BajaNomad

Yellowtail?

chuckie - 5-19-2013 at 06:14 AM

Ihave been catching yellowtail for over 30 years around Mulege,and this year have quit fishing for them since I have way too much, and I wont catch em, kill em and give em away..Does anyone have a recipe that makes them more flavorful? I cook them on the grill, smoke em, make soup.seems that unless you add enough other flavoring they are are just blah..

woody with a view - 5-19-2013 at 06:15 AM

eat em like sushi. but then again, all of the pangueros i know hate lobster and would kill for chicken!:lol:

Pescador - 5-19-2013 at 07:05 AM

You might want to try the Bahia restaurant at San Lucas Cove. Janene fixes a yellowtail with a chipotle sauce that is to die for. We play there on Sunday afternoons and I think they have the best seafood in our area.
They are also doing the captains meeting and awards dinner for the San Lucas Cove Yellowtail Tournament being held a week from today.

mulegejim - 5-19-2013 at 07:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Ihave been catching yellowtail for over 30 years around Mulege,and this year have quit fishing for them since I have way too much, and I wont catch em, kill em and give em away..Does anyone have a recipe that makes them more flavorful? I cook them on the grill, smoke em, make soup.seems that unless you add enough other flavoring they are are just blah..


This is from Patty Higginbotham's book "Somethin's Fishy in Baja". I have used it many times and it's very good. A little lemon or lime juice squeezed over sets the fish off very good. A good tartar sauce is also nice. I also have a very good recipe for that if you want. I'll be down in Mulege next week for the Dorado tournament...look me up at the Jungle if you want. Jim

8 yellowfin tuna or yellowtail steaks, one inch thick
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
one clove garlic, minced
bacon slices

Trim out bone and all dark red meat. Wrap each steak with bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Combine oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and garlic. Marinate steaks in single layer for one hour – turn after about ½ hour.

Barbeque over high heat five minutes – turn and grill five minutes more or until fish flakes easily in center when pierced with a fork.

Note: I drizzle some of the remaining marinate over the steaks just before turning and just before removing from the barbeque – it will flame up and leave a nice finish.

[Edited on 5-19-2013 by mulegejim]

You want mole?

Mulegena - 5-19-2013 at 07:37 AM

Here's a killer!

http://www.patismexicantable.com/2012/10/hibiscus_and_pecan_...

Chuckie, I'll make this and give you some to try.

You can always share jurel wif me. I'd love some smoked. Share the recipe?

chuckie - 5-19-2013 at 07:38 AM

Thanks Jim..I have Pattis book here someplace...And I will try Janenes, always good food..Your dang Yellowtail tourney conflicts with the Mulege Dorado thing again...????

YT fish soup

Skipjack Joe - 5-19-2013 at 07:56 AM

Here's one possibility.

3/4 lb yellowtail cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1/3 lb shrimp
1 1/2 cups of leeks, chopped
1/2 cups of fennel, chopped
20 oz of diced tomatoes
1/3 cup dry wine
12 oz of vegetable stock
1 tblsp olive oil
3 tblsp finely chopped parsley

1. fry the leeks and fennel for about 8 minutes
2. add tomatoes, wine, and vegetable stock and parsley and bring to boil.
3. simmer for a bit and then add fish and shrimp for about 3 minutes.

Don't overcook seafood because fish gets mushy and shrimp gets hard.

This is a high protein, low fat soup that's loaded with nutrients.

There are numerous fine fish soaps available along the highway. They usually add octopus and chiles to theirs.

MitchMan - 5-19-2013 at 08:47 AM

I agree with you, yellowtail can taste blah.

I catch yellow tail when out on a panga. Often times the caught fish will stay on the boat at air temp for around 2 to 4 hours. Also, I might have to fight a yellow tail for 15 minute or so, all the while the fish is releasing adrenaline or other metabolic impurities and exercise waste into its own blood from the fight for its life...then sit at room temp for up to four hours on a panga. Not good for flavor and texture.

What I have found is that, when preparing some filets for a meal, I "cleanse the filet" and extract the impurities by slicing the big and thick filet into 1/2 inch flat filets, then soak the filets in ice water for 1/2 an hour or so, moving the filet in the water several times with my hands to stimulate circulation. If the water gets very bloody, I discard the bloody water and put fresh ice water in there to flush more of the blood and impurities out. The fish will then become more pliable, supple, tender, and flexible. This treatment makes a monumental difference in the flavor and texture.

At this point, I simply salt and pepper the filets and let stand for about fifteen minutes to let the salt sink in. NOw, pan sautee the filets in butter and many slivers of freshly sliced garlic, all over a very low flame. Pull the fish out of the pan at the point where the fish just goes from opaque raw to white, maybe even a little earlier than that and let the fish cook the rest of the way on its own on the plate.

Some times I will sautee some thickly sliced onions, dip the raw fish filets in flour and sautee both together, then just before taking the fish out of the pan, add some dry white wine and produce a small amount of a light gravy, then serve.

I can't stand lemon on fish or any sea food. In my myopic view, acid has no place on any kind of meat...except for lemon garlic chicken or sweet sour pork.

BTW, smoked yellowtail is fantastic. The trick is to achieve an exactly perfect brining (both in brining recipe and in brining duration), smoking temperature and smoking duration for the given thickness of filet. Get any one of these items wrong and you will get mediocrity at best. I have been working on this process for a couple of years...I think I have finally gotten it right. The last batch I made was the best I have ever made...everyone ate it up in two days.

BornFisher - 5-19-2013 at 10:24 AM

Cooking it ruins it---- but if you want to cook it try this-- 2/3 soy and 1/3 vegetable oil. Season however you like (lemon pepper is good), marinade 30 minutes, grill. Oh yeah--- have skin off and dark meat removed!!

chuckie - 5-19-2013 at 10:30 AM

I bleed my yellows as soon as I catch them, and they are on ice after they are bled....The onions and or garlic are what I meant by adding other flavors..I guess, so be it...The batch of smoked I did yesterday is awful good...

Mulegena - 5-19-2013 at 10:52 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
...The batch of smoked I did yesterday is awful good...


NomNomNom!
Thanks, neighbor!!

Pescador - 5-20-2013 at 07:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Thanks Jim..I have Pattis book here someplace...And I will try Janenes, always good food..Your dang Yellowtail tourney conflicts with the Mulege Dorado thing again...????


Our biggest number of entrants come from Boleo Mine and that was the day of choice for them. But since you can fish from home port, you should enter both tournaments and then if you get a big dorado, enter that, but if you nail a big yellowtail, then bring it up and get it weighed. You can start from your home port and just bring the fish in on Sunday to weigh.

mulegejim - 5-20-2013 at 12:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
Quote:
Originally posted by chuckie
Thanks Jim..I have Pattis book here someplace...And I will try Janenes, always good food..Your dang Yellowtail tourney conflicts with the Mulege Dorado thing again...????


Our biggest number of entrants come from Boleo Mine and that was the day of choice for them. But since you can fish from home port, you should enter both tournaments and then if you get a big dorado, enter that, but if you nail a big yellowtail, then bring it up and get it weighed. You can start from your home port and just bring the fish in on Sunday to weigh.


A little confusion....there are two Jims. I am MulegeJim on Nomad's site with the recipe. The other Jim is known as Pescador on the Nomad site. I believe he lives in San Bruno and I hang out in Mulege. Pescador is the better fisherman of the two. MulegeJim

MitchMan - 5-20-2013 at 03:52 PM

Hi FishHead,
His is my method:

Brine for 3 lbs of yellowtail fish filets:
1 qt Water
2.5 oz Salt (volumetric ounce)
5.5 tsp Brown sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 Clove Garlic
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
Brine (at room temperature) ½-inch-thick fillets for ½ hour; 1-inch-thick fillets for 3/4 hour; Yellowtail collars for 1 hour. Rinse the fish briefly with fresh water, pat dry.

Develop pellicle for three hours inside the house at room temp and keep the flies away. Developing a pellicle means leaving the patted dry already brined fish out in the open air to allow for a shiny coating to develop on its own on the surface of the fish. This pellicle coating is what absorbs and retains the smoke flavor and allows for a nice color to the finished product as well. If you have a rack of some kind on which to place the brined fish to allow the air to reach both top and bottom of the brined fish filet, so much the better.

I use a Luhr Jensen Little Chief, the small one, for smoking.
Smoke at 135 – 150 F: ½ inch filets for 4 hours; 1 inch filets for 5 hours; Yellowtail collars and belly meat for 6 hours. Add new wood chips every 45 minutes.

Be sure to vary the quantities of the ingredients of the brining solution to proportionately match the exact weight of fish filets you are brining. This is crucial.

By the way, at the time the pangueros are fileting the fish for me, I ask them not to rinse the filets in salt water like they are accustomed to doing. For humans, air coagulates blood. For fish, water coagulates blood and makes the filets rigid. When the panguero cuts the filet from the carcass, have him put the bloody filet directly into a zip lock bag; zip it shut while evacuating as much air as possible. Rinse the fish at home yourself and then further cut down the filets to appropriate sizes for freezing, wrap air tight in plastic wrap; wrap twice if necessary and very tightly to avoid blood leakage. Freeze right away.

That's the way I freeze and store fish. I have no problem having fish after up to 9 months being frozen. I just trim away the surface meat that has dehydrated a bit, cut the filets to 1/2 inch thickness and soak in ice water for about 30 minutes as I mentioned on my previous post, and, for me, it's as good as new. Plenty good for sashimi, too.

[Edited on 5-21-2013 by MitchMan]

captain4tuna - 5-21-2013 at 03:16 PM

This is killer....Saw on cooking show and made it....

4 large pieces of yellowtail
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons diced green onions
2 tablespoons diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons blanched julienne cut citrus zests (any combination, lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit and yuzu)
2 tablespoons julienne cut ginger
3 ounces red wine
4 to 6 ounces heavy cream
2 ounces unsalted butter
1 to 2 ounces fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the yellowtail with salt and pepper, to taste. Preheat a nonstick, ovenproof skillet, coated with the olive oil. Add the yellowtail, flesh side down, and cook until brown, about 2 or 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and put the skillet into the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the fish to a warm platter. Pour any excess oil from the pan. Add the green onions, tomato, citrus zest and ginger and saute, over low heat, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the skillet. Reduce the liquid by half, and then add the heavy cream. Reduce until lightly thickened. Whisk in the butter, lime juice and parsley. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.

So is this one.....Amazingly good

1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 thyme bundle
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, zest removed from the lemon with a vegetable peeler in wide strips
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
3 Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
4 (6-ounce) Yellowtail fillets
Kosher salt

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the olive oil, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, lemon zest, crushed red pepper flakes and fennel seeds. Bring to a boil then turn the heat off and let it sit for at least 1 hour. (*Big tip: This can be done ahead and used for LOTS of different things.)

It is important to work quickly and to slice the potatoes for 1 fillet at a time. Dont soak the potatoes in water, this will help them maintain their starch so they will stick to each other and to the fish, but could cause them to turn brown but don't worry about that for this recipe.

Using a mandoline if you have one, if not, slice 1 potato extremely thin, (paper thin), in elongated rounds. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a clean, dry work surface. Arrange 3 potato slices in an overlapping vertical line pressing them together as you put them on the parchment. Repeat this process until you have a 4 by 6-inch overlapping potato rectangle that replicates fish scales. Brush the potato "scales" with the infused oil and sprinkle with salt. Season the yellowtail with salt. Lay the fillet closer to 1 end of the potato rectangle than the other and then roll the fish up in the potato slices, using the parchment to help facilitate the rolling. Press to compact and really adhere the potatoes to the fish. Brush the outside of the potatoes with the infused oil to seal the potatoes and to prevent the potatoes from turning brown, this will also help make a nice tight "fish package". Reserve the fish in the refrigerator while preparing the remaining fillets. Refrigerate the fillets for at least 1 hour before cooking.

To cook the fish:

Add the infused olive oil to a large nonstick saute pan until the bottom is generously covered and bring the pan to a medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and add to the pan. Cook the fish on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes frequently spooning the excess oil over the fish to "baste" it. The potatoes should be crispy golden brown and very well flavored and the fish will be succulent inside its crispy "scales". Transfer to serving plates and serve.

This will make a fish lover out of anyone!

MMc - 5-21-2013 at 03:37 PM

Smoked YT sandwiches are very good.
Sour dough bread with Mayo and Tapatio mixed and spread on both sides.
Stuffed Green Olives (we prefer Jalapeno)sliced and evenly spread over bread.
Warm smoked YT broken into chunks spread out on bread.
Avocado slices.
Maybe tomato for color.
We also do these as a wrap or pinwheels as a finger food.

We can lots of YT as we prefer it over caned tuna.

chuckie - 5-21-2013 at 03:52 PM

Thanks all! I have printed some of these recipes out and will be trying them over time....Mayhave to go catch a couple more yellers

captain4tuna - 5-21-2013 at 03:57 PM

Be happy to come down to help you catch em. cook em and eat em...:lol:

bajalinda - 5-25-2013 at 09:29 AM

We tried mulegejim's YT recipe here at the ranch last night and it was really yummy! That recipe is a keeper. It's the one with the bacon wrap and the Worcestershire, garlic, oil, lime juice marinade.

I'm looking forward to trying out the other recipes too since I also find that the YT needs something to jazz it up.

Thanks for the recipes and for the thread.