Yellowtail Butchery...

There are many ways to skin a cat. So,
there must be many ways to skin a Yellowtail.

And since, I'm sure, there are many surprised wives
that now have a big fish or two in there
garages--Dear, when are you gonna get
rid of that fish?--here's one way I deal
with my harvest. (And for the wives with husbands
in ER, fish, might not be a good idea right now...)


Here's a simple way to prep the bellies for a little broiler action.



From the broiler, the yellowtail goes directly onto plate for
more yummy eating.



The Belly is outstanding with lots of olive oil and lemon/herbs.

And the glassy day I caught this Yellow last week, was free of wind, waves and crowds. Thanks Santa.

[Matt]

Damn Yani I'm glad your back in CA.!!! Happy holidays and thanks for the killer pics as always!

[bellcon]

Merry Christmas Yanni
or
Kala Christougena

forget the Dana invite
I want a dinner invite

[Tman]

Someone please ban him from posting food prep pics unless he has enough to share...

Dang it!...where is that drool thingie...ok, here it is...

You know Yani I don't let Clay see these pics...

[THE DARKHORSE]

That chop-shot is incredible, Yani. It's funny how I always tend to eat my Yellowtail the same way, but that's going to change. Thanks for the inspiring posts, complete with instructions and mouth watering photos.

And thanks for taking good care of Lake La Jolla.

looks yummmy!

[buttchaser]

Oh My. That dish looks delicious!

[habanero]

I tried your belly broil and it was absolutely outstanding! I'll never look at a belly the same. Thank you Yani

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by habanero

I tried your belly broil and it was absolutely outstanding! I'll never look at a belly the same. Thank you Yani

It's also very good as sashimi, kind of creamy tasting as it's so rich in oil, but you need a large fish to get a good cut, and you need remove the internal wall, and be very careful to keep it clean.

That said it's excellent.

Jim

[dorado50]

Yea Yani, nice one! Did you on the ?

[landwhale]

Yani Excellent again and Merry Christmas to you and all

[habanero]

Originally Posted by Jim Day

It's also very good as sashimi, kind of creamy tasting as it's so rich in oil, but you need a large fish to get a good cut, and you need remove the internal wall, and be very careful to keep it clean.

Good advise on the cleaning. The parts that got contaminated with blood or any other BF, were not so good. I agree the key is clean cuts or the spongy texture will soak up the bad fluids.

[Fiskadoro]

Looks tasty.

Try grilling the area in front of the belly underneath between the belly and the gill rakers. It's the collar, and always great but on fish over 30 lbs it's really unbelievably good.

Jim

[kareem korn]

You forgot the collars.

[j mo]

Love the "butchery" shot, very cool

[JoeBeck]

A man who knows how to cook fish. Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.

[dsafety]

Did you use a knife or meat saw to cut the steaks? The cuts look so clean and even. Tough to do with a knife.

I like to remove as much of the red meat as possible when I clean a YT so my fish-hating wife does not complain as much about the fishy smell and taste. This does not look like it would be easy to do when cutting the fish into steaks. Any advise on that subject?

Bob

Bob,

First, I'll address the fish, then your wife.

Once gutted and gilled the whole fish goes
on ice, for at least a day.

Lay the fish on its side. First, I prep the skin with
a running hose of water and a butterknife. I
run the knife over the fish, heavy-handed, as
if I were scaling it. This removes the slime coat
remenants and preps the fish skin for eating. That's
right, it's a source of omega 3s and a wonderful
mouth feel crunch off the BBQ.

For the cuts, you need a very sharp knife and a hack-saw.
I use a a curved Victorinox fillet knife, available at
most tackle shops.

With the fish on its side make V shaped cuts, about 1.5"
deep, along the fish's lateral line, gill to tail. This will
remove that God awful dark meat...

Now decide if you want to separate the belly meat.
If so, cut out the meat as per my photo.

Now the steaks:

Cut them into 1.5" cuts for the thickness. Take single
stokes to the bone. Make all the steak cuts down the
line. Now take the hack saw and only cut thru the bone,
carefully. Then take your knife and finish cutting the
steaks. You don't have flip the fish over.



Now to help with the wife. Here's what I do to
minimize the odors at home:

Bleed fish by cutting gills and tail. Tail cutting
allows for better blood drainage via venting.

Gut and gill fish in the water. Could be dangerous,
but after all, life is a movie.

Keep fish on ice 24hrs.

Prep fish when she isn't around.

Side note. My dad is 105 yrs old. He, like my 95 yr old
mother-in-law has all his marbles and plays an active
role in our lives. They grew up eating oil fish meat.
Anchovies, Sardines, Macks, Tuna were all consumed
without ever separating the dark and lite meats.

Omega 3 fatty acid has been shown to reduce overall
and cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction,
and sudden cardiac death.

Regular eating of fatty fish, lowers triglycerides, and
is a natural anti-inflammatory for people with arthritis.
Thereby reducing anti-inflammatory drug use.

Even the American Heart Association Dietary Guidelines
committee recommends to the general population
the consumption of at least two servings of
fatty fish per week.


Tell her La Jolla's Yelowtail is the Fountain of Youth.
If that don't work, use a clothespin.