Cobia with a Sweet Chili Rub

This past weekend we were in the mood for fish! Saturday night we went to one of our favorite sushi restaurants and enjoyed a couple of large plates of Saba (Mackerel), Unagi (fresh water eel), Shake (fresh Salmon) and Idtakko (baby octopus) just to name a few. My partner in all things food mentioned that I should have brought our camera to capture the beautiful work of our sushi chef, but unfortunately I left it at home. This is a mistake I will not make twice.
Sunday rolled around and we were still in the mood for fish so we visited our local fish market. It was less than a half hour before closing time so we were a little nervous about what we would find. To our surprise there was a beautiful piece of Cobia that was calling our names.
Cobia is a fish that we were introduced to just a few short months ago when we saw it on a menu at a Cajun restaurant. I found a lot of useful information about Cobia such as: Globally, there is no significant Cobia fishery, this is because adults are often solitary or travel with just a few other individuals, frequently in the company of sharks. This makes them a difficult species to target and capture is therefore often incidental. Despite this, however, cobia is a highly sought after food fish throughout its range. In Mexico, for example, it is known as "esmedregal" and is the fish of choice for weddings and celebrations. In Belize, where it is known as "cabio", a captured cobia likely won't make it to market because the fisherman will keep it as a family treat. Cobia is also highly prized as a game fish. Here is where you can find that information and more.

As I have mentioned in previous posts about fish, my partner in everything food is the chef at our house when it comes to les poissons. For the first time while preparing and cooking fish he decided to use a rub. Continue reading to discover how he did it.

SERVES 2

Ingredients:

• 1lb of Cobia (we cut it into 2 filets after cooking--whether you have filets prepared before or after cooking is your choice)
• .25 tablespoon salt
• .25 tablespoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• .25 tablespoon cinnamin
• .25 tablespoon nutmeg
• .25 tablespoon garlic powder
• .25 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons butter
• .5 cup sweet white wine (we prefer Riesling)

Cookware/Utensils:

• paper plate
• paper towel
• medium skillet or saute pan
• fish turner
• small glass bowl

Combine all dry ingredients in small glass bowl. This will be your rub. Place Cobia on paper plate and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Apply rub generously to fish covering both sides and all edges. The goal is that the entire fish will be covered with the rub. Over medium high heat place butter in the saute pan. Once the butter melts, add fish to pan. After about one minute, add half of the wine. Cook for 5 more minutes. Flip the fish and cook for one minute. Add the remaining wine. Cook for another 5 minutes. Plate and serve!

***The cobia is shown here served over a mix of fresh vegetables cooked in a sweet balsamic glaze. I will be posting this side dish later. Check in soon!