Red Snapper
Attributes
Firm texture, white meat with mild flavor. Lean fish.
Substitutes
Grouper, Swordfish, Tilefish, Amberjack.
How Much to Buy
Whole or drawn fish: 3/4 to 1 pound per serving.
Dressed or cleaned fish: 1/2 pound per serving.
Fillets or steaks: 1/4 to 1/3 pound per serving.
Buying, Storage and Handling
Remember to purchase seafood last and keep it cold during the trip home.
Fresh whole fish should have:
-- A shiny surface with tightly adhering scales.
-- Gills that are deep red or pink.
-- Clean shiny belly cavity with no cuts or protruding bones.
-- A mild aroma, similar to the ocean.
Fresh steaks, fillets and loins should have:
-- A translucent look.
-- Flesh that is firm and not separating.
-- A mild odor, similar to the ocean.
-- No discoloration.
-- Packaging that keeps them from being bent in an unnatural position.
Preparation
Keep raw and cooked seafood separate to prevent bacterial cross-contamination.
After handling raw seafood thoroughly wash knives, cutting surfaces, sponges and your hands with hot soapy water.
Always marinate seafood in the refrigerator.
Discard marinade; it contains raw juices which may harbor bacteria. When marinade is needed for basting reserve a portion before adding raw seafood.
Cooking
The general rule is 10 minutes per inch of thickness, at the thickest part of the fillet or steak, at 400-450 degrees F.
If fish is cooked in parchment, foil or a sauce, add 5 minutes to the total cooking time.
Fillets less than 1/2 inch thick do not need to be turned during cooking.
Fish cooks quickly. Do not overcook.
Fish is done when the flesh becomes opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Poaching, steaming, baking, broiling, sautéing, microwaving are excellent low-fat cooking methods, if you do not add high fat ingredients.
Marinate in your favorite salad dressing prior to cooking.
Broil, bake, steam or microwave, then cube and add to pasta or salad greens for a delicious salad.
Broil or grill with lime-butter and seasoned salt.
Oil the grill to prevent fish from sticking.
Bake whole fish with a crab or shrimp stuffing.
Add leftover fish in broken pieces to salads, soups or sauces.
Nutrition
Nutritional values for approximately 4 ounces (114 grams) of raw, edible portions
Calories 110
Calories From Fat 10
Total Fat 1 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 45 mg
Sodium 50 mg
Total Carbohydrates 0 g
Protein 23 g
Vitamin A 0 %DV
Vitamin C 0 %DV
Calcium 4 %DV
Iron 0 %DV
Omega-3 Fatty Acid 0.32 g
More About the Red Snapper
Red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), found off Florida's Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, is one of the best known and desired deep-sea delicacies. Snappers are caught in waters 60 to 200 feet deep using large electrical and manually powered reels with multiple-hook rigs. The red snapper industry began in 1870 in Pensacola, Florida, by an enterprising New Englander.
Adult red snappers are easily distinguished from other red-colored snappers; they are deeper bodied, not as streamlined and have a bright red iris. The back and upper sides vary from pink to red and the lower sides and belly are lighter in color.
Snappers prefer irregular hard bottom formations of rock and limestone covered with coral and sponges. They feed on a variety of bottom dwelling crustaceans and small fishes. The growth of this species is slow; however, it can weigh as much as 30 pounds and grow to 3 feet. They reach sexual maturity after age 2 and spawn between June and October
Lutjanus campechanus
Other Common Names
American Red Snapper
Seasonal Availability
J F M A M J J A S O N D
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Size Range Available
2 to 25 lbs.
Product Forms Available
Drawn, Filleted
Where Most Available Locally
Grand Isle, Leeville/Fourchon, Cameron, Freshwater Bayou
Bake Broil Fry Poach Steam Sashimi Grill Smoke
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Notes of Interest
A high-priced fish, in heavy demand in the “white tablecloth” restaurant trade. Fillets are usually sold skin-on so as to detect product substitution with less desirable species. Basic market size classes for red snapper are 1-2 pounds, 2-4 pounds, 4-8 pounds, 8-12 pounds and 12 pounds and larger. A good deal of variation in size classes appears above 4 pounds. Increases in minimum legal sizes have impacted the 1-2 pound size class, which is the most expensive followed by 2-4 pound red snapper. Over 2 million pounds of red snapper are caught commercially in Louisiana each year.
A very similar snapper to the red snapper, the blackfin or hambone snapper, Lutjanus buccanella, will occasionally appear in small numbers. It resembles the red snapper, but has a black spot at the base of the pectoral (side) fins.
For more information on this species, go to: