Amazing Video of Giant Octopus

This is some great octopus footage. We catch a lot of these in our pots, crab and cod fishing in Alaska. I’ve never seen any this big though. They are extraordinary animals.

Swimming Scallops!

Yes, scallops are delicious, but did you know they can swim by “clapping” their shell together? This video is pretty awesome…

There are many ways to buy scallops. Bay scallops are small- great for soups, stews, paella, etc. Sea scallops are larger, richer and generally more flavorful, however bay scallops are considered the “best” by most insiders. I disagree. Unlike other bivalves, only the muscle of the scallop is availble commercially in the United States. Scallops are either trawled, which is considered “unsustainable,” or they are “diver caught” meaning a diver literally picks them up from the sea floor. The latter method is better for the ocean environment. The best packing method to look for is “dry packed.” This means the scallops are packed without water and preservatives. The water adds weight to the scallops which make them weigh more, which obviously ends up costing you more. So look for diver caught, dry packed scallops. They are hard to find outside of the east coast, but worth it if you can hunt them down. 

10 Minutes Per Inch Of Thickness…

Generally, when cooking fish, the best rule of thumb is to cook it 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Good quality, fresh ocean fish can be cooked a little rare if desired. Fresh water and anadromous fish, fish that travel in both ocean and fresh water (salmon, trout, sturgeon…,) need to be cooked throughout because of the presence of parasites. But 10 minutes of cook time per inch of the fish’s thickness generally cooks it perfectly. I cooked some wild salmon last night. Here is what I did…

I cut a pocket in the flesh on top of the fillet so I could stuff it. Then I stuffed the fillet with red pepper hummus and some fresh dill from my garden. Then I Sauteed the stuffed fillet in olive oil for about 7 minutes skin side down. I then finished cooking the salmon in the broiler for about 5 or 6 more minutes. After it was done cooking, I squeezed fresh lemon juice on it and served with some cracked pepper and sea salt. It was fucking delicious.

Texas Fisherman Catches Fish With Human-Like Teeth

A texas Fisherman caught a 20-pound fish on Buffalo Springs Lake with surprisingly human-like teeth. The fish has yet to be identified by scientists.

Offloading Salmon In Kodiak

This was a good haul of salmon. There are a mixture of pink, sockeye (or red), coho (or silver) and kings in the net. There was about six thousand pounds of salmon here. A couple of these in a season can bring in big $.

How To Buy Seafood And Ensure A Fresh Meal

Cooking seafood is the easy part! Buying the freshest ingredients can be challenging. When buying seafood, it’s important to use your senses.

Use Your Eyes: The flesh of the fish should be shiny, and the scales or skin should look vibrant. Seafood should not have discoloration. Often, you’ll see slight discoloration around the edges of the fillet. This is a sign of rotting, and should be avoided. Fillets should appear moist and freshly cut. Live shellfish should be closed. If they are open, they should close after being lightly tapped. When buying whole fish, the gills should be a bright pink or reddish color. There should be no dull colors in the gills. The eyes should also be clear and crisp, not dull.

Smell: Smell the seafood. This is the best way to tell freshness.  If there is a strong “fishy” smell, it is probably not good. Old shrimp smells like ammonia. Fresh seafood should have a pleasant aroma.

Touch It: The flesh should be firm, not soft or mushy.

After purchasing seafood, it is best to cook it the same day, although it should keep up to two or three days properly stored.

Fish that have been frozen at sea can be good alternatives to fresh products. Most grocery stores get their shrimp pre-frozen for example, so it is almost best to buy them frozen rather than thawed and sitting in the store. Understand when a seafood product is labeled “fresh” this just means it has never been frozen. And don’t be afraid to ask the fishmonger questions-like “when was the fish cut,” or “when did it come in.” A reputable vendor should be happy to answer your questions and sell you the fish that you want. I filleted and sold fish for five years and was always happy to give my best products to interested and informed customers.

(photo courtesy of pike place fish market)

The 10 Most Diabolical Fish

Fire up the grill. Although, I’ve only eaten one of these, (the conger eel,) they all look delicious to me… By the way, barbequed conger eel is delicious.

Source: www.Environmentalgraffiti.com        (follow link below)

10 most diabolical fish

Offloading Opelio Crabs In Dutch Harbor, AK

I shot this video after a good haul in December. Opelio crab- also know as snow crab is delicious, but not nearly as rich and buttery as king crab. The only part of the crab that is eaten is the legs.

True Caviar

Caviar has come to be defined generally as fish roe, but technically, true caviar comes only from the sturgeon. The source of the best caviar is the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. There are three types of sturgeon caviar, Beluga, Osetra and Sevruga. Beluga is the largest, softest, most expensive caviar. It is buttery and mild. Osetra is medium sized eggs, and Sevruga the smallest. Due to overfishing and poor relations with countries like Iran, it is near impossible to get caviar from the Caspian or Black Sea in the States. There are fish farms that produce good quality caviar from the White sturgeon in places like California.

There are also types of caviar, which include malossol-(lightly salted, Russian,) salted, pressed and pasteurized. My crab boat captain, Dennis, was kind enough to give me this as a present after a lucrative fishing season. It is a Russian Osetra (I didn’t ask how he procured it):

Top 10 Seafood Restaurants In The World

The examiner has published a list of the top 10 seafood restaurants in the world. The Examiner\’s List…

Mul Yam – Tel Aviv, Israel

The Boathouse Inn – Phuket, Thailand

Chef Mavro – O’ahu Hawaii

Satyricon – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

C – Vancouver, Canada

Quinzi & Gabrieli – Rome, Italy

Le Grand Vefour – Paris, France

Vox – Reykjavic, Iceland

Ryotei Kagetsu – Osaka, Japan

E’cco Bistro, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

I’ve been to one of these, Le Grand Vefour, the most opulent establishment I have ever been to. The quality of the sole I had was exceptional, the flavors were above average. The bill was as extravagant as the decor.