1-quart glass jar, loosely screw lid and stand at room temperature for 12 hours to ferment slightly.

2. Stir in vinegar and loosely screw on the lid. Let mixture stand at room temperature for 7 days.

3. Puree mixture in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean glass bottle.

4. Keep refrigerated. It can be stored for up to 4 months. Shake before serving as the sauce may separate. Makes 2 1/2 cups.