{"id":13766,"date":"2011-10-18T09:28:23","date_gmt":"2011-10-18T13:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?guid=c3044b2da3bd159ae25d84423a492033"},"modified":"2011-10-18T09:37:49","modified_gmt":"2011-10-18T13:37:49","slug":"bahamas-restaurant-serving-up-tasty-lionfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2011\/10\/bahamas-restaurant-serving-up-tasty-lionfish","title":{"rendered":"Bahamas Restaurant Serving Up Tasty Lionfish"},"content":{"rendered":"
ALICE TOWN, Bahamas — With more than 400 servings of a new menu item last month, Bimini Big Game Club\u2019s General Manager Michael Weber and Chef Alvarez Bastian have found a recipe to help the environment in The Bahamas and sate the most discriminating palate at the same time.The Bimini Big Game Club\u2019s Panko Breaded Lionfish Nuggets are the talk of the island — a gourmand\u2019s answer to a tasty snack and an eco-solution for helping to rid nearby reefs of an aggressive and non-native predator.<\/p>\n
\"Lionfish\"
Lionfish on the reef. Photo: Bill Watts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur lionfish nuggets have become a huge seller, and though we don\u2019t serve endangered species such as grouper and we were the first Bahamas resort to feature a shark free marina, we have absolutely no problem in turning lionfish into a menu item,\u201d said Weber.<\/p>\n

The colourful and charismatic lionfish, a member of the venomous scorpionfish family, are native to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific. First observed in Fort Lauderdale in 1985, they appeared in noticeable numbers in the Caribbean and Florida waters around 2000 and have continued to breed aggressively. Scientists are quite concerned that lionfish may be completely reinventing the western north Atlantic coral reef ecosystem.<\/p>\n

How bad is it? According to Dr Mahmood Shivji, a professor at Nova Southeastern University and director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute, \u201cThere are enormous concerns that lionfish will completely change and possibly destroy Atlantic coral reefs by overrunning them and shrinking their native biodiversity, and that the ongoing damage is severe and possibly irreparable. So far, there is no known quick-fix, and the problem is escalating exponentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weber is quick to admit that turning lionfish into finger food is far from a solution, but with proper cleaning, the lionfish meat is excellent in taste and texture, and any that make it to the table means \u201cthey are no longer a threat on the reefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US federal government\u2019s chief fisheries management agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is in agreement, having developed an Eat Lionfish campaign<\/a> (PDF file).<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can\u2019t beat them, eat them,\u201d said Weber.<\/p>\n

\"Lionfish
Lionfish on the menu. Photo: Bimini Big Game Club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recipe for Panko Breaded Lionfish Nuggets a la Bimini Big Game Club<\/strong>
\n(Please carefully adhere to cleaning recommendations before preparing) <\/em><\/p>\n

Lionfish Nuggets;<\/p>\n

4 oz of Lionfish<\/p>\n

Flour<\/p>\n

1 cup liquid egg<\/p>\n

Panko breadcrumb<\/p>\n

Salt and pepper<\/p>\n

Cajun seasoning<\/p>\n

In 3 separate bowls place your liquid egg, flour and breadcrumb. Cut Lionfish into small bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper and Cajun seasoning. Dip pieces into flour, shake off excess flour, and then dip into liquid egg and then into Panko breading. Once covered in the breading they are ready to take a long hot bath in some hot oil at 325 degrees until crispy golden brown.<\/p>\n

Homemade Cilantro and Key Lime Tartar Sauce:<\/p>\n

Mayonnaise 1 cup<\/p>\n

1 gherkin or small pickle<\/p>\n

2 tbs Key Lime juice<\/p>\n

6 leaves of chopped cilantro<\/p>\n

2 tbs of chopped capers<\/p>\n

Make sure all above ingredients are FINELY chopped. Mix the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and fold ingredients together and add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until time of service to remain fresh.<\/p>\n

Caribbean News Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With more than 400 servings of a new menu item last month, Bimini Big Game Club\u2019s General Manager Michael Weber and Chef Alvarez Bastian have found a recipe to help the environment in The Bahamas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[76,39,23],"class_list":["post-13766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-environment-2","tag-fishing","tag-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}