I like to get up early and go fishing. Then in the afternoon, I like to go fishing. Sometimes I’m so excited about fishing, I forget to eat. Then I realize how hungry I am. That’s when I stop fishing (temporarily) and go get a quick bite. Quite often, I’ll have my camera with me so several of these restaurants have been featured in Sands in the Surf videos. This post takes a look at the restaurants featured in these videos. I’ll give a brief description of each restaurant’s environment, let you know what I consider the restaurant’s best features, and offer suggestions on what you might consider ordering. The Pirates Deck If you’re looking for a fancy meal served by a waiter in a bowtie, you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, if you’re looking for a fun, down to earth bar and grill where you can get a quick meal, the Pirates Deck is the perfect spot. Located right next to the Food Lion on Oak island, the Pirates Deck has arranged its patio since Covid, allowing for more outdoor seating. Guest can choose between benches and tables, or the bar when deciding where to sit. Large TV’s surround the patio so you won’t miss the game. Perhaps the Pirates Deck’s best features is its low-key atmosphere. It’s a laid back, easy going feel that can only be described as ‘on beach time’. The menu is varied offering everything from seafood including crab legs and shrimp, to the bar food you’d expect such as wings and burgers. They also offer several styles of home-made pizza which are perhaps the stars of their menu. The seafood pizza is particularly good. If you’ve just arrived on the island and are looking to kick off your vacation or if you just want a place to drink a beer with a pal and watch the game, the Pirates Deck should be your first stop. Tranquil Harbor If you don’t know it’s there, Tranquil Harbor could easily be overlooked, but that would be a mistake. It’s a small greenish blue building with rusty colored shutters that sits across the street from the Food Lion. Inside, there are tables and booths and a fully stocked bar illuminated with colorful lights. Pre Covid, Tranquil Harbor was a date night hot spot for my wife and I. We would meet weekly, to sit at the bar and share one of their excellent specials. If you’re looking for something simple, Tranquil Harbor offers burgers and fried fish baskets. However, they also offer a selection of steak and fresh catch entrees that are worth consideration. Make sure you ask about their specials. I haven’t had a bad meal yet. Perhaps their best entrée is Crabby Mac, a delicious take on macaroni and cheese. And yes, add the bacon. Unfortunately, due to Covid, at the time sof this post, Tranquil Harbor is only open for take-out service. Shagger JacksIf you’re thinking about eating at Shagger Jacks, you might want to get there early. This place is always hopping and for good reason. Shagger Jacks offers both indoor and outdoor seating, and yes, they allow dogs in the outdoor seating area. In fact, there is a sign that reads, dogs drink free all day long. Inside, the lights are low which makes for a warm, inviting atmosphere. The staff is always ready to help and if you think they’re doing a good job, you can buy them a round of drinks. They even ring a bell and everyone claps when you do. The menu is a step above the ordinary burgers and seafood. It’s still pub food but it’s put together with a little more flair. They offer several specials which rotate frequently and outstanding desserts as well. My favorite meal is the Fort Fisher fish tacos with blackened grouper and a mango salsa. Koko CabanaIf you are fishing on the pier and get hungry, this is the place to eat. That’s because it is located right on the Oak Island pier. Koko Cabana offers indoor and outdoor seating, and with the large indoor windows, every seat has an ocean view. Unlike the other pub restaurants on the island, the floor plan is open and bright. There are ceiling fans above and fresh herbs growing near the front door. In fact, everything is fresh. The menu updates fairly regularly with new entrees to try. They also sever unique food. I’ve had the gator po boy which was outstanding. I also enjoy their Mexican corn. Sunday mornings, during the high season, they offer a brunch menu that is fantastic. They turn even something as simple as a ham biscuit into a gourmet meal. The craziest thing I had was their crazy bloody mary. It came with a frog leg on top! Rusty Hook Previously know as the Dead End Saloon, this Southport restaurant changed to the Rusty Hook after the hurricane. Even though it’s not on the island, I still frequent this establishment for three reasons. First, they have docking available. If you’re out fishing near Southport, it’s easy to tie your boat off at the dock and grab something to eat. Secondly, they have outdoor seating where they allow dogs. Third, the food is very good.
They have a large indoor seating area, most offering views overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway. There is also a long bar with seating available. The outdoor seating is limited but that’s ok because most people choose to sit indoors. On the menu they offer a nice selection of Brunswick catch seafood as well as pasta dishes and a variety of sandwich style meals. Their crab cakes are very good but I almost always get their Dockside Tacos, blackened Mahi-Mahi with mango-salsa, cabbage-jicama slaw, a squeeze of lime and a side of house made Texas Caviar.
0 Comments
It was another successful day in the surf. You traded in your bait for a cooler full of fish. Dinner is going to be amazing, fresh fish! But how will you cook it? You aren’t really sure. You put so much thought into catching the fish, you didn’t consider what you’d do with them once you did. Well, no worries! That’s what this post is all about. Here, we’ll take a look at everything from cleaning to plating the fish. Let’s get started. Cleaning Fish Before you begin cleaning your catch, you’ll first want to consider the type of fish you caught. Some fish require a little more prep than others. To begin with you’ll need to decide if you want to bleed the fish. Bleeding fish can reduce what some consider a more gaming or fishy flavor. Though some fishermen would insist that all fish should be bleed, it is most commonly mentioned when referring to bluefish and sharks. Bluefish have a strong bloodline that many people take offensive too. Some won’t even eat bluefish due to this strong flavor. Bleeding the fish before cooking as well as soaking the meat in milk can help reduce this strong flavor. Sharks release urine through their skin. By bleeding a shark, it removes the urine from the shark’s system helping preserve the meat. The second thing to consider when preparing your fish is deciding how you want to cook your fish. Fish can be cooked whole, steaked, or filleted. They can also be cooked with the skin on or off. If you plan to grill your fish, cooking the fish whole or steaked is a good choice. If you plan to fry your fish, filleting might be a better option. Cooking Whole Fish When preparing fish to be cooked whole, start by cutting off the head and gutting the fish. Next, scale the fish. There are several types of fish cleaning tools available on the market that make scaling a fish easy. However, if you don’t have access to one of these tools, a knife will work just as well. Starting at the tail end of the fish, scape the knife blade up towards the head. This can be a messy process so if possible, scaling a fish outdoors may be preferable. Rinse the fish in water and it is ready to cook. Filet If you prefer your fish prepared without bones, you will want to filet your fish. Learning how to filet a fish can have a bit of a learning curve so don’t worry if your first attempt doesn’t go as well as you planned. With practice, you will get better and soon understand all the nuances that go along with fileting a fish. To start with, you will want to use a sharp, filet knife. A filet knife is long and thinner that other knives. Filet knives are also flexible which allows the knife to bend as it slices through the fish. Taking off the head, gutting, and scaling are not necessary when filleting a fish, though some people chose to do so anyway. To filet a fish, lay the fish flat on your cutting board and cut the fish at the tail end. Run the blade flat from the tail towards the head, pressing the knife along the backbone as you go. When you reach the ribcage, cut over the bones. The filet should come off as one clean piece of fish. Most bones should have been avoided during the filleting process though, depending on the species of fish, small pin bones may still remain in the filet and will need to be removed. To remove the skin, follow a similar process. Place the knife at the tail end of the filet and cut down towards, but not through, the skin. Turn the knife so it is parallel to the filet and run it up the filet from tail to head, pressing the knife against the skin as you go. When done correctly, the skin will be separated from the meat, leaving a clean, skinless filet. Staples If you prepare fish as often as I do, which is as often as I can catch them, then you will want to stock your pantry with a few staples. These are food items that are used frequently when cooking fish and no house should be without. Fish Fry: If you like your fish fried than you’ll want to stock up on fish fry. Sure, you can make your own using flour, salt, and pepper but it’s hard to compete with some of the brands available on the grocery store shelf. Speaking of which, there are many brands available. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which brand is best. Chef Paul Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning: Salt and pepper are staples for cooking fish but if you want to bump up the game, then Chef Paul Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning is a game changer. Though the name reads redfish, it works equally well to season any fish. Oil: Whether you chose to fry or grill, oil is essential. For grilling, lightly coating the fish with olive oil adds a light, healthy profile to the flavor. However, if you want to go for full flavor and not so healthy but taste great fish fry, peanut oil is a staple. Best advice, have both on hand, ready to go. Lemon: I couldn’t tell you why lemon and fish go together so well. I’m sure it has something to do with the flavor profiles contrasting each other but I’ll leave that up to the culinary experts. All I can say is that lemon and fish are an excellent combination so having a few fresh lemons on hand at all times is a must. Garlic: This might be a personal choice as not everyone likes garlic. However, if you do, garlic is a must have staple. Slicing fresh garlic gloves and sprinkling on top of grilled fish tastes great. Spinach: Another personal choice and works alongside of garlic. Sprinkle fresh spinach leaves along with the garlic when grilling fish creates a tasty side dish. Fish Boil: This is a staple in my home not for fish but for crabs. Crabbing can be a lot of fun, especially for kids. After you bring home the haul, you’re going to want to cook those crabs in crab boil. Crab boil comes in both liquid and powered forms. I personally prefer the power as I like to sprinkle on top the crabs before serving. Recipes Foil on the Grill This is a simple method for cooking fish which works best when cooking a whole fish. The fish should be gutting and scaled but leaving the head on is optional. Begin by preheating your grill to 425. Pull a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to wrap around you catch and place the fish on the sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the fish. Liberally apply salt and pepper and/or Chef Paul Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning. Slice fresh garlic and place on top of fish. Slice lemons into rounds and place on top of fish. Finish by adding fresh spinach leaves on top. Wrap the aluminum foil around fish and place onto the grill. Leave on grill for twelve to fifteen minutes. Pull back foil and with a fork, check fish. The meat should be white and flakey. The bones should easily pull away from the meat. Fish Tacos I remember the first time I heard about fish tacos. My manager, who was from California, told me about them. He thought we should buy a food truck and sell fish tacos. I found his idea repulsive. Not the food truck, but the fish tacos. The only tacos I was familiar with were made of ground beef, cooked in a red taco sauce, and served in crunchy taco shells. Replacing the beef with fish seemed a disgusting idea. What I didn’t know then was how wrong I was. Fish tacos are totally different than the beef tacos I was familiar with. The fish can be grilled, blackened, or even fried. The sloppy joe style red taco sauce is replaced with other toppings such pico de gallo and lime crema. There are many ways to prepare fish tacos but they all have one thing in common. They are all delicious and have become one of my favorite meals. In fact, if I go out for lunch, chances are I’m ordering fish tacos. Fish tacos can be made using any fish you like. I’ve made fish tacos with puffer, bluefish, pompano, red fish, and black drum to name a few. I’m not sure there is a fish I’ve caught that I haven’t made into fish tacos. As previously mentioned, the fish can be grilled, blackened, or fried in batter. Which style of cooking fish you enjoy the most is the way you should prepare it. There really are no rules for fish tacos and this includes the taco shell. I prefer a soft shelled taco but you might prefer a hard, crunchy shell. The options expand even more when we start adding toppings. Sautéed peppers, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce... the list is endless. I enjoy my fish tacos with a spicy mango salsa, pico de gallo, and lime crema. I might grill a habanero and slice it up for an added kick, then squeeze a slice of fresh lime on top. When making fish tacos, be creative, add the toppings you like and make it your own. |
Ian SandsFish along with Ian Sands of 'Sands in the Surf' on beautiful Oak Island, NC. We’re fishing the surf and surrounding areas targeting everything from puffer, to blues, to black and red drum, to sharpnose and bonnetheads. Archives
February 2021
Categories |