# SMOKED STRIPER STEAKS & HEAD - ANOTHER LOCAL FISH & CAUGHT TODAY!!!!!!



## leah elisheva (Jul 21, 2014)

Well happy brand new and beautiful week to all!













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014






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!













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__ leah elisheva
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__ leah elisheva
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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...













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__ leah elisheva
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And the real fun began!!!!!!













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Let it never be said that I don't get religious with my food!













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__ leah elisheva
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__ leah elisheva
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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!!!!!!!!!













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014






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?













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014






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!













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__ leah elisheva
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__ leah elisheva
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Yes this was a labor of love and yet such a blast!!!!!













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Then I even started monkeying around and cutting up STEAKS!!!!!! Pulling through bone as best I could...













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014






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!













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014






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...













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__ leah elisheva
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__ leah elisheva
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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!!!!!!













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So much delectable meat melted apart from the smoked head!













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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













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 21, 2014


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## redeyejedi (Jul 21, 2014)

and another amazing prep and plate! fantastic job once again. the stripers make for tasty fish tacos too.....hint hint, taco tuesday only hours away!!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jul 21, 2014)

Looks tasty! Fish heads fish heads
Rollie Pollie fish heads eat them all up!!!!


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## leah elisheva (Jul 22, 2014)

Thank you *Redeyejedi!!!* And your taco idea sounds really fun!!!!

And thanks *Dirtsailor *too! Yes here's to fish heads indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Tuesday of terrificness to all! Time to cook and go deliver some striper steaks to the kind fisherman!

Cheers! - Leah


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## roller (Jul 22, 2014)

I have had fun with a lot less !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  looks great..


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## leah elisheva (Jul 22, 2014)

Well thank you Roller!!! ANY fantastic food or libation is indeed fun! And I love "using what I have" and just making it work and such, versus wasting the opportunity to tackle a big fish, right?

Anyway, thanks tons for checking out my post and for your comments!! Happy Tuesday to you! Cheers! - Leah


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## disco (Jul 22, 2014)

Nothing is better than good fresh seafood except good fresh seafood that is well prepared and plated. Kudos!

Disco


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## leah elisheva (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks very much Disco!

I am getting the hang of this "scale-gut-clean" intricate dance; I must say, and with the dorsal pointer sharp cuts becoming fewer and fewer! What a blast! Preparing it all helps me gain such respect for those hardworking people who do this daily and/or for a living even. Amazing stuff!

Not sure they'll make a fisherwoman out of me, but a fish EATER of course is something I adore being indeed!

Happy midweek to you! Thanks tons for the comments!

Cheers! - Leah


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## moikel (Jul 23, 2014)

I have never heard of anybody saying "I wish I didn't acquire that skill".Fish cleaning or anything else
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I love watching the guy at the fish market do the big yellowfin tuna.Japanese restaurant buyers watching intently.They take it by the side,& they are fussy. But he has it all covered & they know it.

One of the best table fish up in the tropics is an estuary cod.Lives on crabs. Figure striper must be tasty if they eat lobster!


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## leah elisheva (Jul 24, 2014)

Indeed, fish cleaning skills are so wild to watch!

I really want a whole Hawaiian OPAH or "Moon Fish," as some call that beautiful and orange colored treasure; and I want to clean it myself and then smoke some, freeze some, make carpaccio or crudo with some and so forth. Opah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But yes, T'is interesting stuff, (what the fish eat), and they say you are what you eat yes? Hence I've stopped having rhino lately, and tyrannosaurus too. (Or at least not that often).

OK, happy Thursday to all!!!!!!! Do make it amazing!!!! Cheers! - Leah


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## welshrarebit (Jul 24, 2014)

Opah is a really good fish but IMHO the bottom caught mon chong is hard to beat! They live on squid, crabs and shrimp. 

I work part time at a fish market here in Hawaii believe me I know my Hawaiian fish... ;)

My other job the signature dish is steamed ginger marinated mon chong with a kabayaki sauce with cilantro and carrot curls that are then flashed with screaming hot peanut oil and served over sushi rice with scallion curls and sesame seeds for garnish. Culinary nirvana!!!

Just make sure if you come across mon Chong that you are getting the bottom caught one! The top feeding cousins are a by product of long line fishing and are no where near as good as the bottom feeding variety! I can tell instantly because the top feeding ones have a lot of worms in their meat. I have NEVER seen a single worm in the thousands of deep sea mon chongs that I have cut.


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## leah elisheva (Jul 24, 2014)

Wow Welshrarebit!

I appreciate that lesson and tenfold!

BOTTOM mon chong being added to my list! Thank you so much! I LOVE learning and this is spectacular!

Thank you indeed. That sounds so delicious!

Cheers!!!!! - Leah


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## moikel (Jul 24, 2014)

Ok mon chong is a species of pomfret now I understand. Your screaming hot oil is very Cantonese to me. 
Steamed with aromatics first then the hot oil, if it's a fresh water fish here they sometimes use dried mushrooms little dash of sesame oil in the peanut.
All good to me.


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## papa chops (Jul 28, 2014)

nice


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## leah elisheva (Jul 28, 2014)

Why thank you Papa Chops! And what a fabulous "handle" you have! Cheers! - Leah


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## big fish (Jul 29, 2014)

SMOKED STRIPER...Wow. We were just talking about that. We get hundreds a season and was wondering how they are smoked. I just tried smoking Ling (see new post) and they were fantastic. When the Striper season picks up, I'm going to try it! Thanks!


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## leah elisheva (Jul 29, 2014)

Well thank you Big Fish!

The cooked meat was also terrific in a tomato sauce made from scratch and mixed with mushrooms and wheat-free pasta!













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__ leah elisheva
__ Jul 29, 2014






And your ling meal must have been sensational! I'll look for the post indeed! Cheers! - Leah


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