Sea Food Recipes

[makobob]

Yanni, there are a lot of Orange Mouth Corvina running around the beaches of Gonzaga. We like them grilled as a main dish AND grilled for tacos. What spices will work well with these mild, delicate fish without over powering them? Any favorite recipes for them?

The other question is about cooking times. Like most sea food, most of us over cook it. These filets are from 3-6 pound fish and are skin off. To keep them moist and flaky how much time should they spend on the grill on each side. I cook my SHRIMP 2-3 minutes total and they come out perfect but not too sure about the best times for these sweet fish. Thank you for your help.

Makobob

[makobob]

Yanni, I forgot to ask about Sierra Mackerel, they are in the area and I have no idea how to prepare them. Do you have a recipe or two for them or are they best released to fight again? Again thank you.

Makobob

[mrJB]

Yanni -

I can do a good job with halibut filleting, but need some help with some other fish, especially YT. Could you post up some directions so I can get some clean cuts with little waste...

Thanks,
JB

[Dave Legacy]

Hey Yanni,

Yesterday I needed to figure out the best way to cook a couple medium/small rockfish that have been lingering around in my freezer. I took a look at your list of recipes and the "Pan Roasted Whole" method was right up my alley; I like simple no fuss recipes. I made only one adjustment and that was to add some Old Bay Seasoning into the flour/cornmeal mix. I thought you might like to see your teachings being put to use:



I'm an experienced angler, but a novice kayaker, so I'm just barely inching my way out of the safety of the bay. For this reason I'm setting my expectations accordingly and planning on trying out Bonito and Sheephead as my next prey items. Might you have a suggestion on preparing a Sheephead? Maybe a suggested seasoning and cooking technique?

Lastly I have heard of Bonito being prepared as sashimi after being immediately bled and put on ice, but what about jerky? I love to make jerky, would this be a viable option in you opinion?

Best regards,

Dave

[svendawg]

Yanni

I tried your Smoked Yellowtail recipe the other day and it turned out to be a little salty. Should I brine it for less time or do I need to rinse the fillets real good when I take them out of the brine.

[summers in kuwait]

Yanni!

I have a couple questions:

This one isn't about cooking directly, but more about the prep.

What type of cutlery do you use or recommend and do you prefer a certain blade or tool for different types of fish?

Second question, I really liked the CA style, yellowtail gravlaxs idea and thought "what other recipes or ideas do you have for salt cured fish?

Thanks.

[dmrides]

Yanni your recipes are top notch and your videos are awesome. I have wowed both friends and family this year by trying to recreate your masterpieces. Though sadly WSB has not been on my menu this year.

When my day of fishing is done (skunk or not) I open the doors of my bait prison and let the inmates free. On my skunk days I look at those little bait fish and think, YT eat you and YT taste good, I bet you taste good too. Do you have any preparation techniques and/ or recipes for any of our local bait?

[FISH11]

Hi Yanni, I love all the recipes you post and only wish I was a good enough cook and had some of the fish you used to be able to cook more of your recipes. I would like to know how you think would be a good way to prepare some local bonito (since lately they have been out in numbers in La Jolla). I was hoping for some better way than baking with bacon or some way to substitute it for something else like tuna. Thanks in advance and I will look forward to your post.

[Murray]

Yanni,

Do you have any recipes for tartar sauce? Also would like to know what spices to use when cooking fish. Thanks so much for your website. Your videos are awesome and motivate me to try different ways to cook and prepare my catch.

[kayakfisherman]

Thanks Bob, for trusting me with your belly!!


Q1: Mild Mexican spices for delicate fish? Bob, Zafron, and Turmeric are used in Mexican cuisine a lot. Not so much for their flavor, especially since they are not strong, but for their color. Both add a brilliant yellowish orange to your fish and are packed with health benefits. Favorite Recipes for mild fish? Create a dry rub using one part salt, one part pepper, and one part 50-50 zafron/turmeric. Rub your fish, then grill it. Squeeze lemon before eating.

Q2: How much cooking time is required for thin fillets? Not much. Here's the general rule of thumb. Cook the first side until the color you want is achieved,
then flip the fillet over and only cook it for half the time the first side took. Cooking the fillet for equal times on both side is a big mistake. Cooking is trial and error. Don't be afraid to screw up, once or twice. But learn as you go.

Q3: Sierras? Love fighting them on light tackle, love eating them too. Sierras are mild flakey fish. They make a great ceviche, or baked and/or fried with bread crumbs (to lock in the juices).

[captnblood34]

Thanks again

[kayakfisherman]

First off Big John, congrats on that Dana Point Yellow!! Them are hard to come by, I know.

Q: How to fillet a yellowtail? John, I don't have a video showing that. But, I realize I need to. I will fillet one up. Just as a general How To. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[kayakfisherman]

congrats on figuring out Kayak Fishing is King!! Get your butt out of the bay and into La Jolla's waters asap. This insane fishing won't last forever. Just ck the surf reports and go out when the surf is less than 3ft. And if the surf is from the south, don't even worry about it since the launch is sheltered from the south swells.

I hoped you enjoyed your pan roasted rockfish. It's really a fun way to eat fish.
Figure out a way of incorporating some golden brown color into your old bay seasoning. Maybe add some Paprika. That will add just the right amount of needed color.

Q1: Sheephead? This fish is tricky because it can easily be under cooked. It takes a longer cooking period, but still stays juicy. Steaming sheephead makes for a perfect afternoon salad. My favorite.

Steam the whole sheephead, allow it to cool, then flake its meat off the bone. Chill in the refrigerator, then add to a well dressed salad. You'll think you're eating flakes of lobster. Especially since sheephead love eating lobsters.

Q2: Bonito? Sashimi or Jerky? Bonito makes for perfect sashimi, if properly taken care of from the moment you catch the fish. Never allow bonito to warm up, otherwise the meat gets mushy. This is why bonito has a bad reputation. Fisherman in the past, threw bonito in their bags and let them sit there all day. Then wonder how anyone could eat them.

Although bonito is part of the tuna family, very little of its meat is dark and fatty. It's 90 percent white meat, therefore useless for smoking and turning into jerky. But perfect for sashimi (or Baked Parmesan Bonito--my next recipe!).

[kayakfisherman]

With your Scandinavian genes, you should never screw up smoked fish!!

Q: Why did my smoked fish turn out too salty? Cooking is really all about screwing up and realizing where the screw ups happened. Either your brine was too salty, or you left the fish in the brine too long. Make those adjustments and try again. Perfect reason to catch more fish!!

[kayakfisherman]

Dude! I'm no knife expert but I do know this, there's a different knife for different jobs.

Q: Which knife? Really, you need these three, boning, breaking and chef's. Of the three two are must haves for fisherman, the breaking knife and chef's knife.

The breaking knife is similar to the boning knife since it's narrow and allows you to follow bones while filleting. But in addition the breaking knife has a curved end which gives you leverage to easily break small bones. And, the curved breaking knife makes easy work of skinning fish.

The chef's knife is the universal cooking knife. Chopping, cutting and even skinning fishing is possible with a chef's knife. And as your confidence grows in the kitchen your dependence of the chef's knife will grow as well.

[kayakfisherman]

I will share a secret with you. Ready? Spanish Mackerel.

Q: Baitfish good to eat? You bet! Ok, I'll admit, green back macks are strong tasting fish and very third world acquired. But Spanish mackerel are nothing but white flakey meat!!! Cleaning them is easy. No scales, just pinch the gills out and gut them. Now dip them in seasoned flour and fry them until golden colored. Squeeze lemon and get ready to go to heaven!!!

Trust me, in the Med, they would easily pay 20 euros a pound for Spanish Mackerels.

Fishermans Belly will do a Spanish Mackerel someday!!

[kayakfisherman]

Congrats on figuring out Bonito are great!!

Q: Bonito, can I cook them in unusual ways? Mark your timing is perfect. I'm spending my Sunday putting the final touches on my new video-recipe: Bonito Parmesan. Fresh bread crumb covered bonito, homemade red wine tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Unusual? Let's say, this is News to the Italians!

[kayakfisherman]

I could give you specifics. But that's not what you need.

Q: Tartar sauce? Spices? First let's talk about tartar sauce. Figuring out what you like and how to create that. This is what cooking is all about.

Here's a simple example, if you ask me how do a build a home, I'd say, first learn the basics of home building, then add what you like.

So, tartar sauce usually has mayo, vinegar, lemon, relish, garlic, salt, pepper.
Create a mixture using these ingredients. Make sure the mayo and the acid are one part to one part. Then start adding other ingredients you like from your past. Capers? Relish? Garlic? Onions? As you build, taste. Ask yourself, is there enough tang (acid), enough creaminess (mayo, yogurt, olive oil)?, and is there enough texture (relish, chopped onion, chopped capers or garlic)?. Go from there and recreate your favorite tartar sauce, or be like me and always create something different that is structurally sound.

Spices? The easiest way to learn spices is to cook meals following other countries cuisines. Learn which spices go with Mexican dishes, Italian dishes, Asian dishes. Then apply these spices to your specific fish dish. This is a great way to learn to use spices and HERBS. Go Murray, go!

[MITCHELL]

Do you work in a restaurant....
if so I would like to come and eat there.

[dmrides]

Right on, thanks Yanni! Next time out, I am going to keep all my Spanish and give it a try.