Wicked Good - Smoked Tuna Roe Shrimp Alfredo

Holy hell. Iron Chef Hawaii just threw down tonight. Tsu has been working on the components for this dish the last few days and oh my lord, the magic that he put before me tonight for dinner was so wicked-good, it blew my wicked mind.

Fruit Ninja dropped by earlier this week, Monday, I think. Although, this time, Fruit Ninja didn’t come bearing fruit.

This time, she brought something kinda rare, even though that is very much her game. Normally she is bringing special fruit or an abundance of seasonal fruit or on occasion, a Japanese dish she has made herself and wants to introduce to us.

But this time... she brings a hefty 2 lb hunk of beautiful, dark red tuna and the entire roe sack from the same fish, fresh caught that morning from the neighbor next door to her, two doors down the street. 

The stack of empty organic egg cartons she leaves behind tells the story of what I can return for the bounty she just shared with me. My gorgeous free range eggs makes a perfect barter even though she shares with me so frequently, I could never repay her kindness with eggs alone. But I sure do like the fact that I can provide something in return that she will enjoy, too.  I package up a dozen for Tsunami to take to her right away. 

After tonight’s meal, I package up another dozen for good measure.

Now, I know you may not have access to this type of thing so I won’t act like you do. I mean, I don’t. This was a gift. And up until now, I honestly never gave a thought to tuna roe. I’ve had salmon roe on sushi, even a Russian or Bulgarian caviar, but tuna roe? Nope. This was one of those things that just falls into your... um, smoker?

Well, that is just what Tsu did with it, being the mastermind he is. He smoked that package of yum. But he brined it first.

Yep this star of this particular food-gasm had 3 preparations before being blended into the smoked silkiness that would become THE BEST ALFREDO I’VE EVER EATEN. Yes, I know... All caps! Hands down this is drop the mic out of this world something you must try. You must.

So pretense, be damned. You may not get your hands on it, but IF YOU DO, you may come back looking for this here recipe, y’all. Mark my aloha.

In case you are lucky enough to purvey such a delicacy and want to try or are just plain curious, here is what Tsu did:

Prep the roe for the Alfredo “base” sauce:

1. Brine the roe For 24 hours in 2 tbsp sugar, enough water to completely cover roe, dash of salt.
2. Smoke the roe on low smoke hour and a half, mesquite chips.
3. Remove the roe from the sack. You can scrape it out with a spoon or just remove it like a casing on a sausage.
4. Sim simma the roe in garlic, butter, on low heat, whisking to break up roe so it doesn’t form lumps like you’d expect with ground beef. 
5. Gradually and gently whisk in half n half or heavy cream.
6. Purée this in a blender when the sauce has cooled. Blending hot liquids can be a disaster so I caution you to let this sufficiently cool before you do so or it will end up all over you and your kitchen ceiling.

Prep your Alfredo fixings (optional):
Tsu and I both love mushrooms so our Alfredo sauce adds sautéed mushrooms in white wine and butter, probably garlic and fresh thyme. This is entirely up to you but it is how we eat or Alfredo normally and I think the richness of flavor is important.

Serve:
When ready to serve, Tsu warmed up the smoked roe “base”, added roughly a cup of store bought Alfredo sauce to loosen the sauce and then gently added the sautéed mushrooms.

We served it over penne pasta which was cooked al dente, then warmed and finished in the pan with the sauce. You could use virtually any pasta you desire but penne was a good choice because it can grab the sauce, which trust me, you will love.

Garnish with sliced scallions, fresh parsley and fresh black pepper. Oh, and copious amounts of fresh grated parmesan cheese, naturally.

Suggestions:
We served ours with local peeled, deveined shrimp that were dusted with Cajun seasonings then lightly seared for a minute on each side but not cooked through. The shrimp finish their cook in the sauce, along with the penne, just before serving so they warm through but don’t end up over-cooked.

The next night we served it with gorgeous seared scallops.

The last night, I made zoodles with my spiralizer and a summer zucchini which I served with the remaining sauce. I’m obsessed with zoodles because I love zucchini and summer squash. It’s keto-friendly, too if you are avoiding or watching carbs. And by night 3, if you are so lucky, zoodles might be the way to go!

Sadly, there was no night 4... ;)

Buttermilk Fried Oysters

Fried oysters aren't something one eats everyday, but down South, we seem to find them on the menu more often than not. I love fresh shucked oysters, too and my first husband and I used to eat these as often as we could, wherever we could find them. I think living on the East Coast, probably any coast for that matter, means you may get them fresher more often.

One of my closest friends lives in Seattle and one of my favorite memories is of visiting her one year and taking a drive in the Washington mountains. Tucked away off the road was a tiny little restaurant carved out of the cliffside that had the most amazing porch style dining area with spectacular views of the oyster fields, far down near the water below at the base of the mountain. 

When you have fresh oysters like that, it's hard to imagine anything more sublime. Except maybe oysters on the beaches of of a sleepy fishing village in France... Or maybe on a visit up the East Coast to see my cousins in Virginia Beach where we can harvest them ourselves.

Oysters to me are treasures of the sea so to fry them, isn't necessarily my favorite way to have them. After all, nothing beats a fresh shucked oyster naked in its shell. Or simply dressed with champagne or red wine vinegar and shallots. Or heck, one of my favorites, with Tabasco and horseradish. Or with a little sour cream, caviar and green onion.  Jeez, I really do love 'em no matter how I have them prepared.

But Southern fried everything is prevalent where I live so instead of typical bar-fare of mozzarella sticks or fried mushrooms like you might see up North, we tend to see a lot of fried seafood. And don't forget the pickles. We love fried pickles.  Fried oysters, fried clams, fried conch fritters, Key West shrimp, gator, catfish, okra, softshell crab... it's hard to say no even if fried isn't exactly your thing. And yet, it's so my thing when it's done well.

It's beer food. Perfectly delicious, fresh, local snackalicious beer-food. And one of the first times I had fried oysters was after a long day at the beach at an extremely popular joint in Jupiter called the Food Shack. Bad to the bone, this little place that is practically standing room only with a line of people waiting for it to open it's doors. Worth the wait as everything on the menu is worth having and it makes making a selection awfully hard when the food is this fresh, this local and quite tropically inspired.

An all time favorite, which we have every time we go, is the panko-fried oysters on a bed of greens with homemade cilantro ranch dressing, red onions, fresh seasonal fruit. May not sound like it goes together, but trust me, it is divine.

So to replicate this awesome little snack, I picked up some fresh Willowpoint oysters that you can get fresh at Costco on the weekends. Already shucked in sealed canisters on ice, it's a steal of a deal. About a dozen in their own liquid for about $8. I will usually pick up 2 or 3 because we love oyster shooters, oyster stew and of course, now, fried oysters on a kickass salad.

Here's what you need:

Fresh oysters, shucked

Buttermilk

Flour

Rustic Tuscan seasoning from Costco

Paprika

Crushed red pepper, optional if you like a little kick

Peanut oil for frying

Prep:

1. Prep your oysters a day or two ahead. If you buy canned fresh oysters at Costco like I do, drain the oyster liquid and reserve it for something else, like oyster stew. The liquid freezes quite well and does come in handy in my household as we do make oyster stew quite often. 
2. Refill your oyster canister, with the oysters still in of course, with buttermilk. Cover and keep refrigerated until you are ready to fry. Not less than an hour, no more than 2 days. (I make my own buttermilk as you may already know and always have it on hand. I'm sure I have a post about this somewhere if you want to make your own buttermilk, too.)

Flour Dredge and Fry:

1. Once you are ready to fry, preheat your fryer with peanut oil to about 340 degrees. You can pan fry or use a deep fryer, whichever you have available.
2. Drain your oysters from the buttermilk and reserve this liquid for stew, if you like. You can put them on paper towels and lightly salt and pepper the oysters before dredging in flour.
3. In a small dish or on a plate, add flour and seasonings. I didn't give measurements as it really depends on how many oysters you will be frying so use your best judgement when seasoning your flour. About a teaspoon of each seasoning to a cup of flour is a good rough estimate.
4. Gently dredge your oysters in the seasoned flour and fry for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

We eat these on their own or on greens as a salad. I make a delicious buttermilk ranch dressing with Hidden Valley seasonings, homemade buttermilk, homemade mayo and minced garlic. You can't go wrong with that either to dip them in or as a dressing.

The texture of the oysters stays creamy dreamy while the buttermilk adds great flavor and tang combined with the crunch of the breading. Optionally, you can add panko crumbs to the seasoned flour for a little extra crunch, which we love to do when we have panko in the house.

**Alternatively you can serve these on their own, just as they are. Sometimes, we have leftover oysters that we like to fry up the same way and serve with homemade marinara. Super yummy and they never last terribly long!