Blackened Striper

Some of our most favorite dinners are the ones that 'fall' into my lap, or more literally, hook themselves onto my husbands' line.  I had not layed out anything from the freezer for the main part of our dinner for tonight, even though I had already made my Corn Bread Casserole for a side and also my Honey Peach Crisp for the dessert.  This, I guess, would be what I would consider to be some of my very own Woman's Intuition.  Rich said that he was going fishing this afternoon on one of the big lakes near our home.  I figured that he would be bringing something good home in the live well.  And boy did he ever.  He brought us home a 7 1/2 pound gorgeous Striper Bass.  And there's no better way to prepare this particular catch than with a great blackening rub and served with some down home fixings. 

4- 6oz. striper bass filet's

ice water

2 T. of sea salt

4 T. of season salt

2 tsp. of dried oregano

1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper

2 T. of paprika

1/4 tsp. of ground cayenne pepper (it has a nice kick at this amount)

1/2 tsp. of sugar

1/4 tsp. of celery salt

1 bay leaf (crushed)

1/8 tsp. of cloves

1/8 tsp. of allspice

1/8 tsp. of ginger

1/4 tsp. of cinnamon

2 T. of extra virgin olive oil

1 recipe of my Scratch-Made Tartar Sauce

fresh lemon slices for garnish

-Clean and disinfect one side of your sink.  Place the cleaned fish filet's, sea salt and enough ice water (2 trays or so of ice) to cover them in it.  Allow to soak (keeping it iced) for 30-60 minutes (the longer the better to remove the 'fishy' taste from the striper).  Meanwhile, for the rub, combine the next twelve ingredients from above in a small bowl and mix well.  Transfer the rub to a large dinner plate and spread it out evenly.  Heat the e.v.o. in a large skillet over a high heat.  While your pan and oil is heating up, drain the salted ice water and pat both sides of the filet's dry with paper towels.  Dredge one by one through the rub and place in the very hot oiled skillet.  Saute for 5-6 minutes on each side (longer for the thick pieces-you want it to flake just like salmon), flipping with a wide spatula only once.  Serve with a slice of lemon and a dollop of my Scratch-Made Tartar Sauce.  Serves 4.  Enjoy!