Black Drum Menuière with Louisiana Crawfish
Drum roll, please! Lightly floured and sautéed to a crispy finish, George Graham’s Black Drum is topped with a buttery Menuière Sauce infused with Louisiana Crawfish—an easy and delicious recipe.
In recent years, black drum has ascended the culinary ladder to become a center-of-the-plate star in its own right. One theory is that it follows the coattails of its cousin, the red drum (or redfish, as you know it), which with the help of renowned chef Paul Prudhomme became a superstar during the blackened craze of the mid-80s Cajun food obsession. Now a popular sportfish, redfish are no longer commercially harvested in Louisiana, and its close relative, the black drum, has stepped up. And with this classic recipe, it’s high time it shows up on your dinner table.
Take a look at this quick video from Acadiana Table as they take you behind the scenes to learn more about cooking with this delicious Louisiana fish from Louisiana Direct Seafood’s own Douglas Olander.
Black Drum Menuière: Crispy fish fillets in a butter lemon sauce studded with crawfish tails is a Cajun recipe with an elegant Creole flair. (Photo credit: George Graham)
- 4 (4 to 6-ounce) fillets of black drum, skin removed
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 2 pounds fresh Louisiana crawfish tail meat
- 4 lemon wedges
- Remove the fish fillets to a cutting board and inspect them carefully, removing any small bones.
- In a shallow container, add the flour and 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, and blend.
- Remove the fish fillets and sprinkle lightly with the remaining 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning. Place the fillets in the seasoned flour and roll them to coat on both sides.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 stick of butter and vegetable oil. Shake any excess flour off each fillet and place in the hot skillet being careful not to crowd the pan. Sauté the fillets until crisp on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove to a platter and keep warm. Repeat until all the fish is cooked.
- In the same skillet on low heat, pour off the oil and add the remaining 1 stick of butter along with the diced onions. Stir the mixture carefully and watch as both the onions and the butter begin to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, lemon juice and zest, and crawfish tail meat, and sauté for another 5 minutes until heated through. Keep warm for serving.
- For plating, place a sautéed fish fillet in the center of the plate and spoon over the crawfish menuière sauce. Serve with a lemon wedge on the side.
