sleepygreg
29-06-2010, 11:07 PM
A thread posted in another section prompted me to address this much maligned fish.
Many see them as the scourge of the sea when they appear in plague proportions...and to an extent I agree. Especially when targetting other fish. They have one....and it is only one...redeeming feature. They are great on the chew. To the extent that I rate right up there with pearlies, trout, reds, pigs etc.
Here is a simple way to cook them, along with a couple of tips to aid in presentation, preparation and ease of cooking.
I have been catching, cooking and eating these tasty critters for the last 40 years....though have rarely had a fishing trip spoiled by a plague of them (i try to take a positive out of every fishing trip).
Firstly Cleaning them.
They are easy to clean.
1. make an incision with a sharp strong bladed knife behind the 'spike' until you have cut through the backbone and just hit the soft flesh (do not cut through into the gut cavity).
2. Hold the head in one hand and the body in the other and rip downwards with the head. This will seperate the head and gut from the body of the fish.
3. With a sharp knife make a small cut in the skin at the top of the fish (where you made your first incision) so you can grab the skin.
4. Peel the skin towards the tail of the fish...this should peel off like a glove.
5. In the case of the larger fish (as the chinaman jackets usuall are) take a fillet off either side. Note that they usually have calcified nodes along the backbone...this is normal in leatherjackets ( cant actually recal one that didnt have them). Smaller fish can be cooked whole (after cleaning of course)...this is usually done with the esturine and fan bellied jackets.
You should now have two thick fillets for each fish. They will have the rough flesh on one side and a skin like smooth look on the other. Take note of this..its important.
Cooking.
Simple is best with these.
1. Prepare some flour, with a pinch or two of Keens traditional curry powder (dont use too much), or cumin powder, or chinese five spice. Some ground rock salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix or sieve to combine.
2. Dust fillets in the seasoned flour and set aside on a plate.
3. Heat about 1cm of oil in a frypan (I prefer peanut oil...but canola or vegetable oil is ok...DONT use olive oil....too strong a flavour) to medium/high (dont go too high...you dont want it to smoking point).
4. Before you place each fillet in the oil....dust again with the seasoned flour.
5. Place each fillet flesh side down (this is important...if you place it smooth side down it will immediately curl up and it wont cook properly) in the hot oil, and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes. Turn over once golden colour has started to appear on flesh side and cook for another couple of minutes until that side colours up.
6. Remove from pan and put on absorbant brown paper to drain. I usually have the oven on low and put the cooked fillets in a tray on the brown paper...in the oven to keep warm while i do the rest of the fish.....i only cook a couple of fillets at a time so i can keep the temperature constant.
To Serve.
To my simplistic tastes with this fish....there is only one side dish to serve with it....home made chunky cut chips.
Sebago spuds (russet burbanks if you can get em....but good luck with that). I usually put a pot of them on before i start cooking the fish....that way the chips are ready at about the same time the last of the fish comes out of the pan.
A wedge of lemon and some tartare sauce on the side...and you have a great feed of fish and chips.
Enjoy
PS: I dont recommend leatherjackets for deep frying as fillets as they curl up into a ball and tend to get mushy in the middle...left whole they are ok to deep fry or shallow fry.
PS PS: DONT try and skin the fish in the normal way .....you will ruin your knives and the fillets...follow my directions when cleaning.
Cheers
Greg
Many see them as the scourge of the sea when they appear in plague proportions...and to an extent I agree. Especially when targetting other fish. They have one....and it is only one...redeeming feature. They are great on the chew. To the extent that I rate right up there with pearlies, trout, reds, pigs etc.
Here is a simple way to cook them, along with a couple of tips to aid in presentation, preparation and ease of cooking.
I have been catching, cooking and eating these tasty critters for the last 40 years....though have rarely had a fishing trip spoiled by a plague of them (i try to take a positive out of every fishing trip).
Firstly Cleaning them.
They are easy to clean.
1. make an incision with a sharp strong bladed knife behind the 'spike' until you have cut through the backbone and just hit the soft flesh (do not cut through into the gut cavity).
2. Hold the head in one hand and the body in the other and rip downwards with the head. This will seperate the head and gut from the body of the fish.
3. With a sharp knife make a small cut in the skin at the top of the fish (where you made your first incision) so you can grab the skin.
4. Peel the skin towards the tail of the fish...this should peel off like a glove.
5. In the case of the larger fish (as the chinaman jackets usuall are) take a fillet off either side. Note that they usually have calcified nodes along the backbone...this is normal in leatherjackets ( cant actually recal one that didnt have them). Smaller fish can be cooked whole (after cleaning of course)...this is usually done with the esturine and fan bellied jackets.
You should now have two thick fillets for each fish. They will have the rough flesh on one side and a skin like smooth look on the other. Take note of this..its important.
Cooking.
Simple is best with these.
1. Prepare some flour, with a pinch or two of Keens traditional curry powder (dont use too much), or cumin powder, or chinese five spice. Some ground rock salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix or sieve to combine.
2. Dust fillets in the seasoned flour and set aside on a plate.
3. Heat about 1cm of oil in a frypan (I prefer peanut oil...but canola or vegetable oil is ok...DONT use olive oil....too strong a flavour) to medium/high (dont go too high...you dont want it to smoking point).
4. Before you place each fillet in the oil....dust again with the seasoned flour.
5. Place each fillet flesh side down (this is important...if you place it smooth side down it will immediately curl up and it wont cook properly) in the hot oil, and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes. Turn over once golden colour has started to appear on flesh side and cook for another couple of minutes until that side colours up.
6. Remove from pan and put on absorbant brown paper to drain. I usually have the oven on low and put the cooked fillets in a tray on the brown paper...in the oven to keep warm while i do the rest of the fish.....i only cook a couple of fillets at a time so i can keep the temperature constant.
To Serve.
To my simplistic tastes with this fish....there is only one side dish to serve with it....home made chunky cut chips.
Sebago spuds (russet burbanks if you can get em....but good luck with that). I usually put a pot of them on before i start cooking the fish....that way the chips are ready at about the same time the last of the fish comes out of the pan.
A wedge of lemon and some tartare sauce on the side...and you have a great feed of fish and chips.
Enjoy
PS: I dont recommend leatherjackets for deep frying as fillets as they curl up into a ball and tend to get mushy in the middle...left whole they are ok to deep fry or shallow fry.
PS PS: DONT try and skin the fish in the normal way .....you will ruin your knives and the fillets...follow my directions when cleaning.
Cheers
Greg