Capers White

When we began to talk to chefs and others in town about seafood one of the names we heard again and again was Raul’s Seafood, purveyors of pristine stone claws, shrimp, crabs, and fish. We drove out to meet Kimberly and Bobby Carroll, the owners, at their new location on the dock of Shem Creek, and we highly recommend that you drop by too. Enjoy having a seat on their dock, catch a bit of their friendly vibe and take home some of their fresh-off-the-boat seafood. 

Kimberly gets excellent shrimp, and seafood daily as it comes off the boat. But perhaps the highlights of her bounty are the fresh blue crabs, stone crab claws and soft shell crabs Kimberly and Bobby harvest themselves. 

If they are available, by all means purchase some of their stone crab claws. Kimberly generously gave us perhaps a dozen and a half she had brought in from the boat an hour earlier. With instructions to not let them touch ice and a determined comment that we should eat only local seafood, sent us on our way. 

We prepared the claws to her exact specifications and enjoyed them with a cold beer. I think the meal she provided for us that day was perhaps one of the best I have ever had.

Kimberly’s Instructions for Perfect Stone Crab Claws 

Keep the claws at room temperature; never let them touch ice. If you buy seafood or shrimp at the same time and it is on ice, put the claws in a separate bag. This keeps the meat from sticking to the shell. Put the claws in a pot with just enough luke warm water to cover them, and bring the water to a boil. Let them boil 10 minutes, then dump them in the sink and run cold water over them. Serve with drawn butter. (We recommend lemon too.)  

We found him breaking down an 800-pound steer in the top kitchen of Cypress, but he was happy to switch topics from beef to talk about his seafood preparations. “Certain
things like grouper are easy fish to cook, these other species of fish revolve around needing a more inventive way to of cooking.” We had a deliciously handled tile fish which was soft, buttery and sweet. “Tile fish doesn’t have a lot of fat content, so it can be served with fresh fatty things–—like creamy potatoes.” Smaller fish (like the jack or vermilion) Craig often serves with skin on, “it doesn’t need to need to cook long to sear out the skin really well and get it nice and crispy. Then we just barely flip it over and it’s done.” An insider’s recommendatio:, if you are there when black bass is the special, that’s Chef Deihl’s favorite “it’s just so sweet,” he says. ~ Capers White

Pan-roasted tile fish with English pea and potato risotto, grilled spring Vidalia bulbs, and green onion puree was Chef Diehl’s special the night we arrived.

To sear a filet of fish you need a well-seasoned, heavy duty, French steel pan. (See “Chef’s Secret”.) Searing or browning, also know as the Maillard reaction, caramelizes the natural sugars and proteins on the surface of the fish (or meat) and gives it more profound flavor. You also need a good exhaust fan or some open windows in the kitchen as high heat cooking can produce a lot of smoke. Preheat oven to 500 F. Pat filets with a paper towel just prior to frying to ensure they are dry. Salt and pepper them at the last minute. If there is any moisture on the filets they will not brown, they will steam instead. Place oil in skillet and heat over medium high heat until the oil ripples and is just about to smoke. Carefully place the filets in the pan, skin side down and fry undisturbed for approximately 2 minutes or until a nice golden crust forms on the underside. Flip filets and place in the hot oven for 3-4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. To check for doneness, place a metal skewer in the center of the filet for 5 seconds, remove and gently touch tip to lower lip; if the tip is warm the filets are done. If the skewer tip is cold they need a couple more minutes. If the skewer if hot the fish is overdone.

CHEF’S SECRET

French steel pans are some of the oldest and most trusted pans in the French “batterie de cuisine” or culinary arsenal. At 2–3 mm thick, they withstand high heat, and create an excellent sear on fish and meats. When well-seasoned, they have a nonstick surface. Contrary to Teflon pans, steel pans will last forever and won’t leave flecks of nonstick-coating on your omelets. They are easy to take care of and usually cost under $40. I recommend an 11 or 12 inch pan for fish and meats.

2008 James Beard Award Winner “Best Chef Southeast”

Chef Stehling works on his 1969 Plymouth Barricuda on a well deserved day off! Robert Stehling spends a lot of time under the hood and over the grill and we don’t mean just at Hominy Grill, we mean his 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. We spoke with him about his vintage ride and a few other things.

WTC: What attracted you to this particular car? Where did you get it?

RS: I just grew up with this type of car, and I had seen one years ago, I had a vivid picture in my mind of what I wanted. I bought it from a farmer in Ridgeville.

WTC: How many times have you re-worked the engine of this car?
RS: Three times. Certainly, I would never want another car, I have been in every nook and cranny of this car, I know everything about it.

WTC: You lived in New York for a while; were you always into southern food or did you ever stray?
RS: I worked in a lot of restaurants in NYC for not very long each. I had a lot of different jobs. Sarah Beth’s was my longest, I think it was about two years, but I always knew I wanted to own a southern restaurant. I always talked about it.

WTC: Any thought of expanding or opening a new restaurant?
RS: No, I just keep tweaking things trying to make it better and I am here all the time.

WTC: Could there be some parallels between your car and your restaurant?
RS: I don’t know, the car was supposed to be a diversion from the restaurant. I mean I guess there’s something about fried chicken and gasoline and racing around on a Saturday night I mean it kind of goes together.

WTC: Are you resting a little now that you have gotten the award?
RS: No. People are really coming now and they are expecting more, so for me it’s a work order!

WTC: Are you more relaxed now?
RS: No, but my wife says I am different. I do feel light hearted in a way from getting that type of validation from the industry for what I am doing.

WTC: So on this third time reworking the Cuda, Is it going to be more of a hot rod.
RS: That’s’ right, this time it’s a super rod.