Well happy brand new and beautiful week to all!
I was gifted ANOTHER fantastic fresh striper, right from the sea this morning, which a generous fisherman did catch, and give to me!
This one was 37 inches and 19 pounds. I dragged it off the beach, cleaned and gutted it myself, and scaled it ever so slowly, as not to let one scale fly in a weird direction as my dogs could eat such and then choke!
What a labor of love therefore, and yet I had a blast!
I woke up at 2, (usually 3 each day without an alarm but lately cannot sleep?? and just get up an hour earlier), and was at the beach at 5:30, and home cleaning a few hours later...
And the real fun began!!!!!!
Let it never be said that I don't get religious with my food!
When I opened his stomach (I know, I know, but it was not enough to merely gut the guy, whom I named Reddington by the way, as curiosity did prompt me to slice open the belly and see what he was eating) and he had eaten lobsters!!!!!!!!!
And you'll see the little mackerel bate to the left, that he did eat as well and thus get caught, and then some other older white fish up to the right. So fascinating, yes?
In any event, just as the "Pumpkin swordfish" in the south, who eat shrimp and thus turn orange and have great flavor taste differently than regular sword, today's striper was pinker in flesh, and also sweeter in meat, due to that lobster! I am certain that was it!
Yes this was a labor of love and yet such a blast!!!!!
Then I even started monkeying around and cutting up STEAKS!!!!!! Pulling through bone as best I could...
I ate my two sloppiest steaks today, saved my NICEST cuts to smoke tomorrow morning for the kind fisherman, and bring him an early morning meal therefore as a tiny "thank you," and also froze some better looking steaks.
BUT, eating the mistakes or messy cuts, proved delicious nonetheless!
I mopped them through grapeseed oil and smoked them, and the head and tail, for 50 minutes at about 230 04 240...
My tiny gas smoker, pistachio shells used as smoking chips...
The smoked steaks were delicious, even with my bizarre cutting on these two (again, saved the pretty ones to give back to the generous bloke who gifted me with a fish) and I smoked figs for ten minutes, and made a hearts of palm salad and cayenne dressing that was YIPPIE CAYENNE MOTHER FU...LL of SPICE! AMAZING!!!!!!
So much delectable meat melted apart from the smoked head!
I paired this with a simple Aussie Chard that was here, as I was home all day working on my fish, food, thank you notes, and so it goes!
This kind guy's pal, who caught the other striper, last week and gifted that to me, did catch TWO stripers this morning, right after his buddy caught this one. A 37 inch and 35.5 inch. And one fisherman's wife caught a 39 inch today and so our beach, this morning, was really something!
Here is to all and happy new week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make it amazing!!!!!!!!!! How very grateful am I!!!!!!!!
Cheers!!!!!!!!!!! - Leah
I was gifted ANOTHER fantastic fresh striper, right from the sea this morning, which a generous fisherman did catch, and give to me!
This one was 37 inches and 19 pounds. I dragged it off the beach, cleaned and gutted it myself, and scaled it ever so slowly, as not to let one scale fly in a weird direction as my dogs could eat such and then choke!
What a labor of love therefore, and yet I had a blast!
I woke up at 2, (usually 3 each day without an alarm but lately cannot sleep?? and just get up an hour earlier), and was at the beach at 5:30, and home cleaning a few hours later...
And the real fun began!!!!!!
Let it never be said that I don't get religious with my food!
When I opened his stomach (I know, I know, but it was not enough to merely gut the guy, whom I named Reddington by the way, as curiosity did prompt me to slice open the belly and see what he was eating) and he had eaten lobsters!!!!!!!!!
And you'll see the little mackerel bate to the left, that he did eat as well and thus get caught, and then some other older white fish up to the right. So fascinating, yes?
In any event, just as the "Pumpkin swordfish" in the south, who eat shrimp and thus turn orange and have great flavor taste differently than regular sword, today's striper was pinker in flesh, and also sweeter in meat, due to that lobster! I am certain that was it!
Yes this was a labor of love and yet such a blast!!!!!
Then I even started monkeying around and cutting up STEAKS!!!!!! Pulling through bone as best I could...
I ate my two sloppiest steaks today, saved my NICEST cuts to smoke tomorrow morning for the kind fisherman, and bring him an early morning meal therefore as a tiny "thank you," and also froze some better looking steaks.
BUT, eating the mistakes or messy cuts, proved delicious nonetheless!
I mopped them through grapeseed oil and smoked them, and the head and tail, for 50 minutes at about 230 04 240...
My tiny gas smoker, pistachio shells used as smoking chips...
The smoked steaks were delicious, even with my bizarre cutting on these two (again, saved the pretty ones to give back to the generous bloke who gifted me with a fish) and I smoked figs for ten minutes, and made a hearts of palm salad and cayenne dressing that was YIPPIE CAYENNE MOTHER FU...LL of SPICE! AMAZING!!!!!!
So much delectable meat melted apart from the smoked head!
I paired this with a simple Aussie Chard that was here, as I was home all day working on my fish, food, thank you notes, and so it goes!
This kind guy's pal, who caught the other striper, last week and gifted that to me, did catch TWO stripers this morning, right after his buddy caught this one. A 37 inch and 35.5 inch. And one fisherman's wife caught a 39 inch today and so our beach, this morning, was really something!
Here is to all and happy new week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make it amazing!!!!!!!!!! How very grateful am I!!!!!!!!
Cheers!!!!!!!!!!! - Leah