Chef Ian Hill worked at the Kingfisher restaurant in Pensacola until it closed in 2023.

“We had two crowds,” he says. “Foodies and die-hard mullet fans.” Kingfisher inherited the mullet crowd from Slips, the restaurant that operated in the same location before Kingfisher. Hill worked on their pop-up dinners, and he always made sure there was mullet on the menu for the regulars.

 “The more I learned about mullet, the more it just like really took a place in my heart,” Hill says.

When the restaurant decided to host a sushi-themed pop-up dinner, mullet was the star. In his mind, the marriage between the sweet acidic sushi rice and savory blackened mullet made perfect sense.

On the night of the pop-up dinner, Hill was so excited about the roll that he started going over to tables that hadn’t ordered one and telling them to try it.

“Nobody wanted me to take that sushi roll away,” he said. “Once they had one, they wanted the whole thing.”

Cooked Mullet Sushi

Serves 2 to 4

Blackening Seasoning

• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 2 teaspoons cayenne
• 1 tablespoon chili pepper
• ¼ cup onion powder
• ¼ cup garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder

PREPARATION: Combine spices in a small bowl.

Mullet Sushi

• 2 medium-sized mullet fillets
• Salt
• Blackening seasoning
• 1 cup dry medium-grain sushi rice
• 1 ¼ cups water
• Sushi vinegar, to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cucumber
• 1 Nori seaweed roll sheet
• Chili mayo, shredded bottarga, pickled daikon radish, cilantro and green onion, for toppings

PREPARATION: Salt fillets. Sprinkle blackening seasoning for a lighter taste or transfer seasoning to a shallow plate and press fish into seasoning for a stronger taste. Wash sushi rice until water runs clear. Bring water to a boil. Add rice and then cover while lowering to a simmer. Cook rice 6–8 minutes. Add sushi vinegar to taste. Let rice sit 10 minutes. Prepare cast-iron or nonstick pan by heating oil to medium-high heat or until shimmery. Add fillets with seasoned side down. Cook until 80% done for approximately 2-3 minutes on the first side. Then sear the other side for 1-2 minutes. Done when meat begins to fall apart. Slice mullet, red pepper and cucumber length-wise. Cut sheet of nori in half and lay one of the halves rough side up on sushi rolling mat. Spread a thin and even layer of rice across nori. Flip the nori. Place the mullet, red pepper and cucumber in lines just under halfway down the roll. Slide thumbs under the mat and roll the sushi. Tighten roll and cut into eight pieces. Add toppings. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

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Get fresh mullet for your recipe in Florida’s Big Bend and meet the fisherman behind the nets.

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