Fish heads for dinner? Eat them up

Many years ago, Sherrie Washington, who often baby sat for us, came by with a friend. In the midst of eating dinner, I stopped to get the package she wanted to pick up.

On my plate was the last of my dinner, fish heads. When the two of them left, my dinner plate became conversation, and the friend commented, "Poor Mrs. Faulkner. They must be having hard times, because all she was eating was fish heads."

Sherrie told her friend that as far as she knew, the Faulkners were not having hard times. It was just that I was the only one in the household who enjoyed eating fish heads. Her answer was correct.

The eating of fish heads is often a conversation piece. Some of my friends cannot understand the eating of fish heads, let alone people even frying fish and leaving the heads on.

On a recent segment of "The View," this issue of fish heads became a discussion. Some panel members could not envision how someone would order fish with the head on, and there were questions as to how one could eat the head and just what there is to eat on the head.

While growing up, Daddy would clean the fish, and Mama did the frying. The heads were cut off and fried separately. When Daddy was chef-in-charge, he would make fish-head gravy -- what a delightful dish over grits.

When I moved to Beaufort, I learned how to order fish -- Gullah-style -- cut down the back, leave the head and tail on. This is when I began to fry the whole fish. My family will remove the heads and leave them on a plate for me.

While enjoying the view of the Woodlands at the Gullah Studies Institute, fish was on the menu, and I noticed that one of the participants had eaten everything but the head of the fish, while Gardenia White and I had eaten fish with the head. When Bonita Mason was questioned about her eating style, she merely said, "I don't eat the head."

White and I explained to her the art of eating fish heads. One does not eat the eyes. The gills have been removed so one eats the meat from the head, considered to be the sweetest meat of the fish. It is in the Lowcountry that I was introduced to drum fish head stew.

Food is always an interesting topic. While in El Jadida, Morocco, I ordered grilled sardines. This was something I thought I wanted to try since all the sardines that I ever ate came from a can. My graduate college classmate Ivorie Lowe was just as excited as I was, because for five summers at Southern University, sardines and crackers were our Saturday breakfast.

High school classmate Norma Myers makes a marvelous spread from sardines, and I just knew grilled sardines would be of interest to her. It was ... until she saw the sardines with the heads on. Even when the heads had been removed, she still said, "No thanks."

How fortunate we are to live on the coast where one can enjoy fresh fish. Hopefully you will agree that fish is good for you, and there are a variety of fish from which to choose, heads on or heads off.

Fish-Head Stew

1/2 cup diced salt pork

1 large onion sliced

2 large potatoes, diced

juice of 4 lemons

2 pinches cayenne

4 heads from whitings, gills removed, cleaned

1 1/2 quarts water

seasoning to taste

In a Dutch oven, brown the salt pork until it is golden brown and the oils have been released. Add, in this order: onion, potatoes, lemon juice, cayenne, heads, water, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer 30 minutes. Remove fish heads, pick off any meat and add to stew. Discard head. Serve stew in heated bowls with cornbread.

Fish-Head Gravy

1/2 cup cooking oil

4-6 large fish head, whitings or croakers

seasonings

cornmeal or flour

Mix together seasoning and cornmeal or flour. toss the heads in seasoning. In oil that has been heated in skillet, fry the heads until they are brown, about three minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

With just enough oil to make gravy, add flour to oil and brown. Add water to make gravy. When gravy is almost done, return heads to gravy;simmer on low heat just long enough for the heads to smother in gravy. Serve over grits.

Fried Fish,Gullah-Style

3-4 fish, purchased with head on, cut down the back

seafood seasoning

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Rinse fish quickly under cold water, thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Mix together seafood seasoning, cornmeal and flour. Dredge the fish in mixture.

When the oil is hot, lay whole fish in enough space to fry crisp and brown. Remove from pan and place on paper towels.