Drum Pontchartrain: seared drum with crab and Creole cream

Name: Drum Pontchartrain: seared drum with crab and Creole cream
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 skinless black drum or red drum fillets (6 to 8 oz each); 1 tsp Creole or Cajun seasoning and ½ tsp kosher salt; 2 tbsp olive oil; 8 oz jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shell; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 2 green onions, thinly sliced; 1 clove garlic, minced; ¼ cup dry white wine; ½ cup heavy cream; 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp lemon juice; A pinch of cayenne

This is a restaurant-style dish made at home: a seared drum fillet under a warm, creamy sauce full of lump crab. The fish and the sauce are cooked in the same pan, one after the other.

Fold the crab in at the very end and warm it only briefly, so the lumps stay whole.

About 30 min. Serves 4.

Ingredients

4 skinless black drum or red drum fillets (6 to 8 oz each)
1 tsp Creole or Cajun seasoning and ½ tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Pontchartrain topping

8 oz jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shell
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup dry white wine
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
A pinch of cayenne

Method

Season the fillets with the Creole seasoning and salt. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high and sear the fish 4 to 5 minutes a side, until golden and cooked through. Move it to warm plates and tent loosely with foil.
Lower the heat to medium and melt the butter in the same pan. Add the green onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Pour in the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, Worcestershire and cayenne and simmer gently for 3 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Gently fold in the crab and lemon juice and warm for just 60 to 90 seconds, so the lumps stay whole.
Spoon the warm crab cream over each fillet and serve right away.

Notes

Cook fish to 145°F in the thickest part, which is the FDA’s temperature for fish. Check with a thermometer.
Pick the crab over for bits of shell before you start. Cartilage hides in lump crab.
Red and black drum have size and bag limits and need the right tags. Check TPWD’s current rules before you keep fish.
TPWD lists consumption advisories for some Texas waters. If you caught the fish, check the advisories for that water before you cook it.

Sources: FDA: Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely (content current as of Mar. 5, 2024), TPWD: Fish Consumption Bans and Advisories.

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