Catch ’em & Cook ’em: Baked Sheepshead
The sheepshead is a very bony fish. To get the most out of one weighing less than 5 pounds, try this and you will get much more out of this wonderful fish.
Ingredients
1 whole sheepshead, scaled, with head and insides removed
1 C Caesar seasoned salad bread croutons
3 fresh green onions, chopped including green tops
3 Tbsp butter
2 6-ounce cans of crab meat or shrimp, or fresh
How to:
1. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a nonstick skillet and cook green onions until they are limp. Add croutons and crab or shrimp. Make more mixture depending on the size of the fish.
2. Salt and pepper to taste
3. Salt and Pepper inside and outside of fish and sprinkle Cajun or Everglades seasoning and stuff with crouton mixture. Since cavity is small, let some protrude outside the fish.
4. Place fish in a buttered baking dish and pour any remaining butter over fish. Melt more butter if necessary.
5. Bake uncovered in oven at 350 until fish flakes easily with a fork. (About 30 minutes, depending on the size of fish.)
6. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.
NOTE: This recipe also works for trout, redfish, etc.
Capt. Dick May is the owner of Easy Rider Charters in Bokeelia. He can be reached at 239-283-3247 or EasyRiderCharters.com. “Capt. Dick’s Seafood & Southern Country Cooking” (a new cookbook) can be ordered at www.Amazon.com. Go to Cookbooks then to Food and Wine category. Type in “Capt. Dick’s Seafood and Southern Country Cooking” and click. A picture of the cookbook, price and info for ordering will be displayed.