This is my first ever dinner picture on ar15.com, but with the help of my wife, I think we're going to kick down the door and do a pretty good job.

My wife is a hell of a fisherman.  She recently competed in the Saltwater Sweeties Fishing Tournament, and won 2nd place for the largest speckled trout, and won $200 for her effort.  The fish I cooked tonight is a redfish that she caught in that tournament.

Anyway, here's the obligatory picture of my significantly better half with a Black Drum she caught in the surf.
[

Here is the fish we ate for dinner tonight.  My wife actually caught it.  Not only does she make a mean sammich, she actually catches fish for me too.



She didn't wnat to be in the picture because after a hard day of fishing she, and I quote "Had bozo the clown hair, and looked like crap"...so you get my ugly mug holding a nice 23" slot redfish that she caught.

Redfish being prepared for the skillet:


Me clowning around before I feed the "Mexican Airforce"

The Mexican Airforce waiting to be fed


Two nice pieces of redfish in the skillet, magically being blackened.

Wife's plate:

Dinner consists of Blackened redfish, augratin potatoes, and bacon wrapped green beans.  Also included is a nice glass of Glen Livet Nadurra on the rocks.  Accompanying her dinner is her grandfather's bayonet that accompanied him through Europe and Korea.  Also included in the picture is half of her pair of Glock 23's (who needs a reload when you've got two), her Bushmaster shorty HBAR, and a pair of 30 round magazines...along with a a copy of of the Declaration of Independence.

My Plate:

My dinner consists of the same table fare, but my accoutrements are slightly different.  Included is the same Glen Livet Nadurra on the rocks, as well as a Gran Habano Corojo #5 resting in my 'ash tray' (a shell my wife found at Padre Island National Seashore), my Vector table lighter, as well as my BCM AR15A5, Glock 35 and reload, and one of my favorite books to relax with while enjoying my cigar after dinner...Six Guns by Elmer Keith. The 'gas can' is made was made by a local artist using a plasma cutter, and fits with the 'seafood theme' of dinner tonight...as well as one of my favorite pictures of myself and my lovely wife.

Here's a better shot of each plate, so you can get an idea of what it is we're eating for dinner tonight.

The green beans are wrapped in bacon and broiled with Worcestershire sauce...and are fantastic...my wife cooked those.  The au gratins were prepped by me, and put together by the wife.  I cooked the blackened redfish.

Finally, here's a shot of the entire spread, which is resting on our custom kitchen island, which was made by a local furniture maker:


Enjoy.

Sir Hacksalot and Mrs. Hacksalot

Nice
 

9/10

10/10

Epic 10/10

Even though the indoor pics are a little blurry you still get a 10/10.



Damn nice spec and red.  

DId you eat the black drum to?

^^^^^^



Epic!



 

IF you duct taped the fish after filleting you could have let it go and it would have regrown.

The same day she caught it.

I had plans to cook redfish on the half shell, and use my Weber Charcoal grill...but I don't know if anyone's ever had a highly successful dinner pic NOT using fire and/or grill, so I gambled and went with blackening the redfish on my stove.

So far, successful.

My wife is having a blast with this.

Hax

11/10 because you caught the fish yourselves.

9/10 only because the redfish wasn't covered in mustard then lousiana fish fry and then fried or 10/10

nice, 10/10

10/10





But you need to catch some bigger red's













 

Even though the pics were not very clear, the dinner looks great....10/10!

PS:

I have that same book by Elmer Keith.....it is outstanding....!

Much bigger than that and they are not very good to eat.  oh 10/10

big 10 looks great

Full of win sir.

geez, what does a fellow have to do to get a 10?

in my book, that is a 10+/10.  the bacon wrapped green beans look like they're awesome!

what is the slot in TX?  get caught with one that big and FL, and you're hosed.

I catch plenty of big reds...and mostly release them because they're not worth a damn to eat.


My dad with a big lake ponchartrain red.


My dad with a hog taken in his kayak:



Ideally, the best red to eat is about 16-18" long...but in Texas, they have to be 20"...Louisiana let's you keep a 16 incher.

Hax

15/10 for including founding documents!

Solid 23 out of 10. If they hadn't been Glocks it could have been 30.


Serious badassery in this one.


buk

Thanks...I was a bit nervous about them blowing up the dinner though.


Hax

10/10 looks great

I'm originally from Corpus, graduated high school there and it doesn't take a lot for me to miss it.  I still have family there and visit periodically.  I have lots of fond memories of putting in at Marker 37 for a hot ass day of fishing for reds and speckled trout as a kid and teen.  1000/10

I hear ya on the eating big reds, beer helps.



That said, when these pics were taken, we where actually disappointed.  Was suppose to be a large bull shark on the other line.  Will have to dig up the pics of some of the sharks we pulled up from the surf.  Usually people would see what we hauled in and would be terrified to get back in the water.  Most people don't realize you are swimming with sharks if you are swimming in anything deeper than chest deep water
 

Damn, it has been nearly 40 years since I was able to get down there to catch and eat any red fish.

you sir are a badass  11/10

10/10!

It's the kind of perfection that brings a tear to the eye.

I've reeled up a couple of 3-5 foot blacktips right through a bunch of swimmers...yes, it freaks them out.  I always warn them when they show up that I have lines  out and they set up and swim anyway.

I had a little face to face while standing on the back edge of the second bar on Mustang Island...I had a 4 foot black tip come check me out...as soon as he was close enough, I swatted him right on the nose with my fishing pole...he went one way, I went the other.

I don't go past the wade gut.  I've seen some LARGE predators (6 foot plus) swimming along the first sand bar...no thanks.

Hax

Nice fish, awesome dinner. How'd you blacken it? I caught this guy yesterday afternoon:



Just under 27", the tape got bumped sideways a little bit by the rod butt.

Filet the fish.  About an hour before cooking, wash and set the filets on UNSCENTED paper towels (ask me how I figured that one out), and then cover with more towels...this draws out all of the moisture and helps with 'crisping' the fish.

On a big red, you'll want to cut the filets in half, and then thin out the 'shoulder section.  The PROPER way to cook blackend redfish is to do it outdoors in a black castiron skillet.  Melt up a bowl of butter, and get a place to season the filet.  Get the skillet SMOKING hot (you'll want to do this outside...TRUST ME).  dip the fillet in the melted butter, then liberally coat the fish with Chef Paul Prudhomme's blackened redfish magic, and set it in the skillet...it is going to smoke like CRAZY, and let it sit there for 60-90 seconds...then flip it for another 45-60 seconds, remove, serve, eat immediately.

The way I did it, indoors, was a bit different, but it gets the same result.  I use a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with a thin coating of EVOO in it.  I mean just barely covering the bottom of the pan.  Put some EVOO on the fillet (enough to make the seasoning adhere) and then coat with the same Blackened Redfish magic.  Set it in the heated pan, and let it sit for 2 - 2.5 minutes per side...remove, serve, and eat.

It's going to smoke a lot, and you'll need to wipe the pan out between 'batches'...but it's darn good...goes great with scrambled eggs for breakfast too.

Hax

Dinner pic perfection fellas.

Oh, and where did you get that fish lamp thing? I think my Honda gas tank flounder was from the same artist.

Comforts of Home in Rockport, TX was selling this guy's stuff for a while, we got it there about a year or so ago...he has some really cool stuff.  One is a Barracuda made from the hood of a 55 Chevy...I'd love to have it, but have no place to put it.

Hax

 

Sounds like the same guy. My father in law got a yellow fin cut from a fender the last time the dude was down here on the island. Neat stuff...I just wish I remembered his name.

Automatic 10/10 for self kill/catch.

10/10 but get a new camera.  


And at first I thought you were a computer geek but I don't think so anymore.  Why the name?

10/10

12/10

Damn, that looks good!!!!

10/10

I want to give you a 10/10, but -1 for blackened red fish.



I'm probably just being bitter, but those fish are few and far between up here. I would not hide the flavor of one behind a bunch of spices and browning. And get a real filet knife, save the chainsaw for drum.

9/10,looks damn good sir

-1 for using electrical saw and gloves to cut it up.

Good job on a first dinner pic I would say 10/10

I'd eat it, 10+



Never had red fish

10/10