help stalking fish

[blaiz]

Please forgive my somewhat off topic question.

I'm in a similar situation in that I spear parrotfish and goatfish in shallow reefs. (btw - thanks for the tips, can't wait to try them!) Anyway, I have gotten lucky and have gotten a few parrotfish. I don't know if it's that I am a crappy cook or if it is the meat, but after grilling it up, I found myself choking down the meal instead of enjoying it.

Can anyone suggest some good recipes or suggest some books, websites, etc. with good recipies for reef fish/parrotfish?

Thanks!

-LFM

Parrot fish or Uhu as we call them in hawaii are usually best steamed. if the fish is small enough to cook whole just put it in a bake pan and wrap in foil or just wrap in foil. stuff the belly with ginger, green onion, garlic, add a little soy sauce and cook on a grill or in the oven.

Another good recipe is miso style

Per lb of fish

1 table spoon of miso (white miso paste)
1 table spoon white sugar
add rice wine vinigar to taste (consistancy should be that of applesauce)

taste sauce.. if too salty from miso add sugar, if too sweet add miso.

put fish in tin foil and add green onion, garlic, ginger, salt & pepper,

wrap air tight and bake or cook over open flame

when fish is finished add chopped cilantro

great ricipe for goats, never tried it on a parrot fish yet, probably be pretty good though.

 

[LittleFatMan]

blaiz-

my stomach's rumbling and my mouth's watering...i can't wait to try out these recipes!

Thanks

FatMan

 

[agbiv]

Make a double layer of heavy duty foil large enough to wrap over whole fish and long enough to roll the ends to seal.

Spray foil with non-stick spray (I use oil oil flavor or butter flavor).

Layer sliced onions on bottom. lay fish or fillets on top. Squirt a little lemon or lime juice over fish. Dust fish with onion POWDER and Garlic POWDER (cuts down on sodium) and a little black pepper. Some thin sliced naval ornge (no seeds) on top.

Seal length wise, roll the ends. If in oven plave in foil lined baking pan--minimize clean up.

Bake in oven @ 450' F for 15-20 minutes or on grill coals--no flame for same time. Fillets will take 2/3 of the time of whole fish 10-15 minutes.

Simple and doesn't overpower fish flavor. If onions caramelize on bottom (especially when grilling--who cares! They're there for moisture & to protect fish from scorching.)

Be careful of steam when opening! Enjoy!!! You can also add shrimp & shelled clams of mussels into foil packet as well.

Chef Al

 

[blaiz]

I forgot to mention an important part of my recipe... well two... add sauce before baking and score the fish by slicing perpendicular to the lateral line. Make about 4 or 5 cuts one both sides depending on the size of the fish. This helps get all the flavors into the meat and shortens cooking time.

 

[LittleFatMan]

Blaiz - I couldn't believe how well that dusting technique works. I was using it all day yesterday, repeatedly diving down to sand patches and tossing up handfuls of sand around me. It was like fish magnet! There were fish I had never seen before swimming out of their holes to investigate. I got a few nice fish out of it. I am going to try it again this afternoon and then grill up yesterday's catch using your miso recipe. It's going to be a feast!

Thanks,

FatMan

 

[blaiz]

Blaiz - I couldn't believe how well that dusting technique works. I was using it all day yesterday, repeatedly diving down to sand patches and tossing up handfuls of sand around me. It was like fish magnet! There were fish I had never seen before swimming out of their holes to investigate. I got a few nice fish out of it. I am going to try it again this afternoon and then grill up yesterday's catch using your miso recipe. It's going to be a feast!

Thanks,

FatMan

Right on! Let me know what you think of the miso fish.

 

[LittleFatMan]

The truth is, I don't really like fish. I didn't grow up eating fish and don't ever get a hankering for it. I have come to really enjoy spearfishing, and I feel a moral obligation to eat what I kill, or give it away to someone who can enjoy it.

I tried that miso recipe out and it was fantastic. It works. It works because I am a crappy cook and its simple and delicious and even I could pull it off!

Thanks again

FatMan

 

[Whopperhead]

Fatman- Still waiting to see some pics of the fish you get.

 

[LittleFatMan]

Whopperhead-

Here are a few I have - a parrotfish, a fish the japanese call sasaio, and an octopus. I am lazy when it comes to taking pictures and get pics only when my girlfriend comes along. Japanese women sure love taking photos!

Enjoy,

FatMan

 

[Whopperhead]

Nice pics! I can see why they call your fatman! Looks nice there.

 

[blaiz]

Nice fish fatman. If you say you are a little leary about fish I wouldnt judge anything on the base of the chub (middle pic) you shot. They tend to stink and can often times taste pretty fishy. In hawaii we call them nenue and most guys make poke out of them. If tried to cook one but couldnt get over the stench while cleaning it so I ended up giving it away.

 

[LittleFatMan]

Yep, that sasaio/chub does have a bit of an odor to it. I've choked more than a few down. There are a few people on my island, mostly the people that grew up here, that love to eat them, so now I try to give them away. I would have thought that making it into poke would enhance the stench/wretch factor. At least when I grilled the fish, the smell would die down. Any recipes?

Because it stinks, people here also tend not to eat parrotfish, or what I think are parrotfish, what Japanese call "budai". Its about 2 feet long, a brilliant turquoise with a huge pronounced forehead. Do you eat these in Hawaii?

 

[LittleFatMan]

On another note, I want to try out your shiny kitchen spoon technique. I was thinking it through and have some questions...

When you drop the spoon from the surface, do you drop it only onto sandy patches? My thought is that if I drop it into a bunch of coral, the spoon is going to clang around and get lost. Do you tie a string to it to make it easier to find or control it's descent?

I am still a beginner and can't yet hold my breath for very long. I was having a hard time diving, dusting, then holding my breath and waiting to take a shot. What I found myself doing was diving, dusting, going up for a breath, watching who came out of their holes in the reef to investigate the dusting, then diving back down to take a whack at them. Is the spoon routine similar to this? Do you drop it, watch who comes out to investigate, then follow it down after it reaches the bottom? Do you carry 1 spoon or a dozen with you?

Thanks!

FatMan

 

[blaiz]

It sounds like the fish you describe is a parrot fish or uhu. Im not a huge fan though if cooked right Ive had it pretty good. I dont personally shoot them but all the spearos here in hawaii do. I let leave them for those who like them.

As far as the spoon you are right. I find an area I think I might like to check out and toss the spoon either down current (where I will most likely drift to before I drop) or into a sandy area I think Id like to lay. Its not a huge deal if it goes into the coral. Most times (at least here) small goats and or peacock groupers will hover above it for some time and some times you do lose the spoon. I usually go to the second hand stores and buy about 50 spoons at a time:blackeye Im pretty sure they think Im a free basting drug addict. Its easy to lose them in current or if you get down and get distracted by something that came in. Usually when I hit the bottom the first thing I will do is slip the spoon in the sleeve of my wetsuit.

You want to make sure you get a rather light spoon, not a heavy duty one. The light ones flutter and spin a lot longer than the heavy ones. If you get a spoon that just wants to sink flat w/ out spinning just give the head a slight tweak (bend) and it should solve that problem.

I will also stress that the one thing that you will want to work on while you learn is your bottom time. If you can stay down long enough something is bound to come check you out. Try researching breathe up techniques, exercises. And a key component is being able to relax. Holding your breath, in my opinion, is attributed way more to technique than physical ability.

Hope all this helps, happy hunting.