Dive Report:Rob Murphy

Rob Murphy Southeast Florida report

Hello fellow spearbloggers. Happy Father’s day to all the fathers out there! Its so cool to see the reports starting to come in from all over the world. I am really enjoying reading them. Here’s a quick one from me, as we are working on preparing an epic Father’s Day feast!

We dove Wednesday out of Palm Beach. The water was super warm, clear and blue, with a brisk current. When the water gets this warm, it can be hard to find big fish in the area. Nothing huge was landed but we got some great eating fish and had a fun day. I shot a permit (in federal waters), a hog and a monster Grey Trigger (Ocean Tally). Also boated were more hogs and triggers, and a black grouper.

Saturday we went out of Jupiter on the Dykoke. The normal routine on this boat is to dive from sunrise to after sunset bouncing spot after spot until we run out of tanks, sunlight, or bottom time. But we had a party to get to so we just did a half day. It was still productive and we had a great time. The water was blue and the vis was decent north of Jupiter, about 30′. Seas were flat! The water was warm until the bottom 10′ where we encountered some pockets of cold water.

Tony was the first to make use of the fish box with a fat cobia. Dylan followed up a big Jack Crevalle for bait for an upcoming Goliath Grouper research trip. 14 yr old Dylan also got a new personal best horse of a mutton. This kid is turning into a hell of a shooter!! Louis and I had some trouble finding fish in the beginning but got some good ones later on. Louis shot a nice amberjack and a big porgy. We normally leave the porgies alone because they typically aren’t big enough to bother filleting, but there were some monsters around yesterday. I got a dinosaur of a porgy myself. On the last drop we saw a 20# gag slip into a cave. The entrance was mostly blocked by a big rock, but I was able to peek inside and light up the gag with my light. I backed out and began thinking about how I could possibly angle my gun to get the shot. I finally found my opening, shined the light and lit up a gag head and fired. I didnt feel any pull so I knew I either missed or stoned him. I pulled my shaft out and was surprised to see a very dead 25 inch gag on the end. I guess there were 2 fish in there and I shot the wrong one. Thankfully is was barely legal. That was my one allotted grouper for the day, so we left the big guy in the silted out hole for another day.

Here is a recipe that I pull out on special occasions and is a huge crowd pleaser. I made it with fresh Yellow Jack for a dinner party this week and everyone raved about it, so I am doing it again with fresh porgy today for part of our Father’s day feast. I highly suggest trying it. Its a little involved but if done right, its AMAZING. The macadamia crust along with the citrus butter sauce is about as good as it gets. Start the sauce first because it takes a while to reduce down. Watch it closely… Enjoy!

Macadamia Nut Crusted Grouper

Ingredients:
Grouper fillets (or whatever fish you choose)
1 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped fine
1 cup Japanese bread crumbs (available at any Oriental food store)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:
Dredge grouper in flour and shake off excess. Combine bread crumbs and chopped nuts. Submerge filets in beaten eggs, then dredge in bread crumb mixture.
In a heavy sauce pan over medium heat, place olive oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Place filets in sauce pan and brown on one side, approximately two minutes. Turn filets over and place entire pan in a 350 degree oven and bake for 5 – 7 minutes (filets are done when a toothpick is easily inserted and removed from the thickest part of the filet). Set Aside.

Sauce
2 cups white wine or chicken stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
¼ cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
¼ cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
¼ cup coconut milk
1 pound butter, unsalted
Method:
Combine all sauce ingredients, except for butter, in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until reduced by half.
Remove from heat and add butter and stir until incorporated. Place filets on a serving plate and pour sauce over top. May serve grouper on top of shoestring potatoes and sautéed spinach if desired. Serves 4.