RE: [CH] Fish?

T. Matthew Evans (matt.evans@ce.gatech.edu)
Mon, 21 May 2001 10:32:59 -0400 

Hi Marilyn --

When my wife and I lived in Southern California, I would go out tuna fishing
from time to time and would invariably return with a few yellowtail in
addition to my tuna.  I generally found that the yellowtail didn't grill
quite as nicely as the tuna because they were fillets instead of steaks.
Furthermore, I didn't like the yellowtail cooked very, very rare, the way I
eat my tuna -- a little fishy, maybe?  But, all is not lost....

My favorite thing to do with yellowtail was to smoke it.  If you hot smoke
(easiest for the home cook), then the process shouldn't take more than an
hour or so in a kettle grill.  I typically use alder or fruit wood when
smoking fish, as I think they are slightly more mild than, say, hickory or
mesquite.  I usually just seasoned my fillets with kosher salt and cracked
pepper prior to smoking, as this allows you greater flexibility with the
finished product.  The ultimate goal is not to simply eat the smoked fish,
but to have it as an ingredient for other dishes -- flake it into pasta,
crumble it on salads, make traditional "tuna salad" with smoked yellowtail
rather than canned tuna, make fish cakes, or mix it with some cream cheese,
chiles, and sour cream to make a spread for crackers (I have a recipe for
this if you're interested).

I think I am rambling by now, but a couple of more quick points -- since the
fish is already frozen, I would highly recommend an intensely flavored
cooking method (like smoking) over something more delicate (that you might
do with fresh fish).  Secondly, I typically smoked all of my yellowtail at
once and then froze some of it -- it's much easier to use on an everyday
basis if it is already smoked and in your freezer.  Good luck!

Matt

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com
Subject: [CH] Fish?


I have a big bag of frozen yellow tail.  Any CH suggestions on how to fix
it?  Any suggestions are welcome, especially ones that involve lemon juice.
Gotta do something with all those &^%$# lemons on that tree.  And, someone
posted a method for making preserved lemon slices or something a while ago.
Who was that?  I neglected to save it, would appreciate the info again.

Marilyn
Women are not supposed to snore, burp, sweat or pass gas.
Therefore, we must bitch or we will blow up.