Yesterday we had fresh
sheepshead a subtropical local fish purchased from
Shelly's Seafood in
old Homosassa. The image above for the fish was
borrowed from the FDA site. Sheepshead diet consists primarily of crustaceans and mollusks and they have a mouth full of teeth to attest to that. I cut the fillets to fit in the pan, sprinkled them with dried cumin and dried chipotle pepper. While those rested I sauteed half a white onion in some butter. I pushed the onion to the sides of the pan and added in the sheepshead fillets.
When the fillets were brown on one side I turned them over and sprinkled them with a generous amount of freshly chopped cilantro. I poured in some fresh grapefruit juice, about 2/3 cup, and sprinkled in a little brown sugar. I cooked the fillets till a fork inserted in the thickest portion went in easily. Oh my the grapefruit and brown sugar really made this dish, even the onions were tasty this way. Somehow I neglected to take a photo of the finished fish; the photo above is before I turned them over or added the grapefruit and sugar. You'll just have to take my word for how good sweet and tangy sheepshead is. I served the fish with some rice and broccoli. I spooned the onions and juices over the rice. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
