Cook What You Caught
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
Re: Cook What You Caught
Let’s be careful what we post about sail cats or there will be a limit on them next year.
Re: Cook What You Caught
Flounder, gutted and scaled, then cut in a cross-hatch design.
Topped with rosemary and garlic seasoning.
Baked at 400f for 20 minutes with convection, so maybe slightly longer for non-convection.
And so you can see the amount of meat you get off of a fish like this, there is absolutely no waste.
And because someone said sailcat was good, I kept one, fileted, chunked and fried. And it was delicious.
Topped with rosemary and garlic seasoning.
Baked at 400f for 20 minutes with convection, so maybe slightly longer for non-convection.
And so you can see the amount of meat you get off of a fish like this, there is absolutely no waste.
And because someone said sailcat was good, I kept one, fileted, chunked and fried. And it was delicious.
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
I did similar with flounder last night, 350 for 35 minutes in a regular oven, covered baking dish. A little oluve oil, a splash of white wine, & a little lemon pepper seasoning.
One trick I learned with flounder is to scale with a wire brush, cut the tail & head off & pull guts with it, and just trim the fins with a heavy scissors enough to fit in the pan.
Easy peezy
One trick I learned with flounder is to scale with a wire brush, cut the tail & head off & pull guts with it, and just trim the fins with a heavy scissors enough to fit in the pan.
Easy peezy
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silverking
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Re: Cook What You Caught
Looks/sounds good, guys. I don't keep a ton of fish, but a legal flounder usually goes in the box. Nothing better swimming in the Gulf, IMO.
I'll have to get adventurous and try sailcat the next time I catch one.
I'll have to get adventurous and try sailcat the next time I catch one.
"Sun rise and sun sets. Since the beginning, it hasn't changed yet." Little Feat
Re: Cook What You Caught
Cooked some Spanish in oven on broil for 6 minutes with just salt pepper and a little paprika. Was awsome!
Re: Cook What You Caught
Well seasoned spanish mackeral, put on the fish plate for the grill.
Chop into smaller pieces, and it's time for fish tacos!
Chop into smaller pieces, and it's time for fish tacos!
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
With a smaller Spanish Mackeral in the haul from Friday, I tried something new.
Sushi.
I fileted the fish, skin on, and then seared the skin with a blow torch, which allowed it to scrape off easily. This is something you can do with any fish skin, and will preserve a lot of meat.
After searing the skin will peel off easily, or can be scraped off with a knife edge.
Then, I cut the fish into long thin strips, which eventually would make 6 sushi rolls. I varied my ingredients in each roll, but did include cucumber in each one, some with cream cheese, and varied types of hot sauces.
Each one got rolled up, and then cut. It's a bit of a slow process, especially spreading the sushi rice, but well worth the effort. A young spanish is probably the only fish I would try this with, although tuna would always be welcome.
They weren't the most beautiful rolls I've ever seen, but they certainly tasted great!
Sushi.
I fileted the fish, skin on, and then seared the skin with a blow torch, which allowed it to scrape off easily. This is something you can do with any fish skin, and will preserve a lot of meat.
After searing the skin will peel off easily, or can be scraped off with a knife edge.
Then, I cut the fish into long thin strips, which eventually would make 6 sushi rolls. I varied my ingredients in each roll, but did include cucumber in each one, some with cream cheese, and varied types of hot sauces.
Each one got rolled up, and then cut. It's a bit of a slow process, especially spreading the sushi rice, but well worth the effort. A young spanish is probably the only fish I would try this with, although tuna would always be welcome.
They weren't the most beautiful rolls I've ever seen, but they certainly tasted great!
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
Sailcat is good eating. The next time one of you catches a big bluefish, fillet it and let it soak a couple of days in saltwater. Then grill it up, I think you will be surprised how good it is. Shark is good that way also.
Yours in the South
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silverking
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Re: Cook What You Caught
Ready for lunch after reading this. You should talk to one of the tackle shops or marinas about sponsoring a seafood cooking show. 
"Sun rise and sun sets. Since the beginning, it hasn't changed yet." Little Feat
Re: Cook What You Caught
I didn't include photos, but we did catch a nice bluefish this weekend, and after a 24 hour marinate, it went on the smoker for a few hours. While kingfish is very popular for fish dip, I think bluefish is the best. It absorbs the smoke flavor really well, and retains enough of a "fish" taste that you know what you're eating.DixieReb wrote:Sailcat is good eating. The next time one of you catches a big bluefish, fillet it and let it soak a couple of days in saltwater. Then grill it up, I think you will be surprised how good it is. Shark is good that way also.
Delicious!
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
More Sailcat!
Fileted, and cut into small chunks for quick frying.
An egg bath followed, with eggs from our neighbors chickens, such bright yellow yolks!
Battered with Shake & Bake and flour, and readied for the hot oil.
Ready! Served with Unagi, Sriracha, and Spicy Mayo.
Fileted, and cut into small chunks for quick frying.
An egg bath followed, with eggs from our neighbors chickens, such bright yellow yolks!
Battered with Shake & Bake and flour, and readied for the hot oil.
Ready! Served with Unagi, Sriracha, and Spicy Mayo.
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
And now for the unusual houndfish.
I didn't plan to keep the houndfish when I caught it, but he completely inhaled the bait and was gut hooked, so into the cooler he went. A quick Google search showed that it was an edible fish, so we went for the filet option rather than the bait option.
They do have scales, so a quick descaling was in order. The scales are small, and it's an unusually shaped fish, so it was slightly more difficult than a normal fish, but far easier than a sheepshead.
Here's the cutaway view. The rib cage extends nearly 2/3 the length of its body, and the fish is largely stomach. It's difficult to see in the photo, but the flesh actually had an unusual green hue, especially up near the dorsal fin area.
Quite odd to say the least.
There were also a few parasitic worms in the flesh, but few enough I was willing to pick them out.
As you can imagine the filets were quite long and narrow, and given the amount of stomach, it was less meat than expected. The skin was also remarkably tough, even cutting the filets apart required a bit of extra effort. I cook my fish skin on, and then remove it post-cook.
I turned this one filet into a fish burrito, and it was good. The texture of the flesh was a bit stiffer than other fish, and the grain of the meat was tighter, almost comparable to chicken.
We used the rest of the fish in a seafood paella, and it was delicious!
I didn't plan to keep the houndfish when I caught it, but he completely inhaled the bait and was gut hooked, so into the cooler he went. A quick Google search showed that it was an edible fish, so we went for the filet option rather than the bait option.
They do have scales, so a quick descaling was in order. The scales are small, and it's an unusually shaped fish, so it was slightly more difficult than a normal fish, but far easier than a sheepshead.
Here's the cutaway view. The rib cage extends nearly 2/3 the length of its body, and the fish is largely stomach. It's difficult to see in the photo, but the flesh actually had an unusual green hue, especially up near the dorsal fin area.
Quite odd to say the least.
There were also a few parasitic worms in the flesh, but few enough I was willing to pick them out.
As you can imagine the filets were quite long and narrow, and given the amount of stomach, it was less meat than expected. The skin was also remarkably tough, even cutting the filets apart required a bit of extra effort. I cook my fish skin on, and then remove it post-cook.
I turned this one filet into a fish burrito, and it was good. The texture of the flesh was a bit stiffer than other fish, and the grain of the meat was tighter, almost comparable to chicken.
We used the rest of the fish in a seafood paella, and it was delicious!
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
You're my hero! I thought I was the only one who tried cooking anything with fins at least once. To save time for other risk-takers...
Sailcats: Thumbs up
Hardhead cats: Thumbs down
Lizard fish: Thumbs up
Florida Gar: Thumbs down
Stingrays: Thumbs up
Ladyfish: Thumbs down
Yellowtail Jack: Thumbs up (get them on ice right away)
Mudfish: Thumbs down (I tried so many times)
My next endeavor will be an attempt to pickle mudminnows. Stay tuned!
Sailcats: Thumbs up
Hardhead cats: Thumbs down
Lizard fish: Thumbs up
Florida Gar: Thumbs down
Stingrays: Thumbs up
Ladyfish: Thumbs down
Yellowtail Jack: Thumbs up (get them on ice right away)
Mudfish: Thumbs down (I tried so many times)
My next endeavor will be an attempt to pickle mudminnows. Stay tuned!
Re: Cook What You Caught
How big do they get? The lizardfish I've caught have always been less than 12"GaryDroze wrote:You're my hero! I thought I was the only one who tried cooking anything with fins at least once. To save time for other risk-takers...
Sailcats: Thumbs up
Hardhead cats: Thumbs down
Lizard fish: Thumbs up
Florida Gar: Thumbs down
Stingrays: Thumbs up
Ladyfish: Thumbs down
Yellowtail Jack: Thumbs up (get them on ice right away)
Mudfish: Thumbs down (I tried so many times)
My next endeavor will be an attempt to pickle mudminnows. Stay tuned!
All photos copyright @saverymill
Re: Cook What You Caught
Likewise for me, except I snagged a 16" liz last year, and of course was obliged to fry it up. Decent eating, but not noteworthy