Cooking yellowbelly

[penycraig]

Hi folks, just joined this site. I have a couple of yellowbelly in the freezer. A trawl through recipe books did not tickle my fancy. Any hints on the best way to cook them? Penycraig

[Poseidon]

Try this link, it may help.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1154345866/9#9

Some of the recipes in the link may get some taste into it.

Regards Cameron.

[ronnieandbill]

Hi
I haven't had a yella in ages. last one was from Somerset and it weighed nearly 10lb.
Abit big for my liking as there was alot of fat on it.
I usually just do the filleting thing but slice them on an angle into smaller peices, roll in some flour or crumb. Add some butter or olive oil to the pan or drop in deep fry.

There is a packet batter on the market called --- and i may get in trouble for this--- Mrs Macks instant batter. yummo made with a stubby of beer.
Try it on your fish, calamari prawns etc.
I

[robyoung1]

For my 2 cents worth, you can't do anything to make the buggers tstae any good. Not yellow belly, bass or whatever.
But, when I was living out in the bush, all my freinds had a great appreciation for them, and this is what they did it; from memory.
They first soaked them for a few days to get rid of any dirty tatse, they may have used a slight bit vinegar in the mix.
Then they smeared them in pepper sauce, and smoked them.

I simply can't come at them unless they're cooked this way. But we all have different tatse buds huh.

good luck
rob

[Feral]

There is a fat strip along the top of the back and in the belly flap. The fat strip along the back usually pulls off the top of a fillet by hand, dont take the belly flap with the fillet is the easiest way to avoid it in that area.

Then cook as per any normal fish fillet.

[Graham_N_Roberts]

Any Yella at around 35 to 45 cm can be baked whole as you would a bream. Scale and wipe down thoroughly first to remove the slime.

Fish over 45cm are best filleted, removing the fat from the back (just rolls away), and dusted in flour (with a dash of salt and pepper to your taste) and fried in olive oil or butter.

I must have no tastebuds sensitive to mud :-/ :-? ..... I've never tasted a Muddy Yella. Looked after, they as good a fish as any ;).

Cheers.

[angler1]

fillet the fish as normal cutting away any fat, then soak the fillets in egg and milk overnight to rid them of any bad taste, batter ,deep fry and enjoy.

[robyoung1]

Yeah the egg and milk thing is what I think my mates used to use.
I reckon the only time they tased any good (to me) was not when the fish were marinaded in anything, but when I was marinaded with plenty of firewater!
I sincerely don't mean any disrespect to anyone's taste preferences, but the way they taste is what converted me to a complete and absolute "release" fisherman (freshwater anyway). I only ever kept any if mates heard i was going fishing and specifically asked me to keep some.
I tried washing them immediately with creek water, washing them with tap water at home, soaking them in many concotions, but I never tried swimming them in clean water before killing them (an old mate of mine used to bring them home alive and put them in a trough of fresh water for a couple days).
I even bled them as with a tailor, and always have kept any fish I caught on ice. No way known could any dis-taste come from fish not being cared for.

From about 13 years old onward I fished every fortnight in comps on Moreton Island, and was pretty much raised on fresh whiting all my fish eating life. If the fish had to be frozen, I'd give them away, as we'd be fishing again within days anyway. Made us pretty "fussy".

I reckon it has to be simply what ya raised with. I mean I remember one day clearly when I did as advised here, "simply fillet and cook as a bream", and it was clean looking (it was from a permanent running, very clean creek). The flesh was beutiful to look at (wonderfully white) and it made me all the more believing it was going to taste divine, I was hyped to enjoy it, I had the wife and kids dribbling at the chops waiting (we'd been out bush for a while and deprived of the regular amount of fish); but with just one bite (and believe me, I was keen to enjoy it), I looked at everyone else, and no words were needed. I picked it up and with almost tears in my eyes, I threw it into the compost heap.
I was embarresed by the waste, and knew I couldn't ever bring another one home.

But yet I hear people frequently assur eme they hold them in very high regard; it's weird huh.

cheers
rob

[Haji-Baba]

penycraig

Keep only the small legal fish 350 -450 y/belly and 600 -750 cod.

Too big may be fatty as stated before. Place skinned fillets in cold water for a couple of hours & any fat will be clearly visible.

Remove any in the belly cavity and along the top of the fillet

I prefer my yellowbelly/cod in egg and breadcrumbs.
They also smoke well but are not good frozen for any long periods.

Strangly enough my fish usually come from slow moving or stationary creeks and don't ever taste "muddy".

As for fat my fish seem to be lean from having to hunt for their food in the smaller creek holes. Plenty of competition for food.
Some may have a slight taste of weed. I never take fish for the table from large dams as they can be terrible to eat. Weedy and fatty.

Barramundi from impoundments have much the same problems and the fat treatment is similar. Cut out the belly flaps and most weedy taste is removed.

I was raised in the west so i could be slightly biased but i also get plenty of sea fish which can also be a bit "tasty"

Don't forget, bleed and fillet your fish soon after capture.


Have Fun Haji-Baba

[Bully_boy]

Hey Penycraig,
I love eatin yellas and the way i do them is clean out the gut cavity and scale the fish, put some cuts down the fish on both sides. Make up some garlic butter with some finely chopped parsley. Slice up some pieces of lemon. Lay out a decent size piece of foil and coat the foil with some of the butter and lay down some lemon slices, sprinkle on a seasoning called vegetta. Place the yella on top of this and do the same with the gut cavity and the top size of the fish.Wrapp the foil around the fish ensuring that it is sealed so no butter can leak out. Fire up the bbq and throw it on for about 6-10 minutes each side depending on size of yella. Enjoy with a few cold ones.
Cheers mate.
Bully boy

[adriang]

cut fillets into sections about 20cm wide. Salt and pepper and a sprinkle with chilli powder and then put them into an oven bag (one of those plastic bags used for cooking chicken) with sliced lime (with some of the zest scraped off), and cook in the microwave. 3 minutes for 3 pieces together, add 30 seconds for additional peices up to 5-6 pieces max.

Let stand for a minute or 2, and ready to eat.

[Tomo2]

Put 'em in a steamer with a large river stone. When cooked, chuck 'em away an' eat the stone:D

[rickraider]

tommo's right.......you couldn't get that hungry to eat one...would rather eat a thong...only my thoughts:-*

cheers rick

[fisherfemme]

:D Hi Penycraig!

I have always filleted yellowbelly, only because they tend to have a mud taste, which I never liked. Lay the fillets in a shallow tray, then barely cover them with milk. Place in the fridge for an hour before cooking.

While you are waiting, you can crush well a packet of savoury cheese biscuits (Arnott's give a great flavour), until they resemble packet breadcrumbs. (if you don't have a rolling pin for this a clean round bottle will do. Add a good shake of salt and pepper, then mix.

Bash up 2 eggs and put them in a medium dish. Dip each fillet into the beaten egg, then into the crushed biscuit mix. Fry in hot oil in frypan (approx 2 mins each side, depending on size of fillets), then place on an oven tray that has absorbent paper on it for 1 minute before serving.

Great with a squeeze of either lemon, lime, or orange (yes! orange)

ENJOY!!

P.S. This mix is great for just about anything, 'though don't underestimate the old mullet fillets done this way in particular also.::)