- Recipes
Spicy Black Grouper Poke Stack
Zachery Dyke
Black Grouper Poke Stack Recipe
For the first recipe in, Frozen In Time: 5 Recipes From My Last Florida Keys Black Grouper, I decided to make a poke stack. I’ve made poke from just about every type of fish I’ve harvested before, but Black Grouper was an exception, until recently. I usually like to cook grouper, just because it’s always so tender and juicy, but I want to share how good it can be raw.
One thing I often see about grouper and why a lot of people don’t eat it raw is the fear of worms in the meat. While I have come across worms in some larger grouper before, it is a rare occurrence and from what I have read they are not harmful to humans. If you are nervous to try grouper raw, you may want to fully freeze it for a few days and let it thaw. Doing this should kill anything that may be harmful, although I have eaten grouper that had worms and I was fine.
Another thing I will suggest when eating grouper raw, is to make sure you let it age for a few days. However you age it, whether you age the whole fish or just the fillets, it needs time to break down so it’s not so chewy. Typically I just wrap my fillets in paper towels and change them every couple days. When I’m changing them, I also check to see how the process is moving along. There are a lot of factors that affect the finished product, but the main idea is letting it break down for a few days before you eat it raw.
The Components Of The Poke Stack
The four major components to this recipe are; the Black Grouper poke, the eel sauce, the wonton chips, and the stack ingredients. For the poke, I used a variation of a recipe I’ve used for a spicy tuna roll. I’ve used it for years and for various types of fish. This recipe combines salt from the soy sauce, sweetness from the sugar, and a little bit of heat from the chili oil and sriracha. Also, a fresh crunch from the green onion stems.
You will probably start to notice, that I like to use eel sauce in a lot of my recipes. I don’t think anybody who has ever tried eel sauce can say that don’t like it. It really does go good on just about anything, and this poke stack is no exception. You will have leftover sauce from this recipe more than likely, but I’m sure you can find some useful ways to use it.
The Wonton Chips
The wonton chips are your vehicle for your Black Grouper poke stack. While I’m sure you can buy them pre-made somewhere out there, I haven’t really come across them yet. You’ll see these at restaurants that serve similar dishes to this recipe. The key point with the wonton chips is to get a rhythm down. They cook very fast and burn or puff up very easily! I’ve found it best to fry them just a few at a time for maybe 5 minutes on each side.
The Fruit And Vegetables
The mango, avocado and cucumber are going to provide some additional freshness to this Black Grouper poke. I’m not usually the biggest fan of cucumber, and I’ve omitted it in other stacks I’ve made, but I was actually impressed how good it was with this grouper. The recipe calls to only use half of the mango and cucumber, otherwise the stack may get too big, but if you want to add it all, then go ahead! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
