The quest for truth continues...
https://youtu.be/JaypdfycSzw
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The quest for truth continues...
https://youtu.be/JaypdfycSzw
Cool video. I have tried sailcat and still don't care too much for it. As for the ladyfish, Adam aka VikingGuy posted a recipe in the recipe section where he scrapes the meat off and then makes fish cakes with them. Have heard they are pretty darn tasty that way. One of these days I will buck up and try them.
I'm not a fish snob but I wouldn't touch either of those fish. I love all sorts of fish and will eat blue fish, big croakers, etc that others don't care for, but I'd rather eat cigar minnows than ladyfish :o I won't eat gaff tops either, too many other good eats in the Gulf to eat catfish. Give me an ice chest full of whiting and call it a day.
n the way back days o my youth my dad reflected that gafftopsail were edible,didn't qualify as good bad or ugly...never mentioned skipjack,,at all,,when in my early 20's I relocated to Alabama I was amazed to see mullet (big uns ,horse mullet in th grocery),,querying dad he replied the locals in florida started feeding them to th yanks,and then started eating em them too,,,well in south texas my experience was not even a coyote would eat em,,maybe cut bait for reds ,,but carp before mullet for me,,,hell its all fish!
Never tried lady fish, but have fun catching them. Tried sail cats and if cleaned well and washed, not terrible. I'm siding a little with AA in the fact there are plenty of good fish in the gulf that you don't have to soak, cover with mayonnaise, drizzle with mustard or disguise its flavor with spices and seasoning to make them edible.
good fishing...
I have noticed that one of the best tasting fish seems to be the one I catch. I've tried dozens of saltwater fish and am rarely unhappy with the result.
My fondness for sailcat is well documented, but I'm ashamed to say that I haven't eaten a skipjack. I will. I saw a big black drum brought over the rail the other day and it came to me that I've never tried BIG drum, myself. I've simply taken the word from other people who have never tried them that they were tough and wormy (spaghetti worms). I get that large fish can be tough, but it's also evident that a lot of fishermen talk about things they don't know, from personal experience. Small black drum are delicious, which is why it's worth looking into.
Here's my assessment of the term "trash fish". It's used, primarily, by guys who can't cook. Sailcats - Excellent table fare. If I'm on the pier and you're catching 'em - I'll take every one of 'em!
Edited to add: When I said that I'd take every one of 'em - That was with the assumption that you didn't want them and you'd offer them to me.
I'm wondering how many of you guys have ever cleaned and fried up fish commonly used for bait? I've tried hardtails and they're not too different from bluefish. Besides that there are: scaled sardines, menhaden, cigar minnows, ballyhoo... I'm trying to think of other baitfish, but drawing a blank. I've tried pinfish. They taste a bit like freshwater bluegills.
I love puppy drum, I bake them with mustard and panko bread crumbs and even my kids who don't like fish inhale it. I tried cooking a big ugly and let me tell you from experience, put those guys back in the water. Cleaning it was pretty disgusting and the meat tasted like chicken. Very tough and I do know how to properly cook lots of different fish. I'd eat it rather than starve... but not soon before.
I don't mind mullet. If I'm able to snag a few I'll fry them up. I like to can fish and I've heard they can very well. I've just never been able to get into enough of them for a batch to can.
I have eaten a few hardtails, thought they were good. I am going to try some little bait mackerel I catch pretty often, Atlantic Chub Mackerel or something similar, after seeing this recipe Braised mackerel with radish (Godeungeo-mujorim) recipe - Maangchi.comQuote:
Originally Posted by eym_sirius
I had menhaden once and they were godawful. So far they are the only fish I can think of that I never plan to eat again.
Thanks for all your replies. I have some new sailcat fillets in the freezer now :)
Being young, and living in the country as kids we often tried to cook various fish when we were on overnight camping trips. Whatever was in the creeks were fair game to have a try at cooking and eating. We often used green sticks and put small fish, like shiners, lineside minnows, breams, and suckers over the fire. Some of our incentive was curiosity, but there was a lot of incentive from rampaging in the woods and swimming in the creek, and just being plain hungry. The suckers were the best. The meat was a clean, sweet meat that we loved best. As the years have rocked by, these suckers have become truly scarce and hard to catch. I do not believe that there was enough harvest pressure to diminish their numbers, but I can not say what the causes are. This conversation is a lot of fun, and I'm glad to hear of other folks tastes and trials.
Had baked ground mullet and sail cat tonight. I was told growing up here In the sixtes that sheepshead are trash fish but I tried them when I worked on a shrimp In the gulf, I'll clean and eat every one I can get. I love silverside mullet don't care for the bigger mullet that live in the rivers to muddy tasting. I put squid in my gumbo. I've eaten spider crabs taste like king crabs just a lot more work....
Big hardtails are like bluefish, just have to take out the bloodline.
Fresh grilled sardines are on the menu all over the world, except the US! I intend to try some next time I get some big ones on the sabiki rig.
I have tried ladyfish a few different ways.I am still kinda ehhhh on it.as for sailcat I think its ok.and I have tried hardheads as well.I am waiting to catch a remora again to cook up.but as for the sailcat and hardhead get the guts out fast and they are good grilled or baked.with a lemon wedge on top and lightly seasoned with black pepper.
A couple of weeks ago Wall St. Journal weekend edition (of all things) had a grilled sardine recipe in an article on getting folks to eat fish not commonly served in restaurants. I've also seen bobo discussed as edible (perhaps on a site somewhat to your east) based on grilled ground-fish burgers. Like all bloody fish, bleeding, icing, and trimming bloodlines would be very helpful.
Ya gotta try Jack Crevalle burgers. They are great! Just grind the Jack meat in a food processor or sausage grinder along with a pack of bacon, a large onion and a bell pepper. Salt and pepper then grill or fry. You will be surprised. As far as fish go, if you haven't tried it, don't rule it out.
When I lived overseas I had a lot of friends from Spain and they love fresh sardines on the grill. They sure do stink though when they are on the grill.Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlF
I loved canned sardines although my wife won't let me eat them in the house.
Ask Haywire about my affection for Smoked Kippers (Herring) on Triscuit crackers.
I'll do him the favor of never eating them around him again, thouh it was funny watching his nostrils flaring at the smell.
I put the remains in one of his traps for a coon that'd been raiding his garbage cans, no coon, he must not've liked the smell either.
Most sane people wouldn't eat commercially raised chicken if they knew how they're raised. The growth hormones and antibiotics they pump them full of is just asinine crazy. I know and still I eat chicken once in awhile, but I'd much rather eat, an have eaten, many of the species listed here so far.
I've eaten:
Shark-great
Bluefish - great
Crevalle Jack-very good
Bobo - fair-good
Gafftopsail- good-very good
Hardhead- poor
Rays- great
Hardtail- fair
Many types of Sardines/Herring - good-very good
Rays, hang with me here...
You need a big ray, a fat Cownose with at least a 3' wingspan is prime for eating.
Two ways to clean them relatively easily.
Cut the wings off, fillet the meat of both sides of the cartilage that runs through the middle, then skin.
Get 2-3" piece of conduit, bevel one edge and sharpen it.
With a mallet use it to cookie cutter the wings into rounds, once again fillet and skin.
As for cooking, they are too tasty to just deep fry.
I like them sauteed in butter or olive oil, garlic & salt with some rotel, maybe a splash of white wine.
Lightly dusted with seasoned flour and pan fried and then a good squirt of fresh lemon is good too.
I always trim away red meat/blood line. Way to fishy/funky/baitlike if not.
Been meaning to try these guys for years, looks like even more evidence that I must!Quote:
Originally Posted by ChileRelleno