ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Matthew and Veronica Neumann own the business “Hookin’ Ain’t Easy Seafood Company,” now with both a retail shop and a food truck with a beachy-themed outdoor eating area in between.

They propose to make St. Pete’s best grouper sandwich, starting with a scamp grouper.

“And in my opinion, it’s the Cadillac of the grouper family,” said Matthew Neumann, as he shows how he fillets a fish, pushing the knife along the rib bones to release as much fillet as possible.

“So what we are left with is all the meat with no bones in it,” he explained.

Chef removes the fish skin by putting the knife at an angle at the bottom of the fillet.

“I use my hand and I pull the skin," Neumann said. "I don’t use my knife except to hold it. I pull and it pulls the skin right off.”

If he looks like a pro, he should: He’s a charter captain and crabber.

In fact, all the fish body scraps go for crab fishing, and the heads go to make soups.

Nothing is wasted.

“We sell a lot of fish heads in the café and in the retail store,” Newmann said.

Once rinsed, the fillet gets the generous butter treatment and the even-more-generous Cajun seasoning treatment.

“Don’t be afraid to use some seasoning — that’s what you paid for," Neumann said. "That’s where the flavor is."

He cooks each side for about four minutes.

“I want it to get nice and black on one side,” Neumann said. "I’m going to flip it over, and then we are going to repeat the process about two times.”

As it turns white, the fish is done.

Chef removes the fillet from the grill, butters a bun on both sides and begins to build the sandwich.

He serves it with a remoulade sauce, a tomato slice, a piece of lettuce and an onion slice.

“I love taking people fishing, crabbing, the hunt, the kill, the thrill of it all,” he said as he dressed the sandwich. “I haven’t gotten a paycheck in over 30 years, unless it’s from the water, and that says a lot — all of it’s been on the water."

It's a grouper sandwich, with a kick, joined by daily fresh French fries.