The third book I am working on is called (and this title will probably change) "A Cookbook for California's Inshore Anglers."
The subject is lizardfish and until I have a chance to get down south and catch some of the lizardfish that seem to be hiitting all across SoCal piers, I'm not sure the following is an accurate/adequate description on the edibility of lizardfish. Have any of you tried them?
Food Value: Good or bad? I haven’t eaten them so I hesitate to give an opinion. I have always felt lizardfish had limited value in California due to (1) a generally small size (2) their bony nature and (3) some people reporting that the flesh has a strong “fishy” odor and/or iodine taste. Many disagree and say the meat is mild and flaky once cooked. You just have to deal with those bones. If the bones don’t bother you, dig in. However, Tommy Gomes, “The Fishmonger,” one of the real experts on seafood, says they are “seriously delicious” so that’s a pretty good recommendation.
Interesting are the comments of anglers on fishing sites. Anglers on a thread on the “San Diego Fishing Facebook” page said the following: (1) Erik Wahirab—“good with a little soy sauce and wasabi on a bagel.” (2) Curt Mitchell—“We call them Vietnamese French fries. Really good fried and salted.” (3) Brian Jiminez—“Bleed and ice. Best sashimi ever.” So there you go, sounds like they are worth a try (assuming you catch one big enough to eat.
I noticed in a North Carolina fishing site one day that someone asked if anyone had “Ever tried eating Lizard Fish? Very good, flaky white flesh much like that of a small flounder. Easy to clean —skin ‘em like a Blow Toad.” Not sure how you clean a blow toad but I know most lizardfish caught in North Carolina are a little bigger and perhaps more appropriate for eating.
I also know that lizardfish are one of the fish used by the Japanese to create surimi for Japan (they usually use Pollock for U.S. surimi). There is also a large market for dried lizardfish in Asia. According to Wikipedia, “The Bombay duck or bummalo (Harpadon nehereus, Bengali: bamaloh or loytta, Gujarati: bumla, Marathi: bombil: Bombeli, Sinhala) is, despite its name, not a duck but a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kutch in the Arabian Sea, and a small number are also found in the Bay of Bengal. Great numbers are also caught in the South China Sea. The fish is often dried and salted before it is consumed, as its meat does not have a distinctive taste of its own. After drying, the odor of the fish is extremely powerful, and it is usually transported in airtight containers. Fresh fish are usually fried and served as a starter. In Mumbai, Konkan and the western coastal areas in India this dish is popularly known as ‘Bombil fry.’”
The subject is lizardfish and until I have a chance to get down south and catch some of the lizardfish that seem to be hiitting all across SoCal piers, I'm not sure the following is an accurate/adequate description on the edibility of lizardfish. Have any of you tried them?
Food Value: Good or bad? I haven’t eaten them so I hesitate to give an opinion. I have always felt lizardfish had limited value in California due to (1) a generally small size (2) their bony nature and (3) some people reporting that the flesh has a strong “fishy” odor and/or iodine taste. Many disagree and say the meat is mild and flaky once cooked. You just have to deal with those bones. If the bones don’t bother you, dig in. However, Tommy Gomes, “The Fishmonger,” one of the real experts on seafood, says they are “seriously delicious” so that’s a pretty good recommendation.
Interesting are the comments of anglers on fishing sites. Anglers on a thread on the “San Diego Fishing Facebook” page said the following: (1) Erik Wahirab—“good with a little soy sauce and wasabi on a bagel.” (2) Curt Mitchell—“We call them Vietnamese French fries. Really good fried and salted.” (3) Brian Jiminez—“Bleed and ice. Best sashimi ever.” So there you go, sounds like they are worth a try (assuming you catch one big enough to eat.
I noticed in a North Carolina fishing site one day that someone asked if anyone had “Ever tried eating Lizard Fish? Very good, flaky white flesh much like that of a small flounder. Easy to clean —skin ‘em like a Blow Toad.” Not sure how you clean a blow toad but I know most lizardfish caught in North Carolina are a little bigger and perhaps more appropriate for eating.
I also know that lizardfish are one of the fish used by the Japanese to create surimi for Japan (they usually use Pollock for U.S. surimi). There is also a large market for dried lizardfish in Asia. According to Wikipedia, “The Bombay duck or bummalo (Harpadon nehereus, Bengali: bamaloh or loytta, Gujarati: bumla, Marathi: bombil: Bombeli, Sinhala) is, despite its name, not a duck but a lizardfish. It is native to the waters between Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Kutch in the Arabian Sea, and a small number are also found in the Bay of Bengal. Great numbers are also caught in the South China Sea. The fish is often dried and salted before it is consumed, as its meat does not have a distinctive taste of its own. After drying, the odor of the fish is extremely powerful, and it is usually transported in airtight containers. Fresh fish are usually fried and served as a starter. In Mumbai, Konkan and the western coastal areas in India this dish is popularly known as ‘Bombil fry.’”
