Cooking Jew Fish

[FishDrought]

Hi Raiders,

I am having a BBQ on the weekend & was going to pull out a couple of Jewies from the freezer. I was wondering if you any had favourite ways of cooking them that you would be willing to share & I could try..?

Thanks in advance.

Jason

[jewgaffer]

Hi Jason It's important to brain spike take home jewfish immediately to cut off the panic glands... This reduces some of the musky taste that jewfish have.... Also you need to bleed them thoroughly by hanging them head down so that most of the blood drains out and doesn't congeal in the veins..

Only remove the gills but leave the scales on and the gut sealed in until you get home and keep them cool but out of salt water or ice slurry.....

It's a good idea to cut up various size pieces of fillet cuts and barbecue small cocktail size pieces in plain oil with lots of smaller slices among them as well, rather than cooking up chunky cutlets cut all the way thru the spine which in my opinion should be removed before cooking as well as the head to keep the fluids out of the cooking process and small slices off whole long cut fillets fast fried taste better as well .....

Cheers

jewgaffer

[FishDrought]

Thanks for your response Jewgaffer.

I will take onboard your advice as it is greatly appreciated to a Jew novice. You raised a couple of points which I found interesting & was hoping you might elaborate on:

Firstly, Brain spiking - I would assume taking a sturdy sharp implement & driving it into the Fish's brain. Now what I wonder is, is there a particular point i.e. centre mass between the eyes or above any suggestions?

Do you /should you brain spike all fish you intend to keep?

Secondly, Bleeding the fish & removing the gills, I now understand the reason of bleeding fish but why remove the gills? & would you recommend bleeding all types of fish?

Thanks

Jason

[jewgaffer]

Thanks for your response Jewgaffer.

I will take onboard your advice as it is greatly appreciated to a Jew novice. You raised a couple of points which I found interesting & was hoping you might elaborate on:

Firstly, Brain spiking - I would assume taking a sturdy sharp implement & driving it into the Fish's brain. Now what I wonder is, is there a particular point i.e. centre mass between the eyes or above any suggestions?

Do you /should you brain spike all fish you intend to keep?

Secondly, Bleeding the fish & removing the gills, I now understand the reason of bleeding fish but why remove the gills? & would you recommend bleeding all types of fish?

Thanks

Jason

Hi Jason if you are not familiar with brain spiking which requires accurate piercing just behind the eyes at an angle depending on the species, it's a good idea to carry a small baseball bat on board and hit your take home fish hard on the top of the head and do it twice to make sure of it.... you can also sever the spinal chord at the back of the throat before you take the gills out and this is a popular way to kill blackfish quickly and whatever else you decide to take home for that matter....

As to the gills, leaving them in till you get home can leave a bitter taste in the flesh in that area.. Also leaving the scales on seals the skin particularly on tight scale fish like mullet and leaving the guts in prevents air getting in and rigor mortis setting into the flesh... I would recommended immediately killing and bleeding all species that you are planning to take home to eat, rather than having them panic in a live bait tank or letting your take home fish panic and then finish up rigid in a fishkeeper.. That's why most of the fish that you catch yourself can taste much better than fresh fish shop fish....

Cheers

jewgaffer

[Davemmm]

I agree with Musty on all except the Jewfish.

Byron is right they need to be dispatched ASAP,bled and gilled or they get a stronger taste.

The problem I have is that I cant quite get the brain spike thing right every time.

I dont like the taste of samller Jews so they go back to Neptune they are called soapys for reason.

As for cooking them cutlets for the top half and fillets for the bottom.

The cutlets are the best way for the bigger bits as they get cooked evenly right through. Mostly i just cover them in olive oil and do them on the BBQ. When I get fancy I mix up salt, cracked pepper and a couple of different herbs on a plate then just put the oiled cutlet on it and then BBQ.

The fillets I skin and cut into smaller bits and either batter or shallow fry after coating in wholemeal flour. Its simple but tasty.

Dave