A Lack of Exposure maybe ?

[Ketchn]

That's just a baby Ketckn, come fish our coastal rivers and hook the 10+ pounders we have. Goo is what the Vietnamese here call them and they all want every fish you will bring home. I have one tree, member here P-Nut likes to fish, they school that tree at times, looks like a school of submarines. That tree is names the "Goo Tree". That recipe sounds real good though. Good read.

we rarely see big drum here , managed only a few in the double digits in my entire days in these parts .
one 15 lber about 50 years ago is my best , but to be very sure we ate a bunch of them back when
that gal approached me about going to ketch fish when I was 18 and even though she was like wow beautiful.
silly me tried to run her off and told her to go play with my little sister because she looked way too young to hang around with me.
she promptly produced a driver's license that aged her at 2 months older than me!
told her this about that ,ok then, best get some knee-high rubber boots , it is really muddy where I am going to ketch fish.
started telling me she would cook dinner for me if we ketched some fish, still being a skeptic I thought yeah sure , looks like that and can ketch fish and cook , not likely ....
boy howdy , learned a valuable lesson that day , don't go judging a book by its cover ..

[SuperDave336]

fileted many drum over the years , used to keep them when I was a young fella , had gal friend back when that was from Puerto Rico that turned 2 fat drum that were about 3 lbs each into a feast beyond compare , almost 50 years ago and I still remember that dish , baked with split almonds over the top and it WAS over the top !
they eat better than white bass , aka sandbass for sure

Sounds good. I’ve never had drum though.

[thill]

that gal approached me about going to ketch fish when I was 18 and even though she was like wow beautiful.
silly me tried to run her off and told her to go play with my little sister because she looked way too young to hang around with me.

...started telling me she would cook dinner for me if we ketched some fish, still being a skeptic I thought yeah sure , looks like that and can ketch fish and cook , not likely ....
boy howdy , learned a valuable lesson that day , don't go judging a book by its cover ..

That sounds like marriage material!

[ezgoing]

fileted many drum over the years , used to keep them when I was a young fella , had gal friend back when that was from Puerto Rico that turned 2 fat drum that were about 3 lbs each into a feast beyond compare , almost 50 years ago and I still remember that dish , baked with split almonds over the top and it WAS over the top !
they eat better than white bass , aka sandbass for sure

The dish I would be remembering would be the gal, not the fish. I remember a lot of the gals of my earlier years but I could not tell you what they cooked or even if they cooked. I had other things on my mind.

[Rojo]

I've been wanting to try making a Courtboullion with a couple of Big, Bull sized Gaspergou. I make a Courtboullion with Bull Reds that is out of this world. Need big fish, old bones for the stock. Shorts just don't have the flavor yet.

[Ketchn]

The dish I would be remembering would be the gal, not the fish. I remember a lot of the gals of my earlier years but I could not tell you what they cooked or even if they cooked. I had other things on my mind.

she was a very nice distraction my friend , still remember her name and other things about her quite well , one was the food she prepared

[Ketchn]

That sounds like marriage material!

most certainly was, just totally not interested in that sort of thing back then, looking back there were more than handful that fit the bill, but I was a moment in time back then and down the road fast, I wore down the trails in search of fish and game most of the time and I for sure wasn't marriage material

[Ketchn]

I've been wanting to try making a Courtboullion with a couple of Big, Bull sized Gaspergou. I make a Courtboullion with Bull Reds that is out of this world. Need big fish, old bones for the stock. Shorts just don't have the flavor yet.

not a fish soup fella is me , it is quite popular with the south of the boarder crew though , wife made it ONE time , liked it EXCEPT for the fish ....
their version is typically a skin on catfish chunks thing , the skin holds the fish together as it cooks , but to be VERY sure cooked catfish skin is about like NOT my thing !

[Rojo]

Think of it as a Gumbo Roux with Candied Tomato Sauce, carrots, bell peppers and the like. It takes hours to make the base, first a good medium Roux, then is cools enough to add tomato sauce and mix well. That goes in the oven slow, till the oil separates from the Base, sometimes 4 hours for it to happen. So you're boiling the Back Bones "OUTSIDE" it stinks till they fall apart. Afterwards strain the water thru a tight sieve, return to a boil and reduce till the water gets some "Body" to it. The fish flesh is cubed up and added the last 20 minutes of the Courtboullion, I serve with lemon wedges and diced boiled eggs over rice. Can't forget the French Bread to sop the gravy.

[Ketchn]

Think of it as a Gumbo Roux with Candied Tomato Sauce, carrots, bell peppers and the like. It takes hours to make the base, first a good medium Roux, then is cools enough to add tomato sauce and mix well. That goes in the oven slow, till the oil separates from the Base, sometimes 4 hours for it to happen. So you're boiling the Back Bones "OUTSIDE" it stinks till they fall apart. Afterwards strain the water thru a tight sieve, return to a boil and reduce till the water gets some "Body" to it. The fish flesh is cubed up and added the last 20 minutes of the Courtboullion, I serve with lemon wedges and diced boiled eggs over rice. Can't forget the French Bread to sop the gravy.

sounds like it might be edible