Marlin - Good eating?

[Jake S]

Small Marlin are being caught off the Goldie. I have no intention of intentionally chasing marlin for a feed and should I catch one I would like to release it healthy.

In the event that I hook one and bring him in on light gear and the fish is not healthy for release, would it be good to keep and eat?

[bustaonenut]

they are nice eather smoked or grilled on the barbeque. They sell marlin steaks at most supermarkets

[finding_time]

And just about every fishshop in Nth NSW as bustaonenut stated grilled it's preety good there is just heaps of it! Blue marlin is even better imho!

[Noelm]

yep, they are Ok table fair, not the best, but a long way from the worst, best to cut "slabs" from each side, then cut these into chuncks, cross ways, to cut for the table, you sort of cut across the grain, so you end up with steaks that look sort of like a tree cut through with rings on it, BBQ or small pieces in Breadcrumbs and just cooked, very tasty indeed, no need to be a secret about keeping one to eat, lots do it, and as long as it is not wasted then so be it!

[sleepygreg]

in a word...YES..they are good tucker. All the above methods, plus if you cut the fillets thinly (about 1cm) then do them in your favourite batter....they are yum also.

I do not go out to kill marlin..would rather release them...but things happen sometimes and a fish cant be released in a survivable state.....so dont waste it..get it on ice quickly and feed the family for quite a few meals.

Greg

[TunaKing2008]

my family loves them we only eat mako, albacore and marlin when it comes to game fish. keep the first two we catch each season and tag the rest

[sleepygreg]

thats great TunaKing, you just leave the Yellowfin tuna to me (my favourite gamefish,,,though albies are a close second). A good choice of meats though..they are all nice chewing.

Greg

[reel scream]

For the most part of the year my family and I eat fish 2/3/4/times a week. Summer often means we resort to chook and beef.

I will keep the next 40/60 kg black for a months feed when december rolls around again, they sound edible.

Cheers Scott

[Dignity]

I thought that marlin used to constitute the greater part of so called Fish Flakes

[sleepygreg]

WTF are 'fish flakes'?

[Jake S]

Thanks for the info fellas - should I one day catch and keep a marlin I will enjoy trying a few of the recipe suggestions. Cheers and seeya out there somewhere. :)

[Noelm]

I think Fish Flakes is that stuff that is called Seafood Extender and various other names, but I don't think anything like that contains Fish or Fish products, remember when they had to change the name of "Crab Sticks" because they contained no Crab?

[Dignity]

Fish Flakes, crab sticks, sea food extender - all the same stuff - I am pretty sure that marlin and other pelagics are one of the main ingredients.

[sleepygreg]

lol - i think you will find that one of the main ingredients in it is Tripe.

[Dignity]

tastes like it though i doubt they go to that much effort

[scrubba01]

If you are going to eat one make sure it is only a small one, they can build up high mercury levels in the bigger fish but the little ones should be ok.

[disorderly]

Fish Flakes, crab sticks, sea food extender - all the same stuff - I am pretty sure that marlin and other pelagics are one of the main ingredients.

Crab sticks
Just 30 per cent actual fish, the rest of the bulk comes from wheat starch, sugar and soya protein. The pink colour comes not from crab, but from cochineal, and the white from calcium carbonate, otherwise known as chalk....yummo :)

[dodgyone]

Not too bad at all.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/dodgyone/t_marlin1_1451.jpg

[tenzing]

Thanks Guys, Its good to know that if it all goes wrong for the fish it wont be wasted.
What constitutes a little one, 25kg and under?
Brendan

[sleepygreg]

they are ok up to about 70 - 80kg...over that.....dont eat a lot of it

Same thing applies to spanyiards and wahoo...but from a different perspective


moderation is the key

Greg

[Always_offshore]

cooked some black marlin on the barby was a bit tough and dry[maybe overcooked]then last week decided to crumb some.I was surprised how nice it was,and would definately eat again.

[sleepygreg]

if ya cooking it on the barbie...use the same cooking methods as if it was tuna....dont cook it too long.....should be cooked about half way through when ya take it off the plate. I agree that sliced into thinnish fillets (about 5-10mm) then crumbed or battered, it is brilliant. One of my favourite fish cocktails.

Greg