Chef Norman Van Aken, Cookbook, My Key West, Florida, FL, Recipes, Full Moon Fish Sandwich, Grouper, Buttermilk, Panko, Hoagie, Cheddar, Tomato, Lettuce, Woman Gone Crazy Bloody Mary, Vodka, Tomato Juice, Tabasco Sauce, Pickapepper Sauce, Sherry Vinegar, Celery Salt, Celery, Lemon Wedge
Recipes for the Full Moon Fish Sandwich and the “Woman Gone Crazy” Bloody Mary from chefs Norman and Justin Van Aken from the cookbook “My Key West Kitchen.”
Cookbook | My Key West Kitchen - Recipes
April 2, 2013
Full Moon Fish Sandwich
Recipe courtesy of chefs Norman and Justin Van Aken from My Key West Kitchen
The famed Vietnam war writer Phil Caputo landed the marlin that hung on the back wall of the bar for years. That was until my friend Danny McHugh and I liberated the huge fish and took it back to Danny’s home on Riviera, where Danny took pictures of me asleep with said marlin.
Yield
Serves 1
Ingredients
- Canola or peanut oil, for frying
- One 5-ounce grouper (or other fresh fish) fillet, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other favorite hot sauce
- 1/2 cup beer
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons cracker meal or panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 small onion, sliced
- 4 button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 hoagie roll (or hamburger bun)
- 1 to 2 thin slices Cheddar or other favorite cheese
- 1 pickle, sliced (or pickle slices)
- 1 ripe tomato, sliced
- 1 to 2 fresh lettuce leaves, for garnish
Directions
1) Heat 5 to 6 inches of oil in a deep-fryer or deep, heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-frying thermometer registers 350 degrees F.
2) Season the fish with the lime juice, salt and pepper.
3) Combine the egg and buttermilk in one bowl and the beer, flour, and cracker meal in a second one. Dip the fish in the egg wash and then the batter, allowing the fish to soak in the batter a few minutes to help it adhere.
4) Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for 4 to 8 minutes, until it begins to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm.
5) Add the fish to the hot oil and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fish is golden brown and cooked through. (Check by cutting off a small piece.)
6) Preheat the broiler. Open the roll and toast it briefly under the broiler.
7) Place the fish on the roll, add the mushrooms and onions and top with the cheese. Place under the broiler for about 1 minute to melt the cheese.
8) Serve with a garnish of pickle, tomato and lettuce or place them directly on the sandwich.
Recipes
Chef Norman Van Aken is known as the founding father of New World Cuisine -- a mixture of Latin, Caribbean, Asian, African and American flavors. He’s an inductee into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America and winner of Best Chef: Southeast. He’s the Director of Restaurants at the Miami Culinary Institute. He wrote his most recent cookbook, My Key West Kitchen, with his son Justin.
We asked him for his thoughts on the book and about Key West.
By Norman and Justin Van Aken
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Cookbooks
My Key West Kitchen: Recipes and Stories
Purchase on Amazon.com / Powell’s Books
New World Kitchen : Latin American and Caribbean Cuisine
Purchase on Amazon.com / Powell’s Books
Norman's New World Cuisine
Purchase on Amazon.com / Powell’s Books
Norman Van Aken's Feast of Sunlight
Purchase on Amazon.com / Powell’s Books
The Great Exotic Fruit Book: A Handbook with Recipes
Purchase on Amazon.com / Powell’s Books
Photographs courtesy of Norman Van Aken
“Woman Gone Crazy” Bloody Mary
Recipe courtesy of chefs Norman and Justin Van Aken from My Key West Kitchen
Yield
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces vodka
- 4 ounces tomato juice or 1 large ripe tomato, blended
- 3 to 4 shakes Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon pickapeppa sauce
- 1 dash celery salt
- 1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon wedge
- 1 celery stalk
Directions
1) Place a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker.
2) Add the vodka, tomato juice, Tabasco and pickapeppa sauces, celery salt, lemon juice, vinegar, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper and shake well.
3) Strain into a pint glass filled halfway or more with ice cubes.
4) Garnish with the lemon wedge and celery stalk.
