Currently finishing up a book called The California Pier Rat Cookbook. In it I've included some old theads. Herein a couple.
Currently working on several different books one being the California Pier Rat Cookbook. Included are some threads from the pier rats on pierfishing.com. Some are long and some are short. Here's a couple, one a thread that actually only contains one recipe.
To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for leopard shark?
Name: kcilp
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for leopard shark?
Grilled, basted with a flavored oil and thrown over a hot fire
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: A slight variation
I like to baste with Pepper Olive oil, rub in a little minced garlic and then sprinkle with a little soy sauce, then throw those fillets on the grill!
I fish, therefore I lie!
Name: giflet
Subject: Mar-17-04
Subject: Generally catch and release, its just too awesome looking. But...
the big one I did keep last year was taken home cut and soaked in butter milk for a few hours, then salted and seasoned with pepper, garlic salt and lots of lemon, basted in butter, wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill, eaten the same night at a party we were having. Everyone loved it, served with lemon and eaten with crispy grilled tortillas, shrimp cocktail and a side dipper of hoarse radish sauce. Very simple but very good.
Name: pescare
Date: Mar-17-04 9:46am
Subject: What’s your best recipe for leopard shark?
Make a paste with (amounts approximate):
1 T chopped or pressed garlic
2 T lemon zest
2 T chopped parsley
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
olive oil - add enough to make a thin paste
Rub onto fillets and let stand in fridge 2-4 hours, then grill or broil.
Name: baitfish
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What’s your best recipe for leopard shark?
Rub with olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh minced garlic, sweet paprika and dill, let marinate for 1-2 hours. Sear both sides on hot grill and then wrap in foil add lemon juice and a little white wine. Let it bake on the grill in foil for appropriate time for size of fillet and serve with sauteed( Olive oil, butter salt and pepper aspargass and fried red potatoes.
Actually this recipe works well with any mild flavored white meat fish, especially halibut!
Name: q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Can someone tell me what you guys do from the time you catch them. I have heard stuff about bleeding it, and soaking it in milk/lemon juice. Can someone please tell me what to do from the time of capture? Thanks so much.
Name: prometheus
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Mainly you have to bleed them out. You can slice their gills open and hang them upside down, or cut their tail off midway and hang them head up so the blood drains out. A friend of mine once stabbed one between the pectoral fins and got lots of bleeding there as well. Mainly you want the fish to stay alive long enough to pump out the blood, and then hang it such that the rest of the blood runs out. Once it stops dripping it should immediately be put on ice, or better yet cleaned and put on ice.
If you’ve got a few hours, you can skin a leopard shark and stretch the skin out on a sheet of plywood with a lot of salt on the inside side. It dries out tough and kinda crispy over a few days. You can shape the fins while they're half dry. When all dry, hang by the eye holes in your macho shrine (den, garage, ect). The skin is held on pretty good, it takes a fairly long time and a fair amount of practice.
Name: q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Will slicing their gills and then returning to the water on a stringer work? And then would you hang it head down after it died? And is the ice crucial? What if you didn't have ice? How long will it last? Is the milk/lemon juice soaking necessary? Sorry for all of the questions, and thanks for all of the information so far.
Name: kennycrft
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: Do you recommend soaking in milk before cooking?
Ken, I heard that soaking shark in milk helps neutralize the acids in shark, but your book says to soak shark in a acid solution
Posted by q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: I’ve heard the same thing
I too have heard both lemon juice (acid) and milk. I too am confused, and have posted essentially the same question above. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by danielpjr
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: Do you recommend soaking in milk before cooking?
I've always soaked the shark in milk overnight, sometimes two days. Barbecued over mesquite with a coating of olive oil, lemon pepper and garlic works great for me. Dan
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Mar-18-04 5:37am
Soakin' sharks... from PFIC, Vol. 2
I too have heard that milk can help neutralize the off-flavor of shark meat. However, the information given below is the most often recommended method.
“Although many people feel that sharks should no longer be used for food (for a variety of reasons), many others continue to catch and eat these primitive fish. If you must eat them, you need to treat them differently than most fish. Sharks, rays and skates should always be cleaned, or at least gutted and bled, soon after capture. Each of these species contains urea in their blood, flesh, and skin to help them maintain the proper salt balance in their bodies. It's good for them, but bad for us. Unless bled quickly the urea will cause the carcass to have an ammonia smell to it and cause the flesh to have an off taste. This urea-induced taste can be neutralized by soaking the fillets in acidulated water (mild vinegar and water or lemon juice and water) for a few hours. It can be virtually prevented however by simply bleeding the fish as soon as it is landed or, even better, by cleaning the fish and icing it down upon capture. Since these sharks and rays are too large to hang off a pier on a stringer, and since they are too large to place whole in a small cooler, I try to clean and fillet them as soon as possible. The next best solution would be to bleed, gut, and then keep them in a moist gunnysack. To bleed, cut the tail off, cut down to the backbone at the tail end, or cut the gills. If not immediately cleaned, make sure you soak them for a few hours or overnight in the acidulated water. In addition, I have found that the flesh of these fish is improved if kept chilled one or two days (no more) in the refrigerator — even if they were cleaned immediately.
______________________________________________________
To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for thresher shark?
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: I would have to catch one first! :-(
Name: dompfa ben
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Marinate and BBQ
Cut steaks about an inch thick. Remove blood line spots, leave the skin on.
Marinade steaks in the following:
Soy sauce
Brown sugar
One chopped onion
chopped green onions
garlic powder
fresh parsley, chopped (not too much)
a little canola oil to glue it all together
lime or lemon
Let the fish sit in the mix for a few hours in the fridge. Cook over gray coals (not red hot), or with indirect heat. Don't overcook.
Skin will peel off. Serve with grilled zucchini, or veggie-kabobs, and white rice. If you have four left-over cases of wine from your wedding, go with a Chardonnay or a good Pinot Grigio.
DOMPFA: Dominating Positive Fishing Attitude!
Ripple in still water. When there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow. -The Grateful Dead
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Four cases? You did not party hard enough.
Name: dompfa ben
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Overly-zealous purchasing, plenty of partying
The remaining cases were purchased the day before the wedding by my cousin, who felt we “didn't have enough wine.”
The good news is, we kept them, and have been celebrating our reception all summer long. It’s 2 buck Chuck, but it goes down easy. Unfortunately, I haven't found occasion to test the marriage of pierfishing and wine-drinking (a la Songslinger's SAQ page question, “Can I go fishing with you?”), so it will remain a weekend at home thing for a while.
Ben
DOMPFA: Dominating Positive Fishing Attitude!
Ripple in still water. When there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow. -The Grateful Dead
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Two buck chuck goes down well on a pier
Not the greatest wine in the world, but I’ve tasted many that cost more and weren’t as good! I have a bottle of Merlot and a bottle of Chardonnay in my “gear bag” at the moment! That merlot will go good with a nice squid on a hook, and a cigar!
I fish, therefore I lie!
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Okay, that doesn't sound right
Name: calrat
Date: Jul-14-04 12:29pm
Subject: Re: What's your best recipe for thresher shark?
I wish I had a recipe. I haven’t even caught one yet!
“Cast straight or get castrated!”
Currently working on several different books one being the California Pier Rat Cookbook. Included are some threads from the pier rats on pierfishing.com. Some are long and some are short. Here's a couple, one a thread that actually only contains one recipe.
To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for leopard shark?
Name: kcilp
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for leopard shark?
Grilled, basted with a flavored oil and thrown over a hot fire
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: A slight variation
I like to baste with Pepper Olive oil, rub in a little minced garlic and then sprinkle with a little soy sauce, then throw those fillets on the grill!
I fish, therefore I lie!
Name: giflet
Subject: Mar-17-04
Subject: Generally catch and release, its just too awesome looking. But...
the big one I did keep last year was taken home cut and soaked in butter milk for a few hours, then salted and seasoned with pepper, garlic salt and lots of lemon, basted in butter, wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill, eaten the same night at a party we were having. Everyone loved it, served with lemon and eaten with crispy grilled tortillas, shrimp cocktail and a side dipper of hoarse radish sauce. Very simple but very good.
Name: pescare
Date: Mar-17-04 9:46am
Subject: What’s your best recipe for leopard shark?
Make a paste with (amounts approximate):
1 T chopped or pressed garlic
2 T lemon zest
2 T chopped parsley
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
olive oil - add enough to make a thin paste
Rub onto fillets and let stand in fridge 2-4 hours, then grill or broil.
Name: baitfish
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: What’s your best recipe for leopard shark?
Rub with olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh minced garlic, sweet paprika and dill, let marinate for 1-2 hours. Sear both sides on hot grill and then wrap in foil add lemon juice and a little white wine. Let it bake on the grill in foil for appropriate time for size of fillet and serve with sauteed( Olive oil, butter salt and pepper aspargass and fried red potatoes.
Actually this recipe works well with any mild flavored white meat fish, especially halibut!
Name: q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Can someone tell me what you guys do from the time you catch them. I have heard stuff about bleeding it, and soaking it in milk/lemon juice. Can someone please tell me what to do from the time of capture? Thanks so much.
Name: prometheus
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Mainly you have to bleed them out. You can slice their gills open and hang them upside down, or cut their tail off midway and hang them head up so the blood drains out. A friend of mine once stabbed one between the pectoral fins and got lots of bleeding there as well. Mainly you want the fish to stay alive long enough to pump out the blood, and then hang it such that the rest of the blood runs out. Once it stops dripping it should immediately be put on ice, or better yet cleaned and put on ice.
If you’ve got a few hours, you can skin a leopard shark and stretch the skin out on a sheet of plywood with a lot of salt on the inside side. It dries out tough and kinda crispy over a few days. You can shape the fins while they're half dry. When all dry, hang by the eye holes in your macho shrine (den, garage, ect). The skin is held on pretty good, it takes a fairly long time and a fair amount of practice.
Name: q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: How to prepare from time of catch???
Will slicing their gills and then returning to the water on a stringer work? And then would you hang it head down after it died? And is the ice crucial? What if you didn't have ice? How long will it last? Is the milk/lemon juice soaking necessary? Sorry for all of the questions, and thanks for all of the information so far.
Name: kennycrft
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: Do you recommend soaking in milk before cooking?
Ken, I heard that soaking shark in milk helps neutralize the acids in shark, but your book says to soak shark in a acid solution
Posted by q3fishboy
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: I’ve heard the same thing
I too have heard both lemon juice (acid) and milk. I too am confused, and have posted essentially the same question above. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by danielpjr
Date: Mar-17-04
Subject: Do you recommend soaking in milk before cooking?
I've always soaked the shark in milk overnight, sometimes two days. Barbecued over mesquite with a coating of olive oil, lemon pepper and garlic works great for me. Dan
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Mar-18-04 5:37am
Soakin' sharks... from PFIC, Vol. 2
I too have heard that milk can help neutralize the off-flavor of shark meat. However, the information given below is the most often recommended method.
“Although many people feel that sharks should no longer be used for food (for a variety of reasons), many others continue to catch and eat these primitive fish. If you must eat them, you need to treat them differently than most fish. Sharks, rays and skates should always be cleaned, or at least gutted and bled, soon after capture. Each of these species contains urea in their blood, flesh, and skin to help them maintain the proper salt balance in their bodies. It's good for them, but bad for us. Unless bled quickly the urea will cause the carcass to have an ammonia smell to it and cause the flesh to have an off taste. This urea-induced taste can be neutralized by soaking the fillets in acidulated water (mild vinegar and water or lemon juice and water) for a few hours. It can be virtually prevented however by simply bleeding the fish as soon as it is landed or, even better, by cleaning the fish and icing it down upon capture. Since these sharks and rays are too large to hang off a pier on a stringer, and since they are too large to place whole in a small cooler, I try to clean and fillet them as soon as possible. The next best solution would be to bleed, gut, and then keep them in a moist gunnysack. To bleed, cut the tail off, cut down to the backbone at the tail end, or cut the gills. If not immediately cleaned, make sure you soak them for a few hours or overnight in the acidulated water. In addition, I have found that the flesh of these fish is improved if kept chilled one or two days (no more) in the refrigerator — even if they were cleaned immediately.
______________________________________________________
To: Pier Fishing In California Message Board
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: What's your best recipe for thresher shark?
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: I would have to catch one first! :-(
Name: dompfa ben
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Marinate and BBQ
Cut steaks about an inch thick. Remove blood line spots, leave the skin on.
Marinade steaks in the following:
Soy sauce
Brown sugar
One chopped onion
chopped green onions
garlic powder
fresh parsley, chopped (not too much)
a little canola oil to glue it all together
lime or lemon
Let the fish sit in the mix for a few hours in the fridge. Cook over gray coals (not red hot), or with indirect heat. Don't overcook.
Skin will peel off. Serve with grilled zucchini, or veggie-kabobs, and white rice. If you have four left-over cases of wine from your wedding, go with a Chardonnay or a good Pinot Grigio.
DOMPFA: Dominating Positive Fishing Attitude!
Ripple in still water. When there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow. -The Grateful Dead
Name: Ken Jones
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Four cases? You did not party hard enough.
Name: dompfa ben
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Overly-zealous purchasing, plenty of partying
The remaining cases were purchased the day before the wedding by my cousin, who felt we “didn't have enough wine.”
The good news is, we kept them, and have been celebrating our reception all summer long. It’s 2 buck Chuck, but it goes down easy. Unfortunately, I haven't found occasion to test the marriage of pierfishing and wine-drinking (a la Songslinger's SAQ page question, “Can I go fishing with you?”), so it will remain a weekend at home thing for a while.
Ben
DOMPFA: Dominating Positive Fishing Attitude!
Ripple in still water. When there is no pebble tossed, nor wind to blow. -The Grateful Dead
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Two buck chuck goes down well on a pier
Not the greatest wine in the world, but I’ve tasted many that cost more and weren’t as good! I have a bottle of Merlot and a bottle of Chardonnay in my “gear bag” at the moment! That merlot will go good with a nice squid on a hook, and a cigar!
I fish, therefore I lie!
Name: StripeSideChaser
Date: Jul-14-04
Subject: Okay, that doesn't sound right
Name: calrat
Date: Jul-14-04 12:29pm
Subject: Re: What's your best recipe for thresher shark?
I wish I had a recipe. I haven’t even caught one yet!
“Cast straight or get castrated!”