In article > , Peter
Aitken > wrote:

> "raymond" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 11:38:10 GMT, stark >
> > wrote:
> >
> > >In article >, Jessica V.
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >> However it calls for Red Fish, suggested substitutions are goo or
> > >> sac-a-lait. Does anyone have any other ideas as to what would make a
> > >> decent substitution.
> > >>
> > >> Tillapia comes to mind as a possible substitute. The sac-a-lait/white
> > >> perch is out of the question unless I can find a place to fish for it
> > >> that isn't polluted.
> > >>
> > >> Jessica
> > >
> > >What Louisiannans call a redfish is an Gulf fish; I don't think it's a
> > >red snapper. The Brennans say it's a member of the bass family and that
> > >trout, flounder or any nonoily fish could be substituted. I've noticed
> > >that NO restaurants are using a lot of Drum lately.
> >
> > Right, Redfish and Red Snapper are two different things. When I was a
> > kid, if we caught a Redfish we cut it up and used it for bait to catch
> > something we could eat, hopefully a Red Snapper. But the Cajuns, who
> > eat anything and everything, figured out a way to make Redfish tasty
> > and in 1984 Paul Prudhomme published his recipe for Blackened Redfish
> > in his Lousiana Kitchen cookbook and the run on Redfish started. It
> > is the only time in history when a single person with a single recipe
> > depleted an entire species.
> >
>
> I'm surprised that redfish were unpopular before the blackened redfish
> craze. We catch them here in North Carolina from the surf and from boats.
> They are called red drum here, and the smaller (5-12) lb ones which are
> prime for eating are "puppy drum." It is one of the best fish I have ever
> tasted, blackened or not.

I don't believe it was unpopular, just not as popular. My wife brought
a recipe for Redfish Court Bouillon into our marriage well before Paul
Prudhomme. But she couldn't find a redfish in the Charleston fish
market, so she opted for red snapper. And was cleaning it on the back
porch when I came home from work. Yeah, we're still married with or
without the fish scales.