My wonderful in-laws came down to the Gulf Coast of Alabama from the North Carolina mountains a couple of weeks ago to get away from the snow and invited us to pop down for a visit. They grew up in the midwest and now live pretty far inland, so fresh seafood isn’t something they eat very often (though they DO like it a lot). We went on a little adventure to Pensacola, Florida to go to the amazing Joe Patti’s Seafood Market, and picked up two meals worth of my favorite fish, Red Snapper. The fish is so light, lovely, and flakey that you really don’t have a do a ton to it to make it delicious… just a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a sear in a skillet. Although we didn’t NEED it, I’d had a hankering for Mississippi’s most famous condiment, Comeback Sauce for a couple of weeks, so I made a batch to drizzle on top, too. The spicier cousin of remoulade and thousand island dressing, Comeback Sauce was created by Greek immigrants in Jackson, Mississippi and is still served at the Mayflower Cafe today. What resulted was something just right… fresh, fresh, gorgeous fish with a spicy, light dressing. It was divine.
Whether you have access to fresh gulf snapper or not, it’s DEFINITELY worth whipping up a batch of Comeback Sauce for ANYTHING you’re cooking next…. french fries, steamed artichokes, burgers, potato chips, shrimp, iceburg salads, turkey sandwiches… it basically goes on everything. Let me know if you make it and what you put it on!
Pan Seared Red Snapper with Mississippi Comeback Sauce
Serves 4 (plus LOTS of extra sauce)
What you need:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 squeezes of ketchup
2/3 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
3-4 cloves garlic finely minced
1/4 Cup white or yellow onion, grated using a box grater
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
What to do For the Comeback Sauce:
Blend it all together in a blender. You’ll have a thick (but pourable) orange sauce. At the beach we had a sub-par blender that came COMPLETELY apart while making this the first time… que sera, sera. 😉 Bottle the sauce (or even better, put it in a mason jar) and keep it for up to one week. Serve it with burgers, fried shrimp, hushpuppies, fish, french fries, fried okra…. oh gosh, just about everything.
What to do for the fish:
Slice the fish into smaller filets (as 1/2 of a whole filet will usually serve one person). Season the fish with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Cook the fish SKIN SIDE DOWN first. You’ll know it’s getting there because the flesh will become less translucent and will become an opaque white color. Flip the fish at this point and cook for about 2 more minutes. This whole process usually takes about 5-8 minutes. Honestly, the worst thing you can do to a beautiful piece of fish is overcook it, so watch it carefully. We always put our fish in the oven after searing it on about 200 degrees for 1 or 2 minutes. That keeps it warm, and evenly cooks the inside.
Serve however you want, but I reccomend it on a piece of french bread or a bed of field greens with a slather of comeback sauce and homemade roasted potato chips.
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