Eating less popular fish

[BoatGuy]

I usually do not buy books anymore. But I do go to the library a lot. My most recent book was : The Fisherman's Wife: Sustainable Recipes and Salty Stories

I am enjoying it as they show you how to cook less popular fish like Sea Robins. However, they have a section on how to prepare Skate (as opposed to Stingrays)

I have eaten Sea Robins. I will say this. When we catch a “mixed bag” of Fluke and Porgy, I have fried up some Sea Robins, and nobody complained. The book has a chapter on eating Sea Robins too.

I have never had a skate. Have you? Tough to clean? Work the trouble? Or is this a must try. I do not believe the stories of restaurants replacing scallops with skate. I thing over 90% can teel the difference.

 

[Snapprhead27]

I've had sea Robins. Never ventured to skate.

 

[BoatGuy]

My concern with trying skate. ....
Back around the late 70's to early 80s I tried Blue shark. Ugh....Ammonia!

 

[Matts]

I've had sauteed skate a few times in a restaurant, so I cannot tell what specific type of skate they were. Pretty tasty. Shark-like texture.
I eat sea robbins all the time when I'm making fish tocos. I just fillet the tail. After you bread and fry them, unless you really try, it's hard to distinguish them from the porgie fillets.

 

[OVERBORED]

Ling and bergalls are my favorites for fish tacos.

 

[Matts]

I don't care for the texture of ling. As far as bergals, I can never distinguish them from among the sea bass and blackfish fillets, so not comments, but I've heard that they are very tasty.

 

[Matts]

Saturday, I ordered "tautog" in a fancy Manhattan restaurant. After I asked, the waiter assured me that it was really tautog, and that it was sourced from "Rhode Island." I asked him if he was sure, since I thought it was a little late in the season for Rhode Island.
I was later informed that the source of the "tautog" was South Carolina, which was quite a surprise.

 

[MakoMatt]

Skate was a popular trendy menu item a few years back.

Blue Shark needs to be gutted & iced right away, like immediately after you catch it. Soak the steaks in milk overnight. Even after doing that I don’t care for it.

Here’s Frank Mundus’s recipe for Blue Shark.

Frank Mundus' Blue Shark Recipe

 

[OVERBORED]

Mundus was also the best salesman in history! Lol
He was a character in a long line of Quirky Montauk Captains.

 

[MakoMatt]

Mundus was also the best salesman in history! Lol
He was a character in a long line of Quirky Montauk Captains.

LOL, Frank was bigger than life, and a funny guy. Back when I was running the Offshore Board on Noreast I had him on as a “guest.” He told me he would sign up for Noreast, and join in on a thread I started, and I would interview him. Long story short, I started a Frank Mundus thread telling everyone that Frank Mundus would be joining us. We were waiting a few days for him, and one evening I happened to wake up in the middle of night, and figured I would check the board for any signs of Frank. As I’m checking, some guy, Frank Mundus, begins to post, and it’s all really stupid chit. I start deleting all the posts this person is making, figuring it’s some A-hole pretending to be Frank. After a while the posts stop, and I go back to sleep. Next day Frank calls me and tells me he must be doing something wrong because he was posting the night before but his posts just kept disappearing. I explained that it was me deleting all his posts and we both had a good laugh. He did come back on and things worked out.

 

[BoatGuy]

Ling and bergalls are my favorites for fish tacos.

Bergalls (Cunner) is something I used to catch way back, maybe in the 70’s 80’s. They were much bigger and numerous than I catch now. Now they are tiny. I do remember trying them. I fried them and if my memory is correct, they were good.

 

[Chinacat]

Im told with Sea Robins its more about the texture than the taste?
Is it true that they are a bit gritty??

 

[Litugboat]

The sea robins are not really gritty . Different texture though . Thick flakes a touch soft . Lots of veins running through the meat that can be off putting

 

[BoatGuy]

Is it true that they are a bit gritty??

I have eaten them a number of times. I would say they are definitely NOT gritty. Not sure I have ever had a “gritty” fish. If ever fry them up, and do a mixed seafood mixture, nobody will know. Someone mentioned they taste like Porgy and I think that may be true. The secret is just keeping big ones. The Sea Robin you pull up that you thought was a bluefish. They can be more difficult to clean than say a fluke or bluefish.

 

[CELLFISH]

boy that was fast…

 

[BoatGuy]

Conger eels are ugly and I do not hear many people eat them. I saw them on a Cod fishing trip.

Someone told me that was the eel served in Japanese restaurants. It is served cooked. Anyone know if it is Conger eel? It may be ugly, but it tastes good when they make it.

 

[Aquarius]

LOL, Frank was bigger than life, and a funny guy. Back when I was running the Offshore Board on Noreast I had him on as a “guest.” He told me he would sign up for Noreast, and join in on a thread I started, and I would interview him. Long story short, I started a Frank Mundus thread telling everyone that Frank Mundus would be joining us. We were waiting a few days for him, and one evening I happened to wake up in the middle of night, and figured I would check the board for any signs of Frank. As I’m checking, some guy, Frank Mundus, begins to post, and it’s all really stupid chit. I start deleting all the posts this person is making, figuring it’s some A-hole pretending to be Frank. After a while the posts stop, and I go back to sleep. Next day Frank calls me and tells me he must be doing something wrong because he was posting the night before but his posts just kept disappearing. I explained that it was me deleting all his posts and we both had a good laugh. He did come back on and things worked out.

Wasn't he posting as "Frank Fungus"?

 

[MakoMatt]

Wasn't he posting as "Frank Fungus"?

LOL, come to think of it I think he did use that name

 

[Roccus7]

Conger eels are ugly and I do not hear many people eat them. I saw them on a Cod fishing trip.

Someone told me that was the eel served in Japanese restaurants. It is served cooked. Anyone know if it is Conger eel? It may be ugly, but it tastes good when they make it.

Nope, nowadays it's probably American Eel since they've banned elver harvest in both Asia and Europe since their native eels that spawn out in the oceans are endangered. AAMOF when you eat eel in Japan it may have originated in my backyard, which is one of Maine's biggest eel rivers. Japan has been working on starting the whole eel life cycle with roe and milt, but to my knowledge it isn't a major player in this business.

Maine is the only state with a major, regulated business of harvesting baby eels (Elvers, Glass Eels), FL and SC have much smaller harvests. The baby eels sell for over $1,000 a lb and they are shipped to Japan and China where they are grown to adulthood in Aquaculture operations. These are the eels that you'll eat in Japan.

 

[Roccus7]

Bergalls (Cunner) is something I used to catch way back, maybe in the 70’s 80’s. They were much bigger and numerous than I catch now. Now they are tiny. I do remember trying them. I fried them and if my memory is correct, they were good.

Cunners are cousins of togs, and really do taste like them. Whenever I catch a larger one when jigging for cod, it comes home for a nice "sangweech"...

Sea Robins and Sculpins are not gritty, they're quite tasty. They are a real PITA to get a nice chunk of meat out of, and the Sculpins I catch up here are usually full of worms, but when fried, they're both excellent eating. I do not catch birds up here, but do catch sculpins. I'll bring the occasional large one home, but after the first cut with the filleting knife, most go right down to the dock to feed the gulls and crabs. They're usually infested with seal worms...