There are a great many varieties of Snapper, including Five Line, Yellowtail, Silk,
Crimson, Flag, Moses, Mangrove Jack, Emperor and Gold and, but the undisputed
heavyweight champion is the Red Snapper (Lutjanus sanguine). All Snappers are
available in sizes from 500g to 1kg, which provide portion size whole fish, and
fillets, but Red Snapper can grow up to 11kg – providing fantastic suprêmes from
fish over 3kg.
Be aware of Malabar Snapper – very similar to Red Snapper, but requires careful
cooking to avoid drying out. The flesh is similar in most Snappers – pale pink, flaky,
with a distinctive sweet taste – and is usually served with its attractive skin on,
which can be eaten– but don’t forget to de-scale. Snappers can be grilled, pan-
fried, baked, roasted, barbecued (whole fish only), and will take as much flavour as
you can throw at it. Loads of chilli, garlic, lime, coriander, it even works with curry
flavours.
