Dogfish

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After I saw it done on YouTube a few times a few weeks ago I had to give it a try…it was now on my bucket list. Have I been throwing away hundreds of baby duck eaters and feeding them to the turtles a
all these years not knowing they are good eating…I think not..yuck! I ended up catching one a few days ago and filleted it. They have always been a dull green and a lot bigger so I’m guessing this one one must have been a juvenile with its unique coloring? It was maybe 3/4 lbs at most. The fillets smelled like dead rotting shad…like most of the catfish I catch after filleting them. Well I had an idea of doing the same brine mix I tried last winter fro most my deer meat. I read that it removes nasty smells, rotten Tastes, and kills bacteria so I gave it a try. The brine was water, vinegar, and salt mix. I soaked it overnight in the fridge with ice cibes added of course to keep it freezing cold. In the morning I gave it a sniff test. The rotten smell was completely gone but it smelled of strong vinegar even after I washed the fillets off. I did notice the fillets were coming apart like the vinegar was Disintegrating some of it. I then soaked it in milk from that morning till about 5 pm. The fillets still had a very slight smell of vinegar and almost a thick coat of milk that absorbed into the meat. I washed off what was left of the fillet pieces and raised it under cold water till it was clear. I re smelled the fish. It still had a slight vinegar smell and was quite stringy and seemed like it was going to be tough. I dried the pieces off with a paper towel, washed the pieces in egg, and dusted with beer batter shore lunch. I pan fried the pieces for about 4 minutes in oil and gave them a try. The meat tasted good! It had a lemony taste…must have been from the vinegar. Almost tasted like hush puppies (with a zing)when I was a kid. I had two other taste testers that were afraid to try it but gave me thumbs up after eating. It’s not something I would go out of my way to make again but a fish I thought wasn’t edible tasted better than, sheepshead, gar, Striped or white Bass…or mushy crappie for that matter. I have made catfish without the soaking and it literally tasted like dead rotted shad so I will definitely soak my future stinky catfish in brine. I’m sure if I left in milk longer it would have neutralized all the vinegar smell and taste out of it.
I also tried sunfish row. Removed it fresh and dusted it with shore lunch and fried it for about a minute. Tasted like I was eating batter…did nothing for me. A bigger pice had some grainy texture like grits but still no taste.

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I'm a writer who focuses on the outdoors and travel. I share my time between Alaska and Colorado, where, when I'm not writing, I enjoy camping, kayaking, hiking, fishing, and skiing (often with dogs in tow). My byline may also be seen in publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and others.

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