Cooking Rockfish

[DumBbaSS]

Got a question about Rocks this happened to a friend of mine and me the same night. My Buddy had 2 nice rocks that he had caught and had on ice for 2 days I had 2 nice rocks that I had caught and had on ice for less than 20 hours we both fillet them and he cooked his one way and me another (used a crab cake res. spread it out on top of the fish and broiled them). Took em out of the oven and they looked a tad bit over cooked but nothing tooo bad. Man o man took one bite of them and the fishy taste was sooo bad and over powering that I couldn't eat another bight. Felt bad about that and put them down for the dog to eat and she couldn't even finish them. Called my buddy up the next day and he said his fish had a real bad fishy taste to them as well. When I cleaned the fish they looked good and I even cut out the dark meat on the fillet. Not sure what went wrong but was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them and what I could do in the future to make sure this doesn't happen again...Tanks

[Sam]

That is unfortunate. I usually leave mine on ice for at least 12 hours before cleaning and that seems to help. Strange...

[Charkbait]

some times if they are feeding heavily on bunker/oily smelly fish they will carry that over in their flesh...the way I solved the problem is to just let them go so I don't feel guilty about wasting them. IMO fish over 40" are twice as likely to taste 'fishy' then under 40" so that's how I stay away from it.

[Randy Stinchcomb]

some times if they are feeding heavily on bunker/oily smelly fish they will carry that over in their flesh...the way I solved the problem is to just let them go so I don't feel guilty about wasting them. IMO fish over 40" are twice as likely to taste 'fishy' then under 40" so that's how I stay away from it.

..........X's 2 on what Ben says next time, just visit the Gordons Fisherman

[DumBbaSS]

Yea I felt bad about not eating them, and I usually let most of them go. But it had been a while since I had caught a keeper so I told the wife that if I caught one I would bring it home. They were not that large either 22 and 24 inches and I had never had one that small taste that bad. I guess it is what ya said they must have been dinning on some stanky bunkers

[don.themason]

I'm not sure what you may have done to make those rocks taste so fishy but the theory of the 40" and over tasting that way ,I DON'T
believe . The fish I kept this year were all around 40'' or over exept 1
I find the sooner you fillet the fish and get the blood out then leave the fillets in a bag on ice for at least 4-5 hours before cutting them into potions draining any liquid or blood that may be left, removing any of the dark meat , then rinsing well with cold water before freezing ,works well . I have never had a rock taste fishy no matter how it was cooked. when freezing I put them into ziplock bags ,put all those bags into a larger plastic bag and that bag into a large paper bag . never a fishy taste or freezer burn.
It possibly could have been the crab cake recipe you used to top the fish.
if you were trying to make stuffed rockfish ,I have a good recipe for crab imperial. IT should help you out .

[Finaddict]

I find anytime you overcook fish, it all seems to taste a little "fishy". If you were using paturized crabmeat, that might be the problem too.

I try not to take the larger fish, I like the texture and taste of the smaller ones under 40". I always clean my fish as soon as possible after I get home, put it in ziplocks for 12 hours in the frig, then trim the dark meat off and cook. What I don't eat I put in a vacumn packed freezer bag for the next meal.

A helpful hint is to put your fillets in a bowl of milk for 1/2 hour before cooking. This will take some of the "fishy" taste out of it. My wife loves Bluefish and this step is a must when preparing it. I don't care for bluefish too much, but the milk does take some of the "fishyness" out of it

[scavengerj]

Something that I had learned the hard way...don't let the fish sit in freshwater, even in an ice chest with the melt water. I know with boofish it can really cause them to taste bad (yes, I do make cakes out of them) as well as rock. I always try to keep saltwater fish seperate from the ice and melt water by a sheet of plastic. Or if the fish are the right size, I slip them into giant zip-lock bags to keep the freshwater off of them until I can get them cleaned.

[Toadfish]

uuuhh fish tastes fishey,some more than others i usually clean mine as soon as possible the over 40 thing is a myth it must have been the crab what kind of dog do you have ? need a fish cake recipe as well .

[fish-aholic]

I keep big fish all the time and never notice anything too fishy about the big ones. I've never found a striper that I thought was "fishy", although I do find the larger ones a tad bit tougher than the smaller ones.

[Coop]

I have kept larger ones and smaller ones and I honestly have never noticed one being fishier then the other. It does seem each fish may have a slightly different taste, like Ben said, it may depend what they have been feeding...not sure.

I did have a fish that did not taste right. Actually it tasted like rubber. I cooked and cooked it and the fish never flaked...it was like it just wasn't getting done. Took a bite of it and had a strange flavor and pretty much unedible, no fishy taste, just unedible.

[ocsnapper]

I did have a fish that did not taste right. Actually it tasted like rubber. I cooked and cooked it and the fish never flaked...it was like it just wasn't getting done. Took a bite of it and had a strange flavor and pretty much unedible, no fishy taste, just unedible.

Coop the last one I cooked up was just like that. But it was the first one ever.

[F117A]

Coop the last one I cooked up was just like that. But it was the first one ever.

Hhhhmm, maybe it wasn't just his cooking, then...

It wasn't the one I bought from the Asian market, was it?

[hooked]

i tried to make crab stuffed flounder not too long ago. it was totally gross and we had to throw it out. i think the crab meat did something to it, the fillets were clean and smelled fine prior to cooking.

[ERF]

Rule of thumb for both Stripers and Blues, if your intention is to keep it, cut it's throat while it is still alive. Get the blood out as much and as quick as you can.
As soon as it is dead get it on ice, on top of the ice. I keep large trash bags to put the fish in and then get them into the cooler. Never let one sit warm, fill that cooler before you go out.
When you fillet,, get the skin off and slice out the blood line, AKA dark meat, this is where most of the fat is.
I never freeze Bass, I will cool them in the fridge for a couple of hours then cook them.
Here's my favorite and easiest recipe.
Large skillet, medium high heat.
Olive oil, Garlic (fresh), celery sat, and black pepper, all to taste.
Pan should be hot enough to sizzle when the fillet is laid in, cook for a few minutes until the side gets a browning, flip and check often with a fork, when the flakes separate easily, get it on a plate.