Oh man, oh man. 

This post is brought to you by Spring.

It’s brought to you by sweet, sweet Spring sunshine.

It’s brought to you by going home. 

If your home happens to be in the Sunshine State. 

And it may be even brought to you by work.

Yeah, work. 

Recently, I was charged with the task of seeking out + finding sources of seafood. As in fresh + delivered off the dang boat kinda of fresh. 

As in we have a one or two boat to four boat plus fleet. 

I’ve been all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, made the loop around Mobile Bay and drove over to the Panhandle.

Where every time you cross over the state line regardless of whether (or the weather) you’re traveling in from the West or from the North the sun comes out to sparkle + shine. 

It will too eventually burn you to a similar shade of a royal red shrimp. 

But I can’t tell a lie: it felt so. dang. good. 

Yeah, that sunburn felt good. 

Or maybe that was the half bottle of aloe ‘cooling’ gel that needed to be applied every 20 minutes after the 4 hour mid-day jaunt for the next 2 days.

Either way one thing is for sure: I don’t tan up like I used to. 

I supposed that’s a good thing, right?

Avoiding the sun + it’s supposed advancement in the aging process. 

Well I will be honest with y'all–it wasn’t that long ago that I aspired to aging in the same way a well-loved leather bag might naturally gain character. 

Now that’s some truth right there.

Know what else is truth? 

How y'all should be grilling whole fish instead wasting money–not to mention fish–when y'all purchase fillets. 

There’s plenty + I mean plenty of places to stop for seafood. 

Perhaps the most infamous is Joe Patti’s. 

That place. Man that place is intense. Y'all just walk right into a world of delicious. You can but fish whole and have it cut to your specs. 

You can also load up on–you know–wine, cheese, bread, smoked mullet dip. 

Yes. 

Smoked mullet dip.

It’s a separate blog post but this lady. 

This lady can eat an entire pint container in a single sitting. 

Probably in 20 minutes or less. 

What can I say?

I grew up with it and I. love. it. 

I digress. 

The royal red shrimp + pompano came from a delicious and amazing little seafood place along HWY 98: Sexton’s Seafood. 

They have got it all.  

Cobia. Gold tilefish. Grouper. Pompano. Redfish. Shrimps. 

I thought I had died + gone to heaven. 

If y'all are ever in the neighborhood …

How to Grill a Whole Fish

Prep time: nil. beside chopping for a few minutes + getting the coals going it’s easy.

Cook time: 5 to 10 minutes

Yield: 1–1 lb fish per person, so in this case it’s for 2. 

Selecting y'alls fish: eyes should be clear, glassy. not cloudy.

scales should look moist. Gills should still be a nice rich red. 

Preparation: best to leave the head on just gutted + scaled.

Get that grill fired up: plenty of newspaper on the bottom, layer charcoal on top and if it should strike y'alls fancy: some type of wood chip is always appreciated. This could take as little as 20 minutes to get the coal going or up to an hour.Probably longer as you will want a mellow medium even heat.

And y'all please no lighter fluid. That flavor will impart to the food. 

While someone is taking care of that situation. 

You can get your ass in the kitchen to slice + chop the following:

1 ruby red grapefruit, sliced crosswise.

1 small spring onion, sliced crosswise. 

1 small handful mint, chopped.

1 small handful parsley, chopped.

1 small handful tarragon, chopped. 

1 clove garlic sliced per fish. 

salt + pepper.

Now rub those fish down with a little bit of olive oil.

Next liberally salt the cavity of the fish. 

Here’s the fun part: stuff those dang things. Y'all don’t need cram it in there just you know: smear those fresh herbs + garlic all around then a few slices of grapefruit + spring onion. 

Once stuffed oil that bad boy up with quality olive oil + liberally rub salt all over the fish. 

Now onto the grill. 

Before throwing the fish on the grill. 

Clean/burn off any encrusted bits from the last use.

This is key: oil the rack up before placing the fish onto the grill. 

There’s nothing worse than a mangled whole fish lost to some burning embers below. 

Now place the fish on the grill with tail being the farthest from the heat source.

How do you know when it is ready? 

Well 5 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Like the poached egg situation don’t fuck with the fish.

That’s the beauty of this type of delicious: hanging back. 

After 5 minutes check to see, just around the edges, if it is sticking. 

If it is sticking–it ain’t ready. 

If you can lift it–now’s the time: flip it. Only once. to the other side. 

Once it’s ready, y'all know: it ain’t stickin’.

Plate it up + Serve.

Why is this worth the effort of starting a fire:

–>it’s simple.

–>folks are impressed by whole fish + will love you forever. 

the real reason: it just tastes better. 

It just tastes better when there’s sand in your hair.

And when there’s the cool breeze of aloe on your skin.