Thread: Which are DO NOT EAT fish?

Originally Posted by Pier#r

But they LOOK and TASTE so much like cobia...














Only different ;-) LOL

Except not different! On the taste part anyway, I'm standin' by it. They are good eats.

Originally Posted by Pierless

Except not different! On the taste part anyway, I'm standin' by it. They are good eats.

I second that.

I have tried flounder, croaker, white trout, bluefish, pinfish, whiting, speckled trout, gafftopsail catfish, sheepshead, redfish, spanish mackeral and spadefish all of which were caught at the pier. My favorite was flounder followed closely by croaker. However I found all of these species to be highly edible fish. I have not tried remora yet but after reading this post I have put it on the menu when I come down in October. I am willing to try anything once so if I catch any of the other species mentioned in this post they also will be on the menu. Can't wait to get down there and do some fishing.

Originally Posted by Pierless

Except not different! On the taste part anyway, I'm standin' by it. They are good eats.

You betcha! Excellent fare! No parasites - at least I've never seen parasites in the fish that I cleaned! Remoras are scavengers, which means that, around a pier, they feed on old cigar minnows, fish scraps, waste products - anything except live, healthy fish. Catfish, shrimp, crabs, sharks - also fall into this category, though catfish and sharks will sometimes take live prey. How could the meat be as clean and beautiful as it is, if it is in any way tainted? The answer - There's not the first thing wrong with eating remoras. And here's a word for the nervous-nellies who cringe at ANY fish who consumes ANY waste products -- ALL fish, with every mouthful of water, pass a certain amount of waste from other fish through their systems! All fish eliminate waste in the same water they feed in. If the scavenger status of remoras creeps you out, then FRY the fish, or just cook it to where no pathogens could survive the high temperatures. Then enjoy! Remoras are among the tastiest fish in the Gulf!

This thread reminds me of a scripture passage...
Matthew 13:

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind;

48

when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.

49

So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous,

50

and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Sometimes it seems to be just a matter of 'taste' and it might take God to decide what is ultimately 'good' (to eat or keep) and what is 'bad'. ;-)

Being Jewish, they would have taken those with fins and scales and thrown back the ones without…do remoras have scales? they don't feel like they do…

The do have scales Cotton ("small and cycloid") like the skin of a cobia.
I kept one yesterday, cleaned it and cooked it for lunch today.
Like daddy always said "You kill it, you eat it!"
The meat was firm and white with no smell or aftertaste.
I pan-fried it in a tablespoon of oil with just some salt & pepper to season it so as not to 'mask' the taste.
The consistency and flavour reminded me of small cobia.

Like Pierless said... ;-)

I will be inviting Remora to our table, after reading all the posts on this thread. The scraps they consume are apparently fresh dead, kinda like what I might prefer.

I guess my question is, how do you clean a Remora? Gut, head and scale or fillet and skin. Never cleaned one so I would like to know.

Originally Posted by Big Dawg

I guess my question is, how do you clean a Remora? Gut, head and scale or fillet and skin. Never cleaned one so I would like to know.

I always cleaned them by hitting them in the head with a mallet, then throwing them into the Gulf to wash away any impurities. When I left the pier, I'd pick them up out of the surf where they had washed ashore---but something seems to be eating them. The last hundred or so I cleaned this way didn't make it to the beach.

Next time, I may give them a little squirt of turpentine after I hit them over the head.