The Fountain Grille at the Safety Harbor Spa and Resort has an Executive Chef who is so creative, his personal lunch creations end up on the menu. Jeremy Rogers is that chef.  

And he explains searing fish beautifully.

Heat your pan, add oil, put the fish in and try not to jostle it or touch it.

"Let it do its thing in the pan,” explained Rogers. “You see the edges starting to brown up and get some nice color you can tell it’s ready to flip, and flip it carefully."

Once Chef flips the fish, he gently pushes down the fish as the skin side tents to want to bubble up away from the pan.

And then he finished it in the oven.

"If you were to try and sit there and sear it in the pan the whole time there’s a good chance you’re going to burn it before the inside of the fish is done,” said Rogers. “ With your baking in the oven you’re ensuring that it’s going to be fully cooked."

Hogfish Rhumba

Ingredients

1 Hogfish, butterflied with skin on
2 oz. Jamaican Jerk seasoning
6 oz. collard greens
1 oz. bacon fat
2 oz. diced onion
6 oz. cooked rice pilaf
3 oz. coconut milk
2 oz. chicken stock

For the fruit salsa:

3 oz. diced mixed fruit (pineapple, strawberry, honeydew, cantaloupe)

Cooking Method:

Season fish generously with jerk seasoning. 

Warm large sauté pan on medium/high heat, add olive oil and place the fish skin side up into the oil for 1 ½ minutes, flip fish and put into a 350-degree oven for 7 minutes.  

In separate pan warm up collard greens with bacon fat and onion. 

Make rice pilaf in separate pan, when finished, add coconut milk and chicken stock to the rice. 

Assemble rice and collard greens on plate, lay fish on top and sprinkle fruit salsa on top of fish.