Filleting a Dolphin Fish

21Feb07

Dolphin Fish, Dorado, Mahi Mahi…..

It’s been a while since we last posted… but we’ve discovered when you’re out fishing every day, its hard to find the time!

We are at Port Stephens for the start of the Striped Marlin season down here. Fishing has been great. And, one of our talented anglers also managed to snare this bull Dolphin Fish during the week so Capt. Scadwalker thought he would take the time to walk us through filleting and skinning Dolphin Fish.

Start by catching a Dolphin Fish – once that is achieved, the rest of the steps are pretty easy. Hee hee… (Apart from Leather-jackets, Dolphin Fish are one of the only species of fish Capt. Scadwalker knows of that can be skinned in this manner.)

Cut around the entire side fillet of the fish making the cut shallow literally just cutting through the skin. Grab a hand hold at the back of the head of the fish and pull down separating the skin from the flesh. This can take a fair bit of effort depending on the size of the fish but the skin should come off in one piece. Traditional lure makers in Hawaii use this skin inside their resin head marlin lures.

Once the skin has been removed, cut along the same line again horizontally, this time angling deeper using the bones as a guide until reaching the backbone. Turn the fish over and do the same to the other side – it’s best to get both sides of the fish to this point before attempting to remove the fillet. At this point, all that is remaining to be separated is the flesh from the backbone. Cut yourself a finger-hold at the tail end and slowly lift the fillet while cutting along the backbone notch by notch. Once you’ve reached the rib cage release the tail section of the fillet and cut around the ribs from the spine side leaving the rib cage connected to the fish frame. On smaller fish it is possible to cut through the rib bones and de-bone later, but due to the size of this fish it was better to cut the rib-cage out at this stage.

Once the fillet is separated from the frame and you have done the other side as well, you need to remove any remaining bones and the bloodline by cutting vertically up the fillet where the backbone was. Cut on either side of this line to remove completely.

Now you will have left two boneless pieces from each size which can be further cut and divided into take home portions. To best store the fish especially if you are freezing for later, dry the fillets and remove all air from the plastic bag before sealing.

Tip: Zip-lock bags are best for freezing fish – a simple method of vacuum sealing the bag is to ‘zip-lock’ the bag almost completely leaving only a centermetre gap, submerse the bag in water leaving the gap exposed and the water pressure will force out any air trapped in the bag. Seal before removing from the liquid.

Dolphin Fish is very tasty and there is no need for fancy recipes. We cooked ours in butter after lighting dusting with plain flour. Yum! It is also a very moist fish and doesn’t take well to beer batter or crumbing.

Filed under: Fishing, Food   |  7 Comments

Towadi or not Towadi

09Feb07

Tackle never ceases to amaze me these days. Reels are getting smoother, rods are so much lighter with more feel and power where it’s needed and with the introduction of braided lines opportunities are now endless, limited only by the imagination.

I will get into rods, reels, lines and other stuff in later posts, but for today I can’t wait to tell you about a new something that has got me very excited of late. Towadis – they are tiny, little, state-of-the-art Japanese lures that are made to such perfection and balance it seems a shame to even tie one on your line in case something bigger or stronger or little quicker then expected steals one from you.

Being a North Queenslander used to catching Barramundi, our recent move to the more southern waters of the Gold Coast have seen me searching for that new something as close as I can get to Barra fever, so naturally enough its Bream fever. And these Towadis make it all the more enjoyable.

Smith are now importing lures of all different shape and size, from Jigs to Poppers, Bream to Barra, big and small, surface and deep diving – and now that they have landed in Australian waters, I just can’t get enough of the masterful creations from the land of the rising sun. One of these many new imports is the Towadi. It’s a surface lure 43mm long and just perfect for Bream. I always turn to using surface lures when I can, and am even prepared to sacrifice a few bites if it is not the ideal way to fish at the time, because it’s simply more fun. Not that these lures are any disadvantage to your fishing. On the contrary, surface fishing will out fish most of any type if it’s done correctly – even if the strike is more of a ‘sipping’ bite of a Bream rather then the ‘boof’ of a Barra.

Fishing is all much the same to me, whether it is catching ‘Grander’ Marlin on the GBR or Bream on Towadis in the Broadwater close to home. I love it all and can find enjoyment in all types of fishing, just as long as I have a rod in my hands. (So to speak).

Filed under: Fishing, Lures, Tackle   |  1 Comment

Sushi Balls

06Feb07

Recipe inspired by Hideo Dekura’s “Japanese Cooking at Home”. He calls them Hand-ball Sushi but I think Sushi Balls has a much better ring to it!

Having spent many years in Tokyo where you can get it home delivered just as easily as Pizza (with an ice cold six pack of beer on the side no less!) I am a big fan of sushi – any type, any style, any time. And so, when faced with spending the day on the boat with Capt Scadwalker preparing for an evening cruise, I decided to try making a new style of sushi to give us something yummy for dinner when it was all over. Capt. Scadwalker was busy on the boat so he didn’t really take part. When he did come in to help, he didn’t appreciate my comments about his mis-shapen balls so he pretty much left me to it

Generally I find sushi really easy to make but quite a bit fiddle-y for every day. This was definitely the easiest that I’ve made so far, but the preparation alone still took over an hour. Much easier to pop down to the local sushi train but a lot less fun.

We’re lucky that the galley on the boat has most of the mod-cons available and the seafood shop is literally on the wharf next door, but I still had to improvise here and there. But improvising is half of the fun!

Filed under: Food, Recipes   |  2 Comments

Fresh Breadcrumbed Coral Trout

03Feb07

Forsaking all other fish, we love Coral Trout and so it was the obvious choice for our very first recipe. (Besides, we have an abundance leftover from the Scadwalker’s recent spear fishing trips on the GBR!) So, when we were invited for dinner to the house of J&M (non practicing vegetarians!), what else could we bring?

Fish is our standard. Plus they love it too.

While Capt. Scadwalker prepares the fish, I make breadcrumbs in the blender.

Use your favourite type of bread – we particularly like wholegrain types for a bit of a unique consistency.

Also, adding a herb blend to the crumbs gives it extra flavour. If you like spicy, why not try something with a bit of bite?

We just love the taste of fresh home-made breadcrumbs, but of course, the store bought ones work fine.

With the pre-filleted fish, Capt. Scadwalker starts by patting it dry with a paper towel to make it more manageable (more about filleting fish later.)

1. Using a sharp knife, make a vertical cut at the tail end of the fillet.

2. Holding the knife still (facing away from you) use your handhold on the tail end to pull the fish towards you separating the flesh from the skin.

3. De-bone the fish by completely removing the section on either side of the spine. (For mackerel and other blood fish this also works well to remove the bloodline.)

4. Slice the fillets into manageable pieces (no more than 5cm thick), as even in size as you can for cooking consistency.

Next we set out the three bowls for crumbing – we use larger bowls to contain the mess – flour, whisked egg (with a little milk mixed in to make it go further) and the breadcrumbs mixture.

After covering the entire piece in flour, we dip in the egg then crumbs leaving a handy finger hold to save yourself from breadcrumbing your fingers.

Simply reverse and hold the already breadcrumbed end to finish off and lay on a large plate ready for the pan.

The pan should be preheated to a medium heat. We like to use canola oil and add enough to cover the frying surface. Allow a minute or two for the oil to heat. Without crowding the pan too much, fry the fish pieces until golden brown which should only take a couple of minutes each side turning only once.

If you are unsure about temperature, fish is better cooked at a lower heat to be safe than to risk overheating at a too high temperature. The fish will flake in half easily when it is done.

This is a really simple recipe which allows the flavour of the fish to come through. Also good with other varieties of flavoursome fish including Barramundi, Snapper, Mackerel, Red Emperor, Pearl Perch, Hog Snapper and Grouper.

Serve with home-made potato chips and salad.

Please let us know what you think – questions welcome!

Ingredients

Bread (and your choice of herb), egg (a dash of milk), plain flour, your choice of fish and canola oil.
Preparation time: 20 minutes.

Filed under: Food, Recipes   |  5 Comments