Cajun Shrimp Skewers

Shrimp are a great main course or addition to any seafood meal for us seafood lovers. This recipe is a grilling favorite of mine.

• 1 lbs of shrimp
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tblsp EVO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1 tsp McCormick Bayou Cajun Seasoning
• 1 tsp Black Pepper

Peel & De-vein medium large or jumbo shrimp. Add olive oil, garlic, pepper, and Cajun Seasoning to a bowl and stir. Add rinsed shelled and de-veined shrimp and coat evenly. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes in the refrigerator or bowl on ice. Skewer shrimp. If using bamboo skewers soak them in water for at least 20 minutes.

Heat gas grill to 350 degrees. Or light charcoal 30 mins prior to cook time. Oil grate with olive oil. Place skewers on grill. Let cook for 3 minutes then flip cooking for an additional 3 minutes. Shrimp when done should be white with a reddish orange hue and be firm to the touch.

Serve and enjoy!

This New Jersey (Red) Clam Chowder recipe is a modification of Emeril Lagasse‘s Manhattan Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

• Fresh Raked 2 dozen quahog or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed, shucked, opened clam shells discarded

If you do not rake fresh clams and or want to save some time use 1 pt tub of shucked minced clams from the fish market and 1 dozen quahog or “chowder clams” reserve the juice)

• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch lengths (I fry up the bacon in the stock pot until crispy remove then suck up 1/2 the grease with a paper towel. You need some grease)
• 2 cups finely chopped onion (I use a whole medium sized onion)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery (3-4 stalks)
• 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
• 3/4 cup diced carrot
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (you can use dried)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (careful with this)
  
• 1 1/4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups) (i generally use 3-4 large Yukon gold potatos)
• 1 cup chicken stock (or broth)
  
• 6 Jersey Red Plum Tomatoes fresh from the garden (or 1 (28-ounce) Tuttorosso diced tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves (fresh is best)
  
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt (to taste i add this in when all clams are cooked)

Directions:

Shuck 2 dozen clams reserving all juices and bodies. Using a a fine-meshed sieve, strain broth into a bowl. (You should have about 6 cups of clam broth. If not, add enough chicken broth to bring the volume up to 6 cups.) I like to remove the stomach portion of the clam. (If you purchase the tub of shucked clams from the store or fish market typically the stomachs are already removed.) Cut the rest of the clam into 1/2 – 1/4″ pieces. Set clams and broth aside.

In a large heavy pot add bacon and render until golden and crispy. Pour off all fat except 4 tablespoons. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and carrots and cook for 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Do not allow to color. Add garlic, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, chicken stock, clam juice and clams along with salt and pepper if necessary. Continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes. In a separate pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Peel and chop potatoes onto 1/2″ – 3/4″ squares. Boil until al dente. Drain and add to stock pot to continue cooking for 2 minutes.

Allow chowder to sit for up to 1 hour to allow flavors to meld, then reheat slowly over low fire if necessary. Do not allow to boil.

You can freeze this in servings for up to 6 months or can it for shelf/pantry use.

Over the years of fishing bluefish have rarely been an edible fish to me.  I have had it at my in-laws and once at J-Bay extremely fresh. I have always enjoyed smoked fish. Last weekend fishing I ended up keeping the last bluefish caught. Began to prep the fish by bleeding it right away. Its kinda of gory but a necessary first step to extinguishing the incredibly fishy taste of bluefish.

Upon landing on the beach I made sure to scale and filet the fish asap. Leaving the skin on. Then immediately putting the fillets on ice. Once home the I prepped the fish by cutting the blood line or vein out. It is distinguishable by the dark red line that runs along the lateral line of the fish all of the way through the fillet. I bagged the fish in separate zip lock bags and back on ice it went.

I found a recipe online that worked really well! It was shared by a fellow New Jersyian whom smokes a lot of meats in his backyard. I modified the recipe to work with what i felt the amount of meat on hand which was about 4 lbs of fillets.

4 cups water
1/8 cup kosher salt
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons whole mustard seed
1 1/2 tablespoon whole peppercorns
3 crushed bay leaves

The recipe states to mix all of the ingredients up in a bowl. I decided to use the ziploc bags as i think they work best for marinading any meat. I then poured half and half the solution and divided the heavier stuff that was left per bag.  I then placed flat in the refirgerator overnight. Ended up being about 12 hours. The recipe states no less than 5 hours on the marinade.

The next morning i removed the fillets from the marinade and using the smoker racks that i had oiled with olive oil placed the fillets skin side down on the racks for “drying”.

I have heard of this drying process before although it sounds odd it is the most important thing you can do to preserve the moisture. Unless you like hard dried fish.

Let dry on the smoker rack with the smoker door open outside for 3-5 hours. The longer the better. The filets will look shiney and have a sticky film. This is how you know they are dry enough for smoking.

Now you will load your smoker box with some hickory. The recipe called for Hickory. I think next time around im going to try a fruit tree wood such as apple or alder.

Get your smoke up to 200 degrees and let smoke for 3-4 hours. Or when it reaches 145 degrees.

You will know the fish is done when it flakes with a fork and has a golden brown color to it.

I think the fish was the best when it was warm right out of the smoker. You can put it in the fridge and it will last a week or two. When you are going to enjoy it take it out of the refrigerator and let it get to room temperature for the best taste.

Also for a real treat mix the smoked bluefish in with cream cheese and spread it on bread or dip some chips or crackers. Excellent!!

The recipe referenced in this article can be found here.