On Saturday, I went to H Mart to buy some veggies for our tailgate and while walking past the fish department, I stopped to watch the guy filleting fish for sashimi. He was working on a fish called Cobia and cutting up half pound pieces. I never heard of it. He gave me a small cube to taste and it was good, so I bought one piece after he promised me that it would be fine to keep for the tailgate the next day. I forgot to bring it and only remembered it this morning, so I took it out of the refrigerator, decided to cook it for safety due to the delay, sprinkled some truffle salt on it, and sauteed it in some of Nola’s Veleta Olive Oil for breakfast.
Outstanding. Moderate to strong fish flavor. Almost sweet. Light pinkish brown flesh color. Excellent texture that was solid without being chewy, half way between salmon and swordfish, but with no sinews. At about $13 per pound for the sashimi grade fillet, I felt like I was stealing. I have never seen that fish and I always stop to watch the technique of the guy filleting fish for sashimi, so I doubt it is a regular item, but I intend to go back and try to get it again. If you only like Dover Sole, this would not be to your liking. It is not a fall apart fish, but you do not need to cut it with a knife either.
I think it would pair well with white Bordeaux or white Rhone varieties. Not with a buttery chardonnay. It’s OK for a moderate acidity chardonnay, but not for one that etches your teeth either.
Have had this fish several times over the years. But, never attracted enough to it to chase it down. To me, the “best fish ever” is John Dory…a byproduct of the east coast squid fishery. I grab this wherever/whenever I find it.
Hmart is an interesting place to buy seafood. (There is one two miles from my office, and I usually stick to live creatures there…) They were selling/are selling “pompano” (which is also way up on my list) for great prices. I thought something was “fishy”…and asked what it really was…or why it was so cheap. Given the language barrier, I was able just to discern that they “ocean” farm a relative of pompano in China , Vietnam . It comes in frozen…and they “re-fresh” it , and sell it. Not bad, but fish farms in Asia concern me…(I also read there’s a farmed pompano industry in Panama…only sold fresh. So, it the Hmart stuff “pompano”? Not really sure…but I can’t argue.
I guess people looked at farming as suspect for meats, too, at one point…but…what would we do without it?
To me, the “best fish ever” is John Dory…a byproduct of the east coast squid fishery. I grab this wherever/whenever I find it.
Sure, as long as you don’t have to filet it! I started getting hooked on it when I was in Europe and it was called St. Pierre, rather than the bastardized French name John Dory Spines on that thing are no joke.
Pregame ritual in the US before sporting events. It involves eating and drinking, typically in excess, in the parking lot of the sporting event. For football, it goes way over the top.
Connection point you might be missing - the end of a pick-up truck is called a tailgate. People frequently pull up to parking lots for sporting events with their pick-up beds stocked with coolers and bbq grills, lower the gate and sit on it while pre-gaming. Here’s an example, albeit 15 years ago at a Raiders game. Nothing says “classy” like Johnny Walker Blue in dixie cups.
Yeah…I don’t do too much fileting of fish…unless I’ve caught them…I either have them cleaned and cook whole; or buy filets. Lots of stuff I’ve regretted trying to filet:
monkfish; skatewings; mackerel (very bloody)…so… I don’t try anymore.
What is John Dory a bastardization of, by the way?
Version I had heard was that it was a simpleton’s pronunciation of jaune doree (yellow/gold gilded), given the crazy metallic look the fish has. Again, I discovered it a couple of years ago and it was always referred to as St Pierre in Paris, so the “John Dory” was new to me, having come from the West Coast of the US.
Spines on that thing are no joke.
