This week in honor of having Al Cottone, star of the fishing documentary “Dead in the Water”, on Off the Menu I thought we’d talk about great seafood grilling, of the sustainable kind. What’s sustainable? Of course, anything you catch yourself in local fresh waters such as walleye, sunnies, or trout, and then anything certified sustainable. All the fish at Kowalski’s is sustainable, and so is that at Coastal Seafoods and Almanac, the two big fish suppliers in town. It’s pretty easy to find sustainable fish in the Twin Cities. And you don’t want to eat non-sustainable fish because at this point it’s like eating the last tiger in the forest and you don’t want to be part of that. Especially when the sustainable stuff is so easy and good.
Classic Walleye Shore LunchWe’ve had Theresa Marrone on the show a few times, one of our great local cooks, and she did a bang-up job for Outdoor News explaining how to cook a classic walleye shore lunch, in case you don’t already know it by heart.
Grilled Trout with VinegarA basic grilled trout turns into something special with a bit of concentrated vinegar drizzled on—it’s like a squeeze of lemon, in the brightening bit of acid, but different. You can use balsamic vinegar or pomegranate vinegar for the base of the sauce. Pomegranate vinegar is available in Middle Eastern and Greek markets, usually.
Garlic-Butter Mussels in a Foil PackDecadent! Butter and mussels, like they eat in Paris. Make sure you have the better quality level of aluminum foil, or double-wrap your pack, and then have lots of bread on hand to sop up the butter. That’s my advice.
Grilled Garlic and Black Pepper ShrimpSplurge on some good sustainable shrimp, then double-skewer them so they’re not spinning around on your skewers like pinwheels, and boy that is a good night.
Chargrilled OystersI could stand around and eat oysters hot off the grill all night, and if that sounds good to you too, here’s how you do it! Get a nice dry French or Italian white wine, and call yourself a winner of life.