Bottomfish-it's what's for dinner!

[Threemuch]

Last night I had lingcod and cabezon, marinated in low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic. It was then dusted with Panko bread crumbs and pan fried. The marinade was reduced to thicken. The fish was put on a bed of rice and the sauce went over the top. Very nice.

Bottomfish are my favorite eats. Here are a few tips to maximize your enjoyment.

1. Eat it fresh! This stuff is so good the day you catch it. Each day that goes by it gets a little worse. Freezing should be against the law, but if you must, freeze it right away. Don't leave it in the fridge for five days then freeze it.

2. Bleed your catch! You should bleed every fish you catch, bottomfish are no exception. Pull a gill raker or two out with your finger or a pliers. The fish will taste better and last longer. Lot's of guys bleed everything, but don't bleed bottomfish! Do it, and thank me later.

3. Get the air out! Air gives bacteria much needed oxygen to spoil your fish. You can use a commercial grade vacuum packer, if you are a rich guy. I just use heavy duty ziplocks and a five gallon bucket. Leave the corner of the ziplock open a hair and immerse in a bucket full of water. The water will push all the air out, and seal under water.

Bon Apetite!

[Pilar]

You are my hero, Kurt. The freezer is going to the dump.

You can make a killer soup out of Ling. Bouliabaise or the Italian equivalent (Zuppa?). Anyway I get to try a recipe for it tonite. I'll share it if it works out.

How's that new boat treating you?

[Threemuch]

Are you talking about Cioppino? It's sort of an italian seafood gumbo. We make it all the time.

3/4 cup butter
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 1/2 pounds bay scallops
18 small clams
18 mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 1/2 cups crabmeat
1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, cubed


Directions
1 Over medium-low heat melt butter in a large stockpot,add onions, garlic and parsley. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until onions are soft.
2 Add tomatoes to the pot (break them into chunks as you add them). Add chicken broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, water and wine. Mix well. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
3 Stir in the shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels and crabmeat. Stir in fish, if desired. Bring to boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes until clams open. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with warm, crusty bread!

[pirk fan]

Right on about bleeding the bottomfish, it's the difference between white meat and gray meat.

I also like to get ALL the bones out, rib bones, and that little row of intramuscular bones that y off the ribs at the midline. Just makes for more enjoyable, less adventurous eating.

One more thing, candle the fillets (hold them up to a bright light source and look for parasites - this stuff isn't USDA inspected, you've got to do it), nothing turns off the womenfolk like finding one of those little worms all coiled up in that next bite of nice flakey white meat. A little flick of the knife tip and the rest of the family's none the wiser. Although Black rockfish get a bad rap about parasites, they're in everything - ling cod, greenling, surf perch, you name it.

[Salmonator]

They're in the fred meyer seafood section too. Sitting coiled up right on top of fresh lingcod. I pointed it out to the guy behind the counter and he acted like he'd never seen anything like it before :hoboy: