Maybe you noticed that Jack has been missing from the blogosphere on the interwebs the last few weeks. Well, gentle readers, the cone of silence can now be lifted and the mystery solved. Jack has been Down Under in Australia. It was an on the spot decision to return for the wedding of one of his nieces in Townsville, Queensland. It is winter down there, and the days were a brisk 80ºF with chilling temperatures in the 60ºs to 70º at night. A typical miserable day in paradise looks like this:
It has been a wonderful trip and there are some interesting gastronomic tales coming up. One of the most wonderful things about coming up here to Barrier Reef country is of course the reef itself, one of the most amazing places to dive in the world, and the fantastic reef fish with delicate flesh and subtle flavors. The local fish market is the place to go to see what’s for dinner.
Here you will find several refrigerated cases of many varieties of fresh reef fish fillets, including Coral Trout and Barramundi, bugs, prawns, oysters, lobsters, several varieties of crabs, and other assorted shellfish.
A selection of cooked mud crabs, fresh prawns and several varieties of cooked prawns. They also sell ‘green’ or live mud crabs as well. These little beauties sell for around $30 AUD each. Full, full, full of sweet crab meat. Check out the size of the claws. These are a real tropical treat.
On another side of the store is Jack’s favorite, the fresh whole fish selection. Jack picked up this fantastic, jewel of the Barrier reef, a whole Red Emperor–caught that morning. Cooked whole on the grill that night with some lemon butter and herbs, but more on that in a later post. Whole, fresh caught, Barramundi was also available.
Jack went for a road trip north to see one of the places known for good mud crab yields. These are tidal creeks, usually with healthy mangrove growth. Mud crabs are caught in baited crab pots, similar to lobster pots. Crab goes in for bait, cant get out. This is a typical creek with the tide out, and you can see crab pots sitting on top of the sand bars. The creek’s name is Crocodile Creek
Unfortunately, the crabs don’t live by themselves, and these signs are posted on all salt water creeks and rivers, big and small, throughout North Queensland. Any questions?
That’s a small taste of Jack’s trip to the antipodes. More stories and recipes to.come. It’s good to be back.
