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Cooking sea robins

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So I heard that sea robins were edible.  I watched a few videos on YouTube to see how to filet them.  I caught a big one this weekend and went to work.  I found the fileting a bit tricky as the skin is incredibly leathery.  Once I managed to complete the task, I dusted filet in flour and pan fried it in a mixture of olive oil and butter.  I served it with a simple sauce of butter and lemon juice.

 

I was told that sea robins taste like monk fish.  This is not correct.  The sea robin has a firm white meat much more like a typical fish, not at all like the sort of rubbery texture of monkfish.  The taste was very nice... quite mild and not at all fishy.  My wife quite liked it.  Give it a try next time you catch one.

 

One question:  the one that I caught was full of roe.  Does anyone know if the roe is edible?  I wouldn't see why not, but I didn't want to press my luck.

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I can't explain monkfish.  Not sure where the similarities to lobster came from.  So sea robin tastes like lobster now, too.  Wow.

I've always thought the comparison of monkfish to lobster had more to do with texture than taste. Monkfish has that sort of rubbery texture that overlooked lobster tail has. Just my 2 cents.

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Sea robin is a ugly, but delicious.  I have a friend from the Mediteranean who insists on sea robins as a base for his fish stews.

Interesting I had heard that in the south of France, they insist that a scorpion fish is an essential for the base for bouillabaisse. Never heard that sea robins were used.

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Sea robin is a ugly, but delicious.  I have a friend from the Mediteranean who insists on sea robins as a base for his fish stews.

 

Not to get all Escoffier on ya, but yer pal is talking about bouillabaisse, which is a very old style of fish stew. It started as a peasant dish, a way for the grungy local fishermen in Provencal to use bony fish (the famed rascasse, or red scorpionfish; as well as our old pal the sea robin, which the French call grondin) that had no market value. Despite its humble origins, bouillabaisse has become perhaps the most famed dish of French gastronomy, a Very Big Deal to foodies the world over. Done correctly, it is indeed sublime, something very much worth stuffing down yer gullet. 

 

I've never done it, but you could do very much worse than to cook up a fish stew with sea robins. This is something that I've been meaning to do, but sea robins around here are primarily boat fish, and I'm a surf guy. But they are, especially the bigger ones, very much worth keeping and cooking -- if you bring a French gourmand onto your boat, I guarantee that no robins will be released. 

Terri Mae does not approve this message, but screw him.

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Another good use -- perhaps the best -- for sea robins is fish tacos. They make outrageously good fish tacos -- the delicate white flesh is perfect for flaking, and goes superbly with the citrus-y, salsa-y tang of a good fish taco. I learned this when I realized that sculpin, which are a very close cousin of the robin that lives in the Western Pacific (i.e. California) is used to make fish tacos out on the Left Coast all the time.

 

Keep two dozen or so good-sized robins, chill a case or two of good craft beer, and invite your friends over for fish tacos -- this kind of small-plate, eat-as-you-go party can be outrageously enjoyable, especially when the weather is fine, and you can sit outside, get loaded, and tell stories and laugh with your good friends. Sea robins were made to be put into fish tacos. 

Terri Mae does not approve this message, but screw him.

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So I heard that sea robins were edible.  I watched a few videos on YouTube to see how to filet them.  I caught a big one this weekend and went to work.  I found the fileting a bit tricky as the skin is incredibly leathery.  Once I managed to complete the task, I dusted filet in flour and pan fried it in a mixture of olive oil and butter.  I served it with a simple sauce of butter and lemon juice.

 

I was told that sea robins taste like monk fish.  This is not correct.  The sea robin has a firm white meat much more like a typical fish, not at all like the sort of rubbery texture of monkfish.  The taste was very nice... quite mild and not at all fishy.  My wife quite liked it.  Give it a try next time you catch one.

 

One question:  the one that I caught was full of roe.  Does anyone know if the roe is edible?  I wouldn't see why not, but I didn't want to press my luck.

I have one friend in Long Island, he eats every sea robin he catches. Appearently the meat is white and delicate, he bakes it with a bunch of seasoning and that's how I would recommend cooking it.

If you can dream it, I can meme it.

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Interesting I had heard that in the south of France, they insist that a scorpion fish is an essential for the base for bouillabaisse. Never heard that sea robins were used.

My friend was from Croatia, and he insisted on sea robins.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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Not to get all Escoffier on ya, but yer pal is talking about bouillabaisse, which is a very old style of fish stew. It started as a peasant dish, a way for the grungy local fishermen in Provencal to use bony fish (the famed rascasse, or red scorpionfish; as well as our old pal the sea robin, which the French call grondin) that had no market value. Despite its humble origins, bouillabaisse has become perhaps the most famed dish of French gastronomy, a Very Big Deal to foodies the world over. Done correctly, it is indeed sublime, something very much worth stuffing down yer gullet. 

 

I've never done it, but you could do very much worse than to cook up a fish stew with sea robins. This is something that I've been meaning to do, but sea robins around here are primarily boat fish, and I'm a surf guy. But they are, especially the bigger ones, very much worth keeping and cooking -- if you bring a French gourmand onto your boat, I guarantee that no robins will be released. 

:laugh: I knew the word was bouillabaisse.  But when I made my post, I was at a loss as to how to spell it properly. So rather that misspell it, I said fish stew.

  My Mom made great bouillabaisse as well. But she used scup as her base. Light tomato/saffron broth, to which she added squid, mussels, scallops, littlenecks, and maybe even a piece of lobster. It was good stuff. :drool:

The Sultan of Sluggo

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