[MUSIC]
Hi folks we're here at the Clemson office with one of our fisheries biologist Weston Halp
And Weston is normally out in the field managing the state's fisheries resource
But today he's here to help us learn how to cook that resource and enjoy it on the other side.
So Weston we're going to fry and grow fish today so what do we need to do to get started?
Alright first off I've already cleaned some catfish here and cut it up into little nuggets, excellent
On this side this is what we're going to grill this is actually flounder.
It's a saltwater fish and first off with the catfish we're just going to batter it.
I have some cornmeal, season cornmeal set up already you can also use flour or something to that effect.
And then I have some egg right here some beaten egg and some people use milk.
And it just helps the batter to adhere to the fish.
Now do we need to add salt and pepper to the cornmeal?
No it's already been seasoned so I mean if you use plain cornmeal you can if you want,
But this is actually just seasoned fish fry already so
Alright so what do we need to do to get started? Alright first off we take some nuggets here,
And dip them in the egg and then we roll it in the cornmeal and get it all battered up,
So I guess there's no wrong way to roll it in the cornmeal is it? There's no art and a science,
Nope just as long as you have a good cover over
Alright so we've got the fried fish ready to go but let's transition over into our grilled fish,
Okay um for the grilled fish I'm just gonna put some olive oil on it to keep it from sticking to the grill,
And the olive oil also helps with the season and helps it stick to the fish,
Alright so we're just gonna coat both sides in the olive oil or yeah, coat both sides.
You can use other things I just always have used olive oil. It's a good healthy choice. That's right.
Now this is a saltwater fish like we said it's flounder but what are some other fish species in South Carolina that you could grill the same way or a similar way?
Um you can also grill bass and stuff like that.
A lot of your saltwater species are very good grilled.
One up here in the mountains you can grill trout just put down tin-foil and you can actually put the trout along with some butter and some lemon in the tin foil and wrap it up and grill it.
Okay, alright next we season it, you use just about any season you like.
So just sprinkle it along the sides? Yeah along the top and then lemon pepper like I said before butter and lemon is also a good choice.
Okay excellent, so we are ready. We've got the oil hot. What temperature should we look for when we start to fry our fish?
You want to keep the temperature below 375 somewhere around 300 is good. Okay um so the oil is hot and ready now what's our next step?
Alright our next step is to get our fish put in our basket here and get ready to fry some.
Alright next step you have to be careful putting in. It's probably gonna pop it so you want to put in a slowly, slow.
If you want to keep it in there usually a good to where it floats hahaha.
Now if you were serving fried fish what would you put with this?
You can serve hush puppies, some people put it's just fried cornmeal.
Some people put onions and stuff in it, nice, little ketchup, little tartar sauce french fries mmm.
Alright we are here set up ready to grill the flounder but we're grilling on a charcoal grill so what's the difference?
Why have we chosen a charcoal versus a gas grill?
Gas grill's good I just like the flavor the charcoal gives the fish.
Okay and before we get started I know that we prep the grill. How do we prep the grill?
Well first off I used ready light charcoal, stacked it up and lit it.
It's been lit probably 30 minutes now, okay.
And I spread it out, you want it nice and spread out because you want to even cook them.
Alright I guess we are ready now to put the flounder onto the grill, we are.
Is there any specific order or madness the way you need to lay the fish on the grill?
Nothing in particular you just want to keep it like I said over even heat keep it from burning.
But next I'm gonna do is cover it and we're gonna cook it probably around eight minutes and then check on it, okay.
Alright it's been cooking for about 8-10 minutes. mmm looks yummy.
So how do we know 8 to 10 minutes was about long enough, can you tell by looking at it or?
Uh yeah you can tell by looking at it. Alot of times you'll see some of the grease and stuff coming out, okay, some of the oil.
Or you can just if you want you can just kind of cut into a little bit.
If it flakes off, nice, should be done.
Excellent, now is there any trick to taking the fish off the grill when we do it directly on the grill like that or?
No with the the olive oil it should come right off, it shouldn't be stuck at all.
[MUSIC]
Mmmm looks yummy. Well I think this is going to end our segment.
We want to thank Weston for his time today and sharing this yummy treat with us.
We're going to head out and eat but we will catch you guys next time.