Shark Steaks

Hello everybody! Today, we are going to be making a more exotic dish. While this recipe is a detour from the more traditional fare featured on my blog, it is by far, the dish that was the most involved for me as well as has the most interesting story.

While normally I delve right into the recipe, I feel that today’s dish deserves a bit more explanation. If you are wondering if I purchased today’s fish in the store, the answer is no. The shark that I cooked for this dish were three small hammerhead sharks that were fished off the coast in Treasure Island, FL. After a long day at the beach and everybody got out, my sister, cousin, uncle, uncle’s brother-in-law, and I decided to go fishing. While we were all unsuccessful, except for some small salt water catfish which we threw back, my uncle’s brother-in-law caught three hammerhead sharks!

I then took the liberty of filleting them which is not as easy as videos on YouTube would have you believe. It took me like an hour and a half to fillet three tiny sharks.

Regardless, in the end it was delicious! And if you don’t have the time or beach access to fish for sharks, you’ll be happy to know that there is a chance that your local grocery store might carry shark. If you are worried about the thought of eating shark, don’t be! It is a white fish that has a density very similar to tuna while having a taste similar to other white fish so while psychologically it might be different, the taste should not be too exotic for you! I encourage you to dive right in with some shark! (Pun totally intended!)

So, with that being said! Let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 2 Pounds of Shark Fillets
• 1 Cup Triple Sec liqueur
• 8 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/3 Cup of Ground Peppercorns
• 2 Tablespoons Sea Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Prep Work: (Note, this only applies if you caught your shark like I did.)

1. Leave your shark fillets in the refrigerator soaking in milk for an hour. This helps remove the slight taste of ammonia that occurs as a result of some sharks urinating through their skin. (Hey, it may be more than you wanted to know but, you wouldn’t want to ruin your meal!)
2. Drain the milk and rinse your shark fillets.
3. Pat them dry.

Directions:

1. Mince the garlic using a garlic press. (If you don’t have a garlic press, a knife will work just fine.)
2. Add a couple of spoonfuls of Triple Sec to a pan and saute the garlic in it until the liquid has disappeared.
3. Mix the sauteed garlic, triple sec, ground peppercorns, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon together.
4. Once the triple sec mixture is at room temperature, drizzle it over the shark fillets and rub the solid spices into the fillets.
5. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
6. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side on medium heat. (Shark should flake with a fork)
7. Enjoy!

Well, there you have it!

Hopefully you have enjoyed this dish as much as I did!

Black Bean Burgers

Hello everybody! Today we are going to be making black bean burgers. For those of you who have never had them before, they are a great healthy alternative to traditional burgers. Each burger is very filling but has less than 250 calories so you can not only enjoy them but do so guilt free! These burgers also have the added bonus of being vegetarian so you can make them an option at your next cookout for those who don’t eat meat.

Let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Black Beans, drained and rinsed (16 ounces)
• 1/2 Can of Corn, drained (8 ounces)
• 3 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
• 1 Egg
• 3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha (Optional)
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit. (You can also grill them!)
2. Mash black beans with a fork until you have a thick paste.
3. Add corn and mash a bit more to incorporate.
4. Beat egg and add garlic and salt to it. (You can add the sriracha at this point in time if you’d like a mild warmth to your black bean burgers.)
5. Add egg mixture to mashed beans and corn and stir so the entire mixture is covered in egg.
6. Add bread crumbs and mix until the entire mixture will hold together.
7. Form into 4 patties of equal side.
8. Bake on a lightly oiled baking sheet for 10 minutes on each side.
9. Enjoy!

Tips:

Feel free to get creative with this recipe! You can try the following things to give your black bean burger a delicious twist

• Treat it like a normal burger and add lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc.!
• Chop up some jalapenos and cheddar and add to the mashed beans!
• Add whatever other spices you think would be delicious!
• The possibilities are endless!