About your seafood — Sea Forager

Deep Water "Red Banded" or Blackgill Rockfish

We have a line on some beautiful red banded and blackgill rockfish from F/V Yellow Time off of Santa Barbara, CA and we're happy to have them for you today. Caught by bottom longline, these stocks are doing really well, and these specific fish will be in top condition and as fresh as can be.

Most of the rockfish that end up in our local markets are drag caught, and the fact that these are hook and line caught is really awesome. To put it in perspective, a boat dragging for ocean perch, thorny heads or chilis can catch 40,000 pounds in one outing. By contrast a guy fishing hook and line is lucky to catch 250 to 500 pounds. Of the rockfish species, this is a relatively short-lived, fast-maturing species that lives most of it's life on shallower water than many other rockfish species. Did I mention they're delicious?

ORIGIN: F/V Yellow Time off of Santa Barbara, CA

METHOD: bottom longline

RECIPES: rockfish tacos & Mexican slaw; rockin' rockfish cakes; convict chowder, OR just grill it! Light marinade and a BBQ - you're golden.

PREP TIP: (optional) how to skin your fish fillet VIDEO

FishKirk LombardSeptember 7, 2020Rockfish, Red Banded Rockfish, Deep water rockfish

Pacific Herring

Huzzah! The herring are running! FV Captain Midnight, Captain Chris Cameron found these in our own waters. The fishery is very healthy, as are the fish - they are short lived and do not bioaccumulate toxins and are full of omega-3s. Awesome pickled, fried, broiled, or baked.

Of all the fish that end up in the Neptune's Delight orders, herring require the most work. They will need to be scaled and gutted, or filleted. For pickling do not chunk the herring, fillet them. There's no easy way around this. Crack a beer or pour yourself a glass of wine and embrace the process of getting intimate with your fish! Remember, if you find eggs inside the females you can brine them and make your own kazunoko--or something close to it!

Herring meat is strong in flavor and soft in texture. It firms up really nicely when pickled. Herring can be grilled, pickled, smoked, broiled or pan fried. De-boning a herring is a tad more difficult than de-boning a sardine, but I suggest you just fillet it and leave the bones. If you're smoking your herring remember, our herring have much less fat than the Atlantic herring that are typically used for "kippers." So when marinating your local herring make sure to add a touch of oil or fat to the mix.

ORIGIN: FV Captain Midnight, Captain Chris Cameron

INFO PAGE: click for videos and more!

METHOD: Seine net

PREP TIP VIDEO: begins at 0:2:18

RECIPES: Kirk's pickled herring, oat-crusted fried herring, bacon-wrapped herring, herring milt & roe, Chinese-style steamed herring, roasted herring stuffed with herbs, or simply dredged in flour and pan fried - easy and delicious!

FishKirk LombardSeptember 6, 2020Herring, Pacific Herring

Sardines

Easier than a trip to Greece! IQF Sardines, caught by the F/V Sea Wave out of Monterey, CA. Taste the heritage! Bold, awesome, high in Omega 3s... enjoy these delicious and beautiful species.

Your sardines will come whole, approximately 2 lbs, so you can practice your skills, in the spirit of the Neptune's Delight. There will be some bones that are easy to eat around, but you need to gut them (the fish are healthy but the guts are not). Gut 'em and grill (or bake) them, then pull the meat off as you would with a whole trout. You can stuff them with herbs, lemons and bake, or salt them and toss it on the grill, you can't go wrong. And send us photos of your fish! You could win a Sea Forager oyster shucker!

INFO PAGE: click for more fishery info!

PREP TIPS: You got a whole fish! What to do:

Scale your whole fish by holding it by the tail and then using the back of a knife or a spoon, scrape against the "grain" of the scales. I recommend laying out newspaper and doing it on top or scaling into a bag (place it in the sink for ease, but then toss the bag in the trash.) Rinse when you're done.
Sharpen your paring knife. Like, really sharp.
Place your fish on the cutting board and slice into the fish’s “vent” (poop hole) and up to the “neck.”
Use your hands or a teaspoon to scrape out the innards and gills. Or you can cut the head off if you like too. Pause, and ponder the wheel of life.
Rinse your gutted fish, and watch the video to see how to pull out the spine and bones.
VIDEO: here’s a cleaning video, minus the scaling. You got this!
Cook that beauty!

ORIGIN: F/V Sea Wave, Monterey, CA

SARDINE & Mackerel RECIPES: Roasted sardines with garlic and paprika, broiled sardines with lemon wedges, stuffed sardines, broiled sardines wrapped in bacon, roasted sardines stuffed with herbs.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Sardines, sardines

Yellowtail Jack

We are in for a treat - yellowtail jack! This is the same species as farmed hamachi from Japan, but this is WILD and caught by hook and line. The stocks are doing very well. Click the info page for more fishery details.

Your fish will come skin-on. Perfect for the grill, sushi, or any other recipe with bold flavors, this fatty, firm fish is sure to please. Note: it's best to trim away the red meat as it's particularly pungent and not good for sushi.

ORIGIN: F/V Noelle May, Captain Bruce Derksen, caught off of the Channel Islands, CA

METHOD: hook & line

RECIPES: Check out this member recipe for Tahitian Poisson Cru, or pick your favorite marinade and grill it quickly over high heat, or enjoy as sushi!

PREP TIP: (optional) how to skin your fish fillet VIDEO

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020Yellowtail Jack

Night Smelt

Just a reminder, when eating "night fish," just batter and fry whole. No cleaning necessary, but keep in mind that sometimes there are sand grains in the gills, so grab them by the heads, dip in sauce and scarf everything but the head and gills. That's what I do anyway.

Oh man, I love these little guys. KQED filmed a video of me going after them and the Fishwife frying them up - see HERE. Before that I've written passionately about them on The Monkeyface News over the years and made my own weird night smelt VIDEOS highlighting the insanity and the thrill of fishing for these fish. Much milder than anchovies and perfect for the fry pan. They are classically served fried, but the Fishwife likes to bake and broil them too, the way she does with surf smelt.

PREP

Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Virtually every fisherman on the coast and most of the chefs who cook these fish fry them whole: heads, guts and all. They do not as a rule feed while spawning so there's nothing in their stomachs. The only problem in eating them whole is that they tend to swallow a little sand, and also there may be a few sand grains in their gills. It's no more grit than what you get in an average oyster, but I want to point it out before you guys chomp down on whole night smelt. Personally I prefer them headed and gutted and that’s what I suggest you do. It will take you 15 minutes to clean your bag of fish (bags are 2.25 to 2.5 pounds), and this is a good way to practice your fish butchery skills. And BTW: night smelt DO NOT have to be scaled—which is always the hardest part of cleaning a small fish! They also keep well frozen if need be.

INFO PAGE: click for more info

ORIGIN: Dude Gifford, Eureka, CA

METHOD: A-frame dip net, based on a Native American design that has been used on the California coast for many thousands of years.

RECIPE: Night smelt fish fry (or, fries with eyes!)

More Night smelt madness HERE

VIDEO: Night smelt fishing in California, employing the use of traditional Native American A-frame dip net.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020night smelt

Surf Smelt

A few lucky Neptune's Delight members will enjoy surf smelt, caught using a small purse seine off of Crescent City. This is the kind of delicious, nutritious and sustainably harvested species, I really want people to experience, (like sardine, mackerel, night smelt and anchovy). These are small in size, affectionately referred to as “whitebait” and can be prepared like night smelt (fried and eaten whole).

Surf smelt are one of my absolute favorite little fishes, and we haven't seen them for about 5 years and now they're suddenly showing up. Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast caught these with his purse seine. You can eat it whole like a small trout, or debone and then cook.

ORIGIN: Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast

METHOD: Small purse seine

PREP: Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Here's a short video on how to clean these beauties in two easy steps: VIDEO, and a couple videos on frying and stuffing surf smelt too on the INFO PAGE

RECIPE: Fried fillets or stuffed surf smelt.

FishKirk LombardAugust 31, 2020surf smelt

Bonito

These beautiful fish are rarely found locally, and we can thank global warming for their appearance in Moss Landing. Bonito are a smaller member of the tuna family and are excellent as sashimi, or seared. Your fish were reeled in by hook and line yesterday, and your fillet will come skin on (see how to remove your fish skin VIDEO).

FishKirk LombardJune 29, 2020Bonito

FLYING FISH

These are a silverside fish, and literally fly onto the boat, so they're netted from the boat. This is a bait fishery (they're used for bluefin tuna), but many of the top restaurants (and home cooks) have realized what great eating they are, and so can you!

FishCamilla LombardSeptember 16, 2019Flying Fish

Ahi Tuna

Awesome ahi tuna is swimming your way! Your beautiful ahi tuna are reeled in off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel using troll gear as opposed to the gigantic Pelagic long liners that are so destructive.

Your ahi tuna loin will come skin off, blood line removed. Perfect for the grill, for searing, or sushi. Please note that the ahi is firmer than albacore.

This is the highest-grade tuna on the market, sustainably caught. Check out the info page for more details, and peep the recipes too!

ORIGIN: reeled in off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel

METHOD: trolling (not trawling), using hook and line

RECIPES: Pan-Seared Albacore Tuna Loin, Tahitian Poisson Cru, Tuna with red pepper sauce, Simple Poke, Albacore tuna skewers

FishCamilla LombardNovember 12, 2018Tuna, ahi tuna