Happy Thursday everybody!
Normally, Thursday isn’t all that exciting – but this is the Thursday before a long weekend! While I might not have incredibly exciting plans, it’s still a long weekend. Which means next week is a short week.
Next week is also the final week of my husband’s incredibly demanding and strict study schedule. So on Saturday afternoon – I get him back. So I get to be excited that it’s Thursday!
Can I get an “amen”?
…crickets…
Okay then, moving right along!
So I know I have mentioned to you several times how much I love seafood. Well my parents discovered a great little place to get fresh seafood – a man and his wife drive up to Memphis each week from the Mississippi coast with a big trailer full of lots of good, fresh stuff. Even selections that are hard to find in grocery stores!
Well, my dad stopped by to grab some smoked tuna dip (Y-U-M) and the man was packing up to leave. So he just “donated” a few items to him. Fortunately for me, my parents were leaving town, so I inherited some fresh, delicious fish to play with.
Like Triggerfish. Crickets again? Exactly.
Now, it’s tough to find Triggerfish recipes out there. But I did read that it’s a meaty, rich fish – similar to Grouper, but with a buttery flavor, like Lobster.
So you know what that says to me? Butter. Wine. Capers.
Do we really need more in life? I honestly think I could eat capers out of the jar…oh wait, I already do. And wine…well, really people?
If you can’t find Triggerfish – I think that Grouper would be a great fish substitution for this recipe – perhaps adjusting for cooking time.
Now this is a little higher in WW points for the main dish (about 9 – guess-timating since I couldn’t locate nutritional info.), but I just paired it with a few slices of bread and some brown rice and it made for a light and luxurious weeknight meal.
Triggerfish with a Spicy Lemon-Wine Sauce (serves 2)
2 Triggerfish filets, about 6-7 oz. each (mine had skin on – so I left it and it was fine)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
4 Tbsp. reduced-calorie margarine
1/4 cup white wine
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. capers
Heat 2 Tbsp. margarine in a large skillet over medium heat.
Salt and pepper your fillets. I scored the skin (just a few little superficial slices) to prevent curling.
Add fillets to melted butter and saute about 3-4 minutes, skin side up. Flip and sprinkle “meat” side with a few dashes Tabasco.
Cook another 3-4 minutes, and flip once more. Cook 2-3 more minutes until fish is cooked through and both sides have a light brown color. Set in a medium baking dish and add to oven on low heat to keep warm.
Add remaining margarine (if needed) to skillet and melt. Reduce heat to medium low.
Add white wine, garlic, caper and lemon juice.
Cook for about 2 minutes, until simmering lightly and sauce thickens a little.
Oh and if you have to open a whole bottle of white wine and don’t know what to do with some of the “excess” – I’m sure I can help you think of something…
Now, remove fish from oven. Plate your fish and pour sauce on top of each fillet.
Now, dig in! The rice and bread did a great job of soaking up the excess sauce…which was total yumminess…
Thanks Mom and Dad – next time you should get your new buddies to “donate” four fillets and maybe you’ll get a free dinner out of it…
Thanks for reading – and just a reminder, if you have tried any of the recipes on my blog, please leave me a comment with your raves/rants/thoughts – I’d love to hear feedback!
cookingonthebrightside 
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Hey, I am trying your triggerfish recipe tonight. I didn’t see the amount of garlic to use so I just cut up one clove (kind of big one though). IT seems great and I took your advice and poured a glass of the white wine for the cook (me!) even though I don’t usually drink white wine. I’ll let you know how it turns out! I don’t normally buy triggerfish but I was driving home from teaching today and didn’t feel like doing much for dinner so I stopped at the fresh fish market and the owner told me they were just fileting it in the back room. He says he loves it! We’ll see…………..
Sorry for the omission – I used about 1 tsp. of minced garlic, so you were probably right on. I hope you enjoyed the recipe (and the wine!). Thank you for your comment!
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Excellent recioie thanks for the post!
Excellent recipie thanks for the post!
Thanks for the recipe. Catching trigger fish off the beach. It make great Ceviche also!
I’m very excited to try this, I caught some triggerfish last night and was trying to find a recipe I liked. This sounds great, and it has capers so my wife will love it. 🙂 Thanks.
Thanks – I hope you both enjoy it!
Nice recipe, and nice prose. Very thorough, down-to-earth approach, impossible to mess up. Oh, did I mention that it tastes delicious? Great job!
Glad you enjoyed it – thank you for the comment!
Enjoyed it so much… Thanks it’s a keeer and thanks to Ray for catching fresh fish!
very nice recipe…thank you
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Tried your Triggerfish recipe tonight! I love Capers, so the entire little jar went into the sauce with some of them crushed beforehand. I cooked my filets skinless, and used a few more than a few dashes of Tabasco, as we normally do in my home. Then, I served it with some pine nut couscous and mixed greens. It was GREAT! You have a wonderful Triggerfish recipe, and I will certainly use it again. Triggerfish is not so easy to find around here, so I’m planning to try it with other fish species as well. Any suggestions? It was VERY VERY GOOD, and I can’t thank you enough for sharing the recipe with us!
Hi Joe – thanks so much for your comment and I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. I have also used the recipe with Grouper since it holds together very well with a pan saute.
Sounds fantabulous- I have been looking for triggerfish recipes that aren’t breaded and fried, this looks really good. Trying it tonight.
Amazing!
We tried your Trigger Fish recipe tonight and it was wonderful! Favors burst on my taste buds, and I will use this recipe again. Thank you for sharing.
Just tried triggerfish for the first time & used your recipe – minus the wine sauce because I didn’t have any on hand. I just sautéed the garlic in with the butter then added the fish. So good! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
The ‘No Alibi’ charter boat here in Destin, FL is in full-on Triggerfish-ing right now. The catches are AWESOME so I’m sharing this recipe there for the anglers heading home after trips.
THANK you!
Great to hear! Several of my family members are currently in Destin, so I hope the weather is nice and the fish keep biting – thank you for sharing the recipe and I do hope your guests enjoy it!
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Triggerfish is really excellent grilled or blackened. It’s unlike your typical whitefish so it can stand up to the grill.
I am trying this tonite. I dont have any capers. I may throw some almonds in with the pecans.