I had a craving that could not be quenched.   I wanted Bake and Shark.   Living in Atlanta I don’t have the luxury of walking a few blocks from my home to purchase some as I would if I still lived in Richmond Hill, NY.  The only solution was to make my own.  I’ve never cooked shark before but I’m a pretty adventurous gal so I set out to conquer this famous Trini dish.    I’ve never been to Trinidad, but after years of living in Richmond Hill, a community teeming with Caribbean food, I came to love bake and shark, doubles and aloo pie just as much as I love my roti and curry.

It was a new experience as shark is unlike any other fish I’ve ever cooked.   The flesh is very firm and white and has a line of chewy “fat?” running through the meat.   It also take quite sometime to cook, but don’t worry if it’s undercooked you will know as the fish will still be very firm and difficult to break part.

I don’t have an exact recipe since it’s a simple fried fish, but I will do my best to share with you what I did.  I used this Bake recipe, and I garnished the shark with a lettuce, purple cabbage and shredded  carrot mixture.  I made a garlic ranch mayo which I spread on the bake and topped it with tiny chunks of pineapple.

Bake and Shark

2 lbs shark cut into pieces

lemon juice

water

salt

black pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

cayenne pepper

flour

canola oil

Place shark in a bowl with enough half lemon juice and half water mixture to cover.  Let sit for at least half hour.   Remove from water and sprinkle both sides liberally with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic and onion powder.   Place about 2 cups of flour in a plate and add the same seasoniongs to the flour as you did to the fish.   Coat fish in the flour making sure to shake off excess.

In a pan, add enough canola to cover fish, and heat over a medium fire.  When oil is hot, add fish.   The frying time varies depending on the thickness of the fish, but it took me about 10-15 minutes.  If fish browns too quickly, reduce the heat.

Garlic Sauce

Blend 1/3 cup mayo, 1/3 cup ranch dressing, 2 garlic cloves and 1 scallion until smooth.