Fish Preparation

Seasoning the fish requires two things: a marinade and a fish rub.

The rub is easy – salt – preferably sea salt, hot peppers, and garlic. Using your fork or a mortar and pestle, crush the hot pepper and garlic into the sea salt. Rub the grouper liberally with this rub. Sprinkle with crushed black pepper and set aside. For the marinade, juice two sour oranges and three key limes. Add slices of one hot red pepper and about 8 allspice berries – this old sour or pepper sour sauce. Put the grouper steaks into a bowl and pour half of the marinade. Cover fish with slices of a medium onion and set aside for 20-30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade to enjoy with the completed dish.

Directions

Now that your fish is marinating, it is time to prepare your roux, which is the classic signature feature of this dish. Add ⅓ cup vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan/skillet and allow to get hot. Pat grouper dry and fry in the oil. Sear Grouper on both sides until golden brown. Remove fish from the oil and set aside.

Lower the heat, stir in the ¾ cup of flour, and stir slowly to brown. Ensure the flour does not burn. After the flour is a dark golden color, slowly add 2 cups of water. Add onions, garlic, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Add remaining water, potatoes, carrots, thyme, and bay leaves, and boil for an additional 10 minutes. Return the fish to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot and cook for a further 20 minutes on low heat.

To plate, place a serving spoon of grits at the bottom of a bowl, cover with Grouper and a liberal amount of stew fish broth, and add a tablespoon of the reserved pepper sour sauce. Serve with a side of Bahamian Johnny cake.