Buffalo Drum Fingers!

A lot of people say Black Drum aren't very good to eat or the big ones are a waste because they are full of worms, but I think they make fine table fare. I enjoy grilling them, barbecuing the drum ribs and they are great for a fish fry.

One of my favorite ways to eat them is to make Buffalo Drum Fingers. You can use any kind of hot sauce and fish fry seasoning mix for this recipe. I happened to have Stonewall Kitchen Buffalo Wing Sauce and Whistle Stop Seafood Frying Mix in my pantry so that is what I used this time.

As you can see in the picture above, I cut the drum meat into fingers, doing this I am able to make sure all the dark, red meat is cut out and discarded, and this lets me double check for any spaghetti worms that may be in the meat of the bigger drum. We also caught 1, 10" kingfish that somehow stuck himself onto our 7/0 drum hook and they are also great for frying.

Next I layer the buffalo wing sauce and drum fingers into a measuring cup (any bowl will work) until all the pieces of fish are in the bowl.

When all of the fish is in the bowl, make sure you mix around the fish so all of the fish is coated.

Next dredge the coated pieces of drum in the seafood fry mix. Make sure both sides are coated well then shakeoff the excess.

After all fish are coated with the seasoning/fry mixture let sit for atleast 5 minutes. This lets the batter coat to the fish better and makes the fish come out nice and crispy.

You can use any oil you like to fry with, I used corn oil this time. Add about an inch of oil to a frying pan and heat to the temperature suggested on the seafood batter you are using. The Whistle Stop box says 300 degrees which is what I heated it up to. Once the oil is up to temp start frying up these bad boys. Depending on how thick you cut the fish, cooking time will vary. It should take around 2 minutes a side unless the fish is extra thick. Only cook a couple of pieces at a time so you don't over crowd the pan and bring the temperature of the oil down too much. When finished place the fish on a drying rack, this is a much better option than a paper towel as anything fried sitting on a paper towel will just re-soak up the oil that drains and become soggy. 

My favorite way to eat these fish is to dip the fingers in blue cheese or ranch dressing. You can also re-coat these fish in more hot sauce when they come out of the fryer as well if you like even more buffalo flavor. Serve with your favorite sides like potato salad or cole slaw and enjoy!

Look forward for more recipes soon from The Mid-Atlantic Sportsman!

Tight lines! 

Dave