SiNH Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 (edited) Hi All, I was wondering if it was OK to eat rock cod? The reason I am asking is because every now and then I would go rock fishing and dont seem to catch anything home for the table but am always seemed to be pestered by these rock cods and they are of a decent size. Anyways they look scarey and reminds me of a stone fish and have been weary of eating these fishes. Are they poisonous? they look poisonous to me but I thought I would ask incase I hookup a decent size on the next trip? Edited November 13, 2006 by SiNH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbofisho Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Mate, they don't call them poor mans lobster for nothing, after filleting and skinningyou are left with a fat white slab of prime eating meat. They are the coral trout of our temperate waters! Try this, after filleting boning and skinning, dust in some four, then beat some egg whites, mix up some cornflour, a pinch of curry powder and some salt and pepper. Dip the floured fillets in the foamy eggwhite, then coat with the cornflour mix. Shallow fry in some hot oil! enjoy with this easy dipping sauce, dice up about 2 table spoons of chives, one tabel spoon of sweet chilli sauce and about a cup of mayo, mix and serve cold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankp Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 i have eaten them on a few occasions and every time they have been beautiful particuarly in a soup. im not too sure how poisonous they are in regards to handling them because dad does all the cleaning of the fish. frankp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiNH Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 Thanks guys, and to think the MANY MANY numbers I have thrown back as thinking they were " garbage " fish. Hmmms poor man's lobster ehs? hmmms yum! I like the sound of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 What you're not being told SiNH is that, despite their eating qualities, rock cod have a phenomenal number of bones in them and it is very difficult to fillet them so as to remove them. If you eat whole cooked rock cod fillets you will spend most of your time picking the bones out. I'm sure that there are ways to cut the fillets down and remove most of the bones - Gibbo seems to have got the hang of it - but then I don't really fish for food so I haven't bothered to learn. They're just too easy to catch is the bottom line for me. There's no challenge and therefore little satisfaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbofisho Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Mate i've never had a problem with bones when filleting them, they have no more or less than a bream, you just have to know where they are and have a sharp knife, i just got a new victorionox fillet knife, its a bit too sharp, i can sense and injury coming on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenmare Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Hi guys, I don't bottom fish the rocks much these days, but when I did there was always a variety of "rock cod", as well as other "by catch" -- wirrah, green eels, sergeant baker, ling etc -- that resulted from my snapper fishing efforts. The red rock cod is a relative of the stonefish. Bright red, it has nasty spines but, if you manage to catch one of sufficient size, they're excellent eating. Wirrah, which have a big mouth like a cod, have been described as "old boot"; I've never bothered eating one, but I've heard they're not very good. Finally, there's the black cod and estuary cod. These are excellent eating, but threatened species and totally protected in NSW, and so must be returned to the water. Regards, Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danielinbyron Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 just a note over heads, mulipliers , spinners , rock cod , wirras, and {ling.. the market name for cobia } its a strange and non uniform language we speak in fishing sometimes..just can get a bloke plain confused.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenmare Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 (edited) just a note over heads, mulipliers , spinners , rock cod , wirras, and {ling.. the market name for cobia } its a strange and non uniform language we speak in fishing sometimes..just can get a bloke plain confused.. Hi Daniel, No need to get be confused mate. Just get yourself a few fishing books or do an internet search or two. Steve Starling's "The Complete Book of Australian Fishing" is a good reference. It may be out of print now, but you can probably pick a copy up second-hand or borrow it from your local library. Regarding reels: Page 18 -- " Overhead reels are also called 'multipliers' or 'revolving drum' reels" Regarding spinners: Page 68 --" Spinners are another traditional and time-proven family of freshwater lures. The most popular type are called in-line spinners and consist of a small, spoon-like blade revolving freely on a metal shaft ahead of a plastic or metal body" I agree fish names are at times confusing, as the same fish can be given different names in different parts of Australia -- jewfish/mulloway, blackfish/luderick etc -- and yet another name when sold over the counter. It's probably best to use the name that the Australian Museum uses. They have an excellent website - you can easily locate the common name of a fish (or the scientific name if you're that good). Here is what they say about: black rock cod http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfact...h/edaemelii.htm red rock cod http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/students...s/scorpaena.htm wirrah http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfact...sh/aocellat.htm ling http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfact...h/gblacodes.htm Regards, Bob Edited November 13, 2006 by kenmare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 They are full of bones and have a big head, so make sure you only keep the BIG ones which will make it worthwhile eating. I think they steam them, let them cool down a bit and pull the meat away from the bones, mix it with mornay sauce and serve it in an old lobster shell. Poor Man's Lobster. That's what my Dad said he got served in a Club one day as the meat inside the legs was dried up and brown. He always makes sure he destroys the lobster shells when he goes out for a feed, just in case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckendorfmortgage Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 They are full of bones and have a big head, so make sure you only keep the BIG ones which will make it worthwhile eating. I think they steam them, let them cool down a bit and pull the meat away from the bones, mix it with mornay sauce and serve it in an old lobster shell. Poor Man's Lobster. That's what my Dad said he got served in a Club one day as the meat inside the legs was dried up and brown. He always makes sure he destroys the lobster shells when he goes out for a feed, just in case! I think dad was pulling tour leg. No self respecting restaurant would reuse lobster shells, would they???? MH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniper Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Hi All, I was wondering if it was OK to eat rock cod? The reason I am asking is because every now and then I would go rock fishing and dont seem to catch anything home for the table but am always seemed to be pestered by these rock cods and they are of a decent size. Anyways they look scarey and reminds me of a stone fish and have been weary of eating these fishes. Are they poisonous? they look poisonous to me but I thought I would ask incase I hookup a decent size on the next trip? gday sinh red rock cod are members of the Scorpion fish family they are venomous not poisionous. They are edible but handling this fish is dangerous ,all the dorsal spikes have venom if they spike you it is avery painful experiance. As for eating them they are great just BOIL THEM like a crab SEEYA the SNIPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jewel Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Red rock cod are great eating, but the pic you have posted looks very much like a wirrah which are crap...... I was talked into trying some by a mate with no tastebuds and still regret it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 They are great eating when steamed whole, garnished with slivers of ginger and spring onions, topped with soy sauce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 They are great eating when steamed whole, garnished with slivers of ginger and spring onions, topped with soy sauce The Chinese also do Pig Fish this way. It's very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiNH Posted November 15, 2006 Author Share Posted November 15, 2006 (edited) Red rock cod are great eating, but the pic you have posted looks very much like a wirrah which are crap...... I was talked into trying some by a mate with no tastebuds and still regret it! Hmmms you may be right. I googled and found this pic. This looks like it to me if memory recalls. This is the source of my original drawing of the " rock cod " hence me refering it to the rock cod. http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/2446.html So I dont know what it is now. It was a very dark brown colour, almost a dark terracotta colour ( red ) with the black patches. Looks pretty much identical to the one in the drawing. Edited November 15, 2006 by SiNH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbofisho Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 ahhh, mate do not eat them unles syou like the taste of weed, they are called 'rock cale' or sea carp, they aren't red rock cod. this is a red rock cod (good eating) AKA eastern scorpionfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenmare Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 (edited) Hmmms you may be right. I googled and found this pic. This looks like it to me if memory recalls. This is the source of my original drawing of the " rock cod " hence me refering it to the rock cod. http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/2446.html So I dont know what it is now. It was a very dark brown colour, almost a dark terracotta colour ( red ) with the black patches. Looks pretty much identical to the one in the drawing. Hi SiNH, Here's your fish mate: It's a kelp fish: http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfact...cmarmoratus.htm Initially, Like Gibbofisho, I thought it might have been a rock cale: http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfact...h/alophodon.htm luderick fisherman sometimes catch these, but on on sea cabbage bait fished under a float, if they fish too deep and close to the bottom. So far as eating qualities go, the kelp fish is probably on a par with the wirrah. A much better idea than eating any of them is to learn how to catch quality fish, by reading what people post on the Fishraider Forums. Regards, Bob Edited November 16, 2006 by kenmare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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