Aloha guys I waited til the last day because i was hoping to catch a fish here in California for the contest but between the surf and the Holidays i didn't get a chance to go out. I hope its ok if i submit my catch from my trip to Hawaii earlier in the month.
My Grandfather had been in hospice care and passed over the Thanksgiving Holiday. He was a lifelong fishermen and taught my brothers and I a lot of what we know. He had always been a huge supporter of our kayak fishing even when others laughed and called us fools for dreaming of venturing offshore to chase big pelagic fish. In the last few years when he couldn't fish himself he loved to see what we caught, hear our stories, and show off our exploits to his friends.
I was definitely thinking of him on December 10th when my brother and I landed a pair of sailfish each, mine coming off a double strike. While weighing our fish down at the harbor the next day we learned something pretty cool. Sailfish are probably the rarest gamefish in Hawaii. Our buddy a big time deckhand who knows the history of the harbor and state, told us that what we achieved by catching 4 sails in one day in Hawaii, "Had never been done before and would never happen again!" I know I'm pretty lucky and like to think I'm a good fishermen but I believe my grandfather had a hand in making this happen. It was special to be able to share this with my brother who is my best friend as well.
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We cut up, then brined, and marinated our sailfish for 3 days in a mixture of soy,sugar,garlic,ginger, and Hawaiian chilis. We then smoked it with guava at the family home of our good buddy Rob, who you may know from his black marlin vid. The heat was kept low to cold smoke the fish for the first few hours. I removed about 15 pounds or so at this time for canning then continued smoking the remainder for another few hours. It turned out awesome. Sail is a great fish for smoking because the extremely high oil and omega 3 content allows for the finished product to still be moist. Its so fatty that when cutting it raw, it leaves a sheen of fat on your knife like pork belly would. This fish made great gifts during the holiday season and I brought a bunch with me back to California to share with friends and family here.
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My fiance has a large family get together every Christmas, so i figured what better time to share my catch. We made up a bunch of won ton with some of the canned sailfish, cream cheese and a little chimichurri sauce i had in the fridge. The chimichurri really added some brightness and balance while the acidic bite from the vinegar helped to cut through the richness of the sailfish and cream cheese. They were awesome as is, or dipped in a little sweet chili or hot mustard. These won ton meant a lot to me because it felt like i got to share a gift from my grandfather and my Hawaii family with my new family here in California. Thanks for reading my post everyone and Happy New Year!
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