Sea Food Recipes

[kayakfisherman]

congrats on figuring out Kayak Fishing is King!! Get your butt out of the bay and into La Jolla's waters asap. This insane fishing won't last forever. Just ck the surf reports and go out when the surf is less than 3ft. And if the surf is from the south, don't even worry about it since the launch is sheltered from the south swells.

I hoped you enjoyed your pan roasted rockfish. It's really a fun way to eat fish.
Figure out a way of incorporating some golden brown color into your old bay seasoning. Maybe add some Paprika. That will add just the right amount of needed color.

Q1: Sheephead? This fish is tricky because it can easily be under cooked. It takes a longer cooking period, but still stays juicy. Steaming sheephead makes for a perfect afternoon salad. My favorite.

Steam the whole sheephead, allow it to cool, then flake its meat off the bone. Chill in the refrigerator, then add to a well dressed salad. You'll think you're eating flakes of lobster. Especially since sheephead love eating lobsters.

Q2: Bonito? Sashimi or Jerky? Bonito makes for perfect sashimi, if properly taken care of from the moment you catch the fish. Never allow bonito to warm up, otherwise the meat gets mushy. This is why bonito has a bad reputation. Fisherman in the past, threw bonito in their bags and let them sit there all day. Then wonder how anyone could eat them.

Although bonito is part of the tuna family, very little of its meat is dark and fatty. It's 90 percent white meat, therefore useless for smoking and turning into jerky. But perfect for sashimi (or Baked Parmesan Bonito--my next recipe!).

[kayakfisherman]

With your Scandinavian genes, you should never screw up smoked fish!!

Q: Why did my smoked fish turn out too salty? Cooking is really all about screwing up and realizing where the screw ups happened. Either your brine was too salty, or you left the fish in the brine too long. Make those adjustments and try again. Perfect reason to catch more fish!!

[kayakfisherman]

Dude! I'm no knife expert but I do know this, there's a different knife for different jobs.

Q: Which knife? Really, you need these three, boning, breaking and chef's. Of the three two are must haves for fisherman, the breaking knife and chef's knife.

The breaking knife is similar to the boning knife since it's narrow and allows you to follow bones while filleting. But in addition the breaking knife has a curved end which gives you leverage to easily break small bones. And, the curved breaking knife makes easy work of skinning fish.

The chef's knife is the universal cooking knife. Chopping, cutting and even skinning fishing is possible with a chef's knife. And as your confidence grows in the kitchen your dependence of the chef's knife will grow as well.

[kayakfisherman]

I will share a secret with you. Ready? Spanish Mackerel.

Q: Baitfish good to eat? You bet! Ok, I'll admit, green back macks are strong tasting fish and very third world acquired. But Spanish mackerel are nothing but white flakey meat!!! Cleaning them is easy. No scales, just pinch the gills out and gut them. Now dip them in seasoned flour and fry them until golden colored. Squeeze lemon and get ready to go to heaven!!!

Trust me, in the Med, they would easily pay 20 euros a pound for Spanish Mackerels.

Fishermans Belly will do a Spanish Mackerel someday!!

[kayakfisherman]

Congrats on figuring out Bonito are great!!

Q: Bonito, can I cook them in unusual ways? Mark your timing is perfect. I'm spending my Sunday putting the final touches on my new video-recipe: Bonito Parmesan. Fresh bread crumb covered bonito, homemade red wine tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Unusual? Let's say, this is News to the Italians!

[kayakfisherman]

I could give you specifics. But that's not what you need.

Q: Tartar sauce? Spices? First let's talk about tartar sauce. Figuring out what you like and how to create that. This is what cooking is all about.

Here's a simple example, if you ask me how do a build a home, I'd say, first learn the basics of home building, then add what you like.

So, tartar sauce usually has mayo, vinegar, lemon, relish, garlic, salt, pepper.
Create a mixture using these ingredients. Make sure the mayo and the acid are one part to one part. Then start adding other ingredients you like from your past. Capers? Relish? Garlic? Onions? As you build, taste. Ask yourself, is there enough tang (acid), enough creaminess (mayo, yogurt, olive oil)?, and is there enough texture (relish, chopped onion, chopped capers or garlic)?. Go from there and recreate your favorite tartar sauce, or be like me and always create something different that is structurally sound.

Spices? The easiest way to learn spices is to cook meals following other countries cuisines. Learn which spices go with Mexican dishes, Italian dishes, Asian dishes. Then apply these spices to your specific fish dish. This is a great way to learn to use spices and HERBS. Go Murray, go!

[FISH11]

Originally Posted by kayakfisherman

Congrats on figuring out Bonito are great!!

Q: Bonito, can I cook them in unusual ways? Mark your timing is perfect. I'm spending my Sunday putting the final touches on my new video-recipe: Bonito Parmesan. Fresh bread crumb covered bonito, homemade red wine tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Unusual? Let's say, this is News to the Italians!

Thanks Yanni, I can't wait for the Bonito Parmesan recipe. Sound super yummy!

[summers in kuwait]

Originally Posted by kayakfisherman

Dude! I'm no knife expert but I do know this, there's a different knife for different jobs.

Q: Which knife? Really, you need these three, boning, breaking and chef's. Of the three two are must haves for fisherman, the breaking knife and chef's knife.

The breaking knife is similar to the boning knife since it's narrow and allows you to follow bones while filleting. But in addition the breaking knife has a curved end which gives you leverage to easily break small bones. And, the curved breaking knife makes easy work of skinning fish.

The chef's knife is the universal cooking knife. Chopping, cutting and even skinning fishing is possible with a chef's knife. And as your confidence grows in the kitchen your dependence of the chef's knife will grow as well.

Yanni,

Right on! Thanks for the reply and info on knife options. I've been using the same rapala fillet knife for a decade + a solid sharpening stone and I think its time to upgrade.

Second question, I really liked the CA style, yellowtail gravlaxs idea and thought "what other recipes or ideas do you have for salt cured fish?