Wrasse

[James T]

Omega3 - where are you fishing - the boys in Dorset & Devon are catching Bass now?

Not to say that it is easy though!! As witnessed by the fact I haven't got any yet!!

[derek foxen]

Originally Posted by Old Man Dave

I shot a 5lb ballan wrasse yesterday and filletted it last night. My brother (member Derek Foxen] is eating it tonight . Maybe Derek will comment or you could ask him tomorrow how it went.

Dave

I'm quite happy to eat mild-flavoured fish such as wrasse,pollack etc
depending on the cooking ( usually fried with tartar sauce and chips ).
Properly filleted and skinned a 'rocky' provides large chunks of boneless flesh that are easy to eat.I prefer this type of more delicate tasting fish to the in-yer-face assault on the palate of,for instance, an oily fish like mackerel.Young brother Martyn ( foxfish ) ,something of a gourmet,says that really fresh fish shouldn't taste 'fishy'!

[Oldsarge]

Really fresh mackeral should be eaten raw with soy and miso. Then it can't possibly taste fishy, it tastes sushi.

[spaghetti]

You can't expect much from a fish whose scientific name is turdus . But anyway:
http://forums.deeperblue.net/recipes...sse-sauce.html

[omega3]

James T I am in Aberdeen Scotland . I don`t know of anybody catching bass up here.

Thanks for getting back Derek. It sounds like a fine fish to be eaten so simply and I think Foxfish is right.

Let me tell you how the locals do the macs OldSarge you might get a laugh (no finesse of the sushi chef...say that after 5 mac cans!!!).....take full beer can ,drink almost all beer , cut can in half and stuff a clean mac in it , push both can halves back together and throw on fire after few mins open can and eat mac with a nice green salad and do another one. I was kiddin about the salad!! more like bag of crisps.

Spaghetti , that sounds mighty fine! but is this the same fish??? ballan wrasse...Labrus bergylta????


Satuurday looks good for wrasse day so far!!! mmmmmm!

[spaghetti]

Labrus turdus (tordo in my language) and Labrus Bergylta (marvizzo) are different species but you can use them both for the sauce recipes. The marvizzo (Bergylta) tastes better and has an average much larger size.
Over here it's rated as a "poor" fish, only good for soup or for pasta sauces. But you know, I love soups and sauces, so that when I see one that's big enough I have no hesitation to sling my steel shaft on it and bring it to the kitchen.

[podge]

Now I’m not saying go out and slay every Wrasse you see but I’ve tried the smoked ones that Foxfish does and they’re better than any Bass that I’ve had. (foxy smoked Wrasse that is).

[omega3]

With the way you lot have built them up consider them toast!!!!....or smoked,poached fried with garlic, put in sauce, curry ,bbq .....

I have biiiigggg expectations now....is this a wind up??

[James T]

Hmm - seems a bit individual to me. There do appear to be a few Wrasse fans appearing. I won't wax lyrical cause I haven't found a form of the fish that really appeals to me for taste, but for firmness I agree a larger fish is absolutely fine.

All this wrasse love, at least to me, is just polishing the turd(us)

[azapa]

we have something too similar to be a coincidence, a Jerguilla. Easy to shoot too.

Guia de Peces, Jerguilla.

It is (was) also looked down on but the flesh is white and firm and IMHO tasty. I don't like too oily a fish. It eats weed almost exclusively and its intestine is extremely long to aid the digestion: hence on gutting it smells of old cabbage! (actually, more of farts, not to be too subtle). If you gut them quickly and by the ocean, rinsing abundantly, the farty smell is no problem.

The shame is, that as the "better" fish are over exploited, these "second class" fish start to look more appealing. SAD.

[omega3]

The wrasse are safe for now untill this weather dies down....nice and sunny though. Is that a catfish relation Azapa? Its not a wrasse.
Its just the lobster fisherman where I am mention there used to be catfish where I am which were good eating. I have not heard of catfish living in salt water, maybe brackish, and not seen one around here...yet.

I am not sure I agree with the shame you write of, don`t be so hard on yourself . I would say the shame is that the fish were over exploited to start with and that can be largely down to beurocracy, especially over here where over quota fish are dumped so as not to incur loss of fishing licence/prison sentence and loss of livelyhood(Black fish is another story). But tell that to someone who is hungry. It is all fashion, lobster was once poor mans turkey etc etc... I am not classing any fish except tasty and awful and available. This topic for example may encourage the consumption of a few more wrasse. And at the weekend when the Queen comes round for her usual afternoon tea (she does that all the time, parking her Roller on the street without paying for a permit is most enviable)and enjoys the wrasse I cook her. Well next thing you know "Queen eats wrasse" is in the press and then they all want it.......but with the sea state the way it is I may have to go to Markies for her tea!

[azapa]

no cat fish my friend. it has no barbs for one. It lives in the shallows, up to 8m, between the rocks and breakers, on the coast. Pretty sure it is a distant relation to wrasse, in a Darwinian sorta way

[Old Man Dave]

Originally Posted by omega3

The wrasse are safe for now untill this weather dies down....nice and sunny though. Is that a catfish relation Azapa? Its not a wrasse.
Its just the lobster fisherman where I am mention there used to be catfish where I am which were good eating. I have not heard of catfish living in salt water, maybe brackish, and not seen one around here...yet.

I think you'll find they are refering to wolf fish or wolf eel as they are sometimes called catfish. Big head , even bigger teeth and an eel like tail. Only found well north in the Uk but commoner in Norway etc.

That you in your avatar? You a rig diver by profession?

Dave

[omega3]

Ahhhhhh its all clear now. Thanks!
I know "wolfies" see a few at work often holed up in a bit of subsea equipment, and know someone who had their finger mangled by one. Fool was taunting it after the divers had been feeding it for a few days!
Yes that is me, I was younger, had more hair. "Rigdiver", not heard that in a while, now you are showing an age!

Darwin, now there was a great man.


Cheers
James

[Old Man Dave]

James, was going to say "that you in the Kirby Morgan?" but that really would give away my age.

Dave