ROUSES.COM
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florida
F
resh and smoked seafood makes its way into all manner of
dips and spreads along the Gulf Coast, from the mayonnaise-
bound smoked tuna dips, to the fresh shrimp dips more
often made with cream cheese, to the smoked mackerel, kingfish,
amberjack and mahi-mahi dips famous in Key West. I once shared
a sunset serving of mullet dip and tortilla chips with friends at the
Wheelhouse Raw Bar in Apalachicola, Florida, and marveled at
how such a humble fish could taste so grand.
Smoked Mullet Dip
This recipe was first published in
The Southern Foodways Alliance
Community Cookbook
. Contributor Francine Wolfe Schwartz of Fort
Meyers, Florida, says it has gracedmany a party table in her home.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
8
ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2
teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1
tablespoon minced shallot
1
tablespoon minced fresh dill
4
drops hot sauce
12 to 16 ounces skinless, boneless smoked mullet or other hot-smoked fish,
crumbled
Ground black pepper
Chopped parsley and chives, for garnish
HOW TO PREP
Combine the cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, shallot, and
dill in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth.
Season with the hot sauce and pepper and pulse to combine. Transfer the dip
into a serving bowl and fold in the mullet with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with
chopped parsley and chives. Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.
(Makes about 4 cups)
Donald Rouse’s Shrimp Dip
My favorite version of Florida Fish Dip is made with cold-smoked
mahi-mahi, which is what we use in Rouses Key West Smoked Fish
Dip (the recipe was inspired by a trip to Key West). We also make
cream-cheesy shrimp, crab and crawfish dips, which are really just
perfect for summer. The Shrimp Dip is our biggest seller. Serve it
with crackers and hot sauce.
—Donald Rouse
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
1
pound wild-caught Gulf shrimp, cooked,
peeled and deveined
¼
cup green onion, bulb only, finely chopped
4
ounces cream cheese, softened
2
teaspoons sour cream
2
teaspoons Dijon mustard
½
teaspoon Paprika
½
teaspoon Crystal hot sauce
(for juice, not heat)
HOW TO PREP
Finely chop shrimp and place in a mediummixing bowl.Add all other ingredients
and mix until completely combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
Serve with “hotter” sauce on the side.
RECIPE,
try me!
RECIPE,
try me!
“In Florida and Alabama, striped or black
mullet can be found on the menus of many
restaurants, usually fried. It’s also made into dips
and, occasionally, tossed. (At the annual Mullet
Toss at the Flora-Bama, contestants throw a mullet
from a 10-foot circle in Alabama across the state
line into Florida.) We sell fresh mullet at our
Alabama stores.”
—James – Rouses Meat & Seafood Director
