Wrasse Wrasse and more Wrasse

[jiggers]

We have been spearing a couple of weeks now. Around our way there seems to be an abundance of pretty large Wrasse.

Our received wisdom is that Wrasse are pretty pointless catch being far too tough and filled with bones to be good eating so we have left them alone, working to the rule that we only catch what we will eat. Having had a trawl through the forums it seems that some people do. Has anyone got any good recipes or tips for preparing this fish??

Cheers

 

[Lazuli]

Hi jiggers,

Many schools of thought on wrasse. Here is my experience:

The one I caught (out of curiosity) was large and yielded perfect, chunky fillets of slightly translucent white flesh of good quality (taken off with a J-cut fillet). No problem with bones at all. Flavour was very mild and the flesh was very soft, if not a bit mushy. I was able to deep fry them in batter though with great success.

The Guernsey boys are known to cold smoke Wrasse fillets producing quite a delicacy.

Also, someone recommended freezing the meat before cooking for some reason.

In a word - Mediocre

Personally I will not be pulling the trigger on a Wrasse again as it feels like an act of desperation. They are too friendly and ornamental. In conversation with a marine biologist I was told that they are not in fact as prodigious as we might imagine as they are a relatively shallow water fish with fewer numbers encountered in deeper water off the UK. Some may scoff at that idea but reef populations were hit hard by spearfishing a few decades ago.

Wrasse are your friend also because when you dive down onto a reef they come in, followed by other fish who want a look-in like Pollack and Bass. Its good to have unscared fish around so best to leave them IMHO.

Laz

 

[foxfish]

Lazuli, that was a fantastic post I could not of said anything better.

 

[jiggers]

I am pleased we have not bothered with them - Thanks for the reply

 

[Lazuli]

Cheers Foxfish.

Jiggers, try one sometime as "research" to see what they are like as it is good to compare textures and flavours. I heard wrasse once described as "Spraypainted pollack" but I think pollack is a much firmer flesh with a distinct flavour whereas wrasse edges toward bland. They are thick skinned and are armor plated with scales like fingernails so can be a job to even get the knife in and around.

They are supposed to be good for stock (but I've never made a good fish stock myself!)

 

[budleigh spearo]

if u freeze the wrasse whole then fillet and skin it then cookit u wont beleave how firm and buetiful the flesh is give it a go and u will c wrasse in a new light:friday

 

[Anders]

I've never tried freezing the wrasse (Ballen wrasse is the only one large enough to shoot in Norway) but the stock you make from them make the best fish soup I've ever had.
Filleting isn't that hard, but it seems wise to just use the top part of the fillet to avoid most of the bones. That way some meat is left for a superb fish stock too.. Flesh works OK in the same soup, but is a bit too soft so may fall apart if you're not careful.
But as Lazuli said it, shooting them is mostly an "act of desperation" when I can't catch anything else, and they're lovely to look at..

 

[James T]

Whats your soup recipe Anders?