Redfish
Redfish has returned to restaurants in recent years, thanks to the success of redfish farms. I haven't had any wild redfish to compare it with (commercial fishing of redfish has been shut down since the middle 1980s), but the quality satisfies my palate.
We might still have wild redfish were it not for the blackened redfish craze. Some fishermen went after the bull redfish--the breeding stock--and decimated the species' ability to reproduce. That problem has abated, and the numbers suggest that redfish could be fished commercially again--but the law hasn't changed.
The redfish farms are interesting. They're in the marshes along the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Tidal waters can move in and out of the pens of fish, bringing in not only new water with the right brackish salt content, but also natural food for the fish. If you want to see how well, order the grilled redfish at the Red Fish Grill. It's good stuff.
A lot of what has passed for redfish in recent years wasn't really redfish. Black drum--not a bad fish, and closely related to redfish--has been the most popular substitute. Another is a Central American fish called corvina, which even experts find difficult to distinguish from true redfish except for the fact that it's missing the spot on the tail. The problem with corvina is that, like most warm-water fish, it has an even smaller window of perishability than usual, and it has a way of being a little over the hill when served.
Redfish is probably the most versatile of local fish. There's not a single preparation I can think of that I'd hesitate to apply to it. It's an exceptional fish for the grill. It's the best local fish of all for poaching. Poached redfish with hollandaise is almost too good in comparison with its simplicity.
The same process with more flavorings in the poaching liquid results in redfish courtbouillon, a greatly neglected classic. Pan-sauteed dishes with redfish are terrific. Baked redfish--whether done with the whole fish or fillets, with or without toppings--are superb. Smoked redfish is wonderful. About the only thing I wouldn't do with redfish is serve it as sushi--and then only because of an unacceptably high possibility of fish parasites (harmless and not even noticeable when the fish is cooked.)
The most important thing to know about redfish when cooking it is to eliminate any of the dark blood line that you might find. As usual, the smaller ones are better than the big ones. When ordering redfish in a restaurant, make sure that it IS redfish. There's much more of it out there, thanks to the farms. But substitutes are rife.
