Steamed Sculpin (California Scorpion Fish). Fast easy and delicious.

Here is a good specimen of the Sculpin.
It is a bottom dweller with a ferocious appetite. 

I start with a pot with a couple of cups of water in it.

I have a mesh colander although a regular colander will do fine.

Place the colander on the top of the pot, and line it with the fillets of the fish skin side down!

Spread them evenly and put the thicker part of the fillet towards the center.

Then season with Garlic salt and Black pepper.

Then place Kale over the top of the fish and turn the burner on high. 

Be sure to cover the pot!

Listen for the Hard Boil then turn heat to medium 

keeping the steam coming on strong for 20 minutes.

place a pad of butter on the greens and let it melt.

 Then toss the Kale around a bit.

 The butter will get to the fish and coat it lightly for a little taste.

Plate the greens and place the fish over the kale carefully 

skin side down for that beautiful presentation.

Awesome with a baked potato or rice.

There you go! Ready to eat in about 30 minutes, including prep. Join us on the New Del Mar and catch some of your own California Scorpion Fish and make some great tasting Steamed Sculpin!

My friend Danny predicted a good year of fishing...

That's right, it's been a good year of fishing. So good that we've been chasing yellowtail up and down the coast of the Santa Monica Bay1 Here I hold a nice specimen caught on an anchovy and 25# test. Danny was right! Come and join the hunt here on fridays on the 

New Del Mar out of Marina del Rey Sportfishing.

Stem-Fried Fish fillets with Steamed veggies

Steve Martin once played a Character explaining "How to be a Millionaire". 

He said "First get a million dollars"! Then……

It's the same here. first get some FRESH FISH. 

Hopefully line caught the day you cook it.

Todays catch was a full bag of 3-4 pound Calico Bass and 11" Sculpin. This method works for all types of fish and always has a good result. Keep fillets under an inch thick, or if you have steaked fillets , no thicker than 3/4 of an inch thick. Because the way it finishes cooking it rarely burns and is extremely healthy due to the limited amount of Olive oil used to begin the process.

Fillet your fish and chill. Here I have put the fish in the freezer for about 

45 minutes and they are just starting to freeze on the surface

I am going to use fresh spinach today, but I have done this with a myriad of vegetables. Anything you enjoy steamed. Soak and rinse your vegetables well. Nothing is worse than dirt in your dinner!

TIP: Hot pan cool oil!

I like to use a wok, but a 12" skillet would work also. Pre-heat a seasoned pan. (To season your pan, heat it and put a thin coat of oil on it.) Then add about a teaspoon of olive oil per Fillet. Because the Sculpin were small, I used only one teaspoon for the four fillets of sculpin. 

TIP: Use a salad spinner to remove excess water. too much water will make the dish "soupy".

Add fillets Skin side down and bring the heat to medium. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the fish fries to this point it is ready to add your veggies. The excess water is from the fillets.

DO NOT TURN THE FISH OVER!

Fill it up!

Cover it up!

Add about 1/2 of a cup of water. Careful as the water hits the hot oil it wants to blow up! 

Keep the lid over the majority of the pan!

Keep it on medium heat.

I about 10 minutes the veggies are done and the water has come out of it creating a nice fish sauce that steamed the fish. If you use carrots or broccoli or onions you may have to cook it a bit longer, but as long as the cover is on it and you can hear the water boiling it won't burn the fish!

Plated here with a Red ginger garnish this fish is ready to consume in mass quantities!

Serving suggestions are Rice or Quinoa.

Here I gave it a shot of hot as I test some new Jalapeño sauces
They are infused with Whiskey or Tequila

Some like it HOT!!