Eating The Big Nas!

O. to the M. G.!

I have been in hot pursuit of the freshwater drum, the fish equivalent of hirsute men in the 2000s (out of style and regarded by the wider culture as gross). Many myths have been circulating about these fish. They are boney. They are bottom feeders. They are just plain gross to eat.

Well, I'm happy to tell you that none of those are true. I caught the biggest, toughest, nastiest of their kind, a fish that was likely six or seven years old, and it was yummy. Guess what else? It ranks in my top two fish fights of all time. That big momma took five or six long runs, peeling drag like a GT. When was the last time you had a freshwater fish do that, hm? How could this witchcraft be??

Water Quality
The water from which a fish is harvested makes a big difference both in taste and in nutrition. If it's a muddy slough with industrial or agricultural pollutants, of course it's going to taste bad. I harvested my fish out of a clean reservoir from the rocky portions of the lake. Drum feed primarily on crustaceans and small fish. That's the exact same diet as most of the other food fish we hold in such high esteem.

Age Before Beauty
Listen, the truth is, young fish taste better than old fish. Would you rather eat a fresh young chicken or an old sinewy, tobacco using hen who's worked at a diner for eighteen years and has never taken a food safety course? Trust me, that choice presents itself more than you'd expect.

Red Meat 
Knowing how to trim a cut of fish is just as important as keeping it cold. All red meat, always cut off white fish. The skin and the red portions of meat are usually the main culprit of fishy taste. Also cut off the top portion of meat that runs along the fin. It's the same type of meat structure like what you'd get on halibut. It's a weird texture.

ye gutted ol drum

Prepare it Right
Nobody fries salmon. Don't fry drum. It's an oily fish and will taste like crap if you prepare it the way you prepare other white fish. Blacken it or poach it and put it in fish cakes. Heck, you could even can it or pickle it. Larger drum have a pleasant, firm texture, similar to monkfish, even chicken. Bad handling and bad preparation, combined with years of myths about drum, seem to me to be the source of their bad reputation.

Okay, Jeez, I'll try Drum. How do I cook it? 
I'm glad you asked! Here are two fantastic recipes you can use to get the most out of your new favorite fish.

Blackened Drum On Naan

Ingredients:

Drum fillets

Old Bay Rub or fish rub of choice

butter and olive oil

naan bread (also works with pita or as a fish sandwich)

tartar sauce (combine mayonnaise, brown mustard, dill relish, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice to make your own)

avocado

cabbage mix

lemon

Methods

1. Remove all red meat from drum fillet

2. Season fillets with rub while heating a pan with butter and olive oil on medium to medium high heat

3. When pan is near smoking, insert fillets. Cook for around five minutes on each side for larger fillets. Squeeze lemon on fillets after first flip. Tail portions will cook and flake faster. 

4. Remove and serve on hot naan under tartar sauce, avocado, and cabbage mix

.

Heavenly Drum Cakes 

Ingredients:

Drum fillets

half a cup to a cup of green onion

parsley

pepper

paprika

lemon

bread crumbs (I used panko lemon herb)

one egg

two large potatoes

good parmesan cheese (no dried, packaged garbage allowed here)

flour (for shaping) 

three tablespoons of coconut oil (however much is needed for about half an inch of oil) 

bay leaves (optional)

Methods:

1. Peel and chop potatoes. Boil for ten minutes until just soft. Set aside to dry for a few minutes. 

2. Finely chop green onion. Mash potatoes and put in mixing bowl with onions. 

3. Add about a cup of bread crumbs. Add more if needed once the fish is added. 

4. Poach the fish in water with two bay leaves (optional) until it flakes. Remove from water and break up flakes. Add to other ingredients. 

5. Add chopped parsley, parmesan cheese to taste, paprika, squeezed lemon juice, egg, and pepper to mix. Stir together. You should end up with a fairly chunky, dry mixture. If it's too wet, add bread crumbs. 

6. Heat coconut oil in pan on medium high heat until a pinch of the batter sizzles when placed in pan. 

7. Cover your hands in flour and form cakes, setting them in the pan as you go or on a sheet to be placed in the oil all at once. 

8. Cook on both sides until golden brown and crispy on the outside. 

9. Serve with tartar sauce