As is our habit, Mark and I ventured down to the pier early this morning. While most of the fishing gear had been stowed away lest a storm rumbled in from the Gulf, we did bring the net and a bucket back to its usual spot. As we neared the end of the pier, we could see that the water was literally churning with a school of fish. Mullet! Biloxi Bacon! Good stuff for those who know how to cook them. Needless to say, Mark threw the net and in the first throw caught fourteen of the silvery fish. Yep, there was lunch.
We watched for a bit as the great schools kept the waters swirling. September brings the mullet in the Bay by the droves. Thousands of the fish school in the shallow waters and fishermen (and women) make haste to fill their freezers. Mark and I do not. While we catch our share of the fish, it is not our aim to freeze any. Mullet, for those who are not aware of the fact, are best eaten within minutes of being caught. Quickly fried in a coating of flour, cornmeal, garlic, red pepper, salt and black pepper, these fish are fantastic! Left in a freezer or refrigerator for any length of time, the meat becomes strong and almost bitter tasting. This is the very reason we eat ours as soon as we catch them. Usually, the fish are served with a side of potato salad and maybe some good, ole baked beans!
Back during the Civil War and then again during the Great Depression, the moniker of Biloxi Bacon was slapped on the lowly mullet. During the Civil War, the northern troops tried to place blockades at crucial ports to keep supplies from reaching the people of the Gulf Coast region. It was the thought that if supplies could not reach the people, they would soon run out of food and the towns would be easy to take. Being a resourceful folk, instead of starving, people fished. There was a never-ending supply of fresh fish. These were eaten with grits and became known as "Biloxi Bacon". Years later, during the Great Depression, things were quite dismal but that resourcefulness came into play again. People that did not mind doing a little work feasted upon the fish. The Biloxi Bacon moniker was fondly applied to the fish once again. Now, only the locals (most who just heard tales of hard times from their elders) refer to the fish by this name. I am sure that if the need ever arises, these same locals will fall back on their knowledge of fishing as a means of supporting their families. It is just in us to use what we have and not whine nor complain.
Our lunch was delicious and we have plans to repeat this again tomorrow if things go well. We will also try to catch, clean and share the wealth of fish with our elderly friends who can no longer catch their own. It is the neighborly thing to do!
Mark and I were on the pier when he spied an osprey dive into a school of mullet. This was not a futile effort as the bird did indeed make its catch! As we watched the osprey fly over us, we could see the mullet flopping in a desperate attempt of escape. It was not happening, though, as the talons of the osprey were tightly gripping the fish. The bird flew right above us and headed northward to the wooded area. There a nest of little ones waited hungrily for their breakfast. The bird had a job to do and it was performing it well. The daily fight for survival had been upped a bit with the little ones demanding food. The parent birds were on a constant search for meals.
This "bringing home the bacon" was fitting with the catch of a mullet. The fish has long been called "Biloxi Bacon" for good reason. In lean times, most families could be readily fed with a good catch of the fish. Since the fish are plentiful and rather easy to catch in a net, it used to be a rare occurrence for a family to go hungry. The term is said to go back as far as the Civil War when the menfolk were at war. Young lads could use a fishing net to provide for the family that was left behind. The fish was cleaned and fried for just about every meal. When the Union soldiers tried to cut off food supplies to the Coast, not many folks even noticed. Being a resourceful people, it was an easy task even for children to catch mullet. Then, years later, during the Great Depression, the term, once again, became popular. This lowly fish pulled many families through tough times.
Now, the term is used quite often by locals. Newcomers are a bit confused when they are served a meal of fried mullet, grits and toast. Yep, Biloxi Bacon is here to stay! The osprey truly was bringing home the bacon....Biloxi Bacon!
While on the pier today catching minnows for my friendly Night Heron, I caught a rather nice size mullet. No..not the hairstyle mullet, rather the fish mullet. It was a beauty and soon became lunch. This mullet actually started me thinking about the term "Biloxi Bacon". This is a moniker attached to this fish and not many people realize the history behind the name. According to historians this fish was labelled "Biloxi Bacon" back during the Civil War. The Union troops had taken over nearby Ship Island and had a blockade on the Gulf of Mexico. The citizens of Biloxi protected the city from invasion by some pretty inventive measures. Only a very few older men and some young boys were left to defend the city with no weapons. With only their ingenuity to work with, they set up logs in the sand on the beach facing Ship Island. From a distance, these logs appeared to be cannons making the Union soldiers think the city was well armed. But..with the blockade on the Gulf, much needed supplies could not be brought into the city. And ingenuity was at work again..the local people survived by fishing the inland waters for the plentiful mullet. Usually served with grits and eggs the fish soon became known as "Biloxi Bacon". To this day, many locals still claim that the best way to serve mullet is fried crisp with a side of grits and scrambled eggs. It is popular to head out to the water early in the morning to throw a cast net, catch a "mess of mullet" and then hurry in to clean and fry them. Mullet are best served fresh, whether with the grits and eggs, potato salad and hush puppies or cold slaw and baked beans! A true Coast meal! And for those who do not know, hush puppies are a fried cornmeal concoction that is a must at every fish-fry. So you can easily see that the mullet is a staple here in Biloxi, not only on our table but also in our folklore.
Another staple on the Coast, that in some places is considered a delicacy, is the soft-shell crab. Here on the Bayou, we catch Blue Crabs. They are usually caught in "pots" (wire traps), hand lines or crab nets. Occasionally these crabs shed their hard shells and can be found in their "soft" state. This is after they have crawled from their hard exoskeleton or shell and their new shell has not hardened yet. They do this out of necessity since they outgrow their existing shell. At the soft stage they are particularly vulnerable to predators. Being soft, they have no control of their usually menacing claws and literally cannot move to hide. It is easy to just pick up a softshell crab and many people do that when floundering (spearing flounders) while wading in the shallow water on the beach. It is an interesting sight to see the lanterns bobbing along the water during flounder and softshell season. When checking our pots today, I found a nice plump one just finishing his molt. When eating a softshell crab not much is wasted. You merely cut off parts such as the head , lungs and apron. Interesting fact..the lungs are given the nickname of "Dead Man's Fingers" since that is sort of what they resemble! That done, you cook and eat the entire crab..shell, legs and all! After cleaning this one, he was placed in the skillet along side the aforementioned mullet!
