Thread: Sailcat vs. Ladyfish Taste Test! Great or Garbage?

Thanks for all your replies. I have some new sailcat fillets in the freezer now

Being young, and living in the country as kids we often tried to cook various fish when we were on overnight camping trips. Whatever was in the creeks were fair game to have a try at cooking and eating. We often used green sticks and put small fish, like shiners, lineside minnows, breams, and suckers over the fire. Some of our incentive was curiosity, but there was a lot of incentive from rampaging in the woods and swimming in the creek, and just being plain hungry. The suckers were the best. The meat was a clean, sweet meat that we loved best. As the years have rocked by, these suckers have become truly scarce and hard to catch. I do not believe that there was enough harvest pressure to diminish their numbers, but I can not say what the causes are. This conversation is a lot of fun, and I'm glad to hear of other folks tastes and trials.

Had baked ground mullet and sail cat tonight. I was told growing up here In the sixtes that sheepshead are trash fish but I tried them when I worked on a shrimp In the gulf, I'll clean and eat every one I can get. I love silverside mullet don't care for the bigger mullet that live in the rivers to muddy tasting. I put squid in my gumbo. I've eaten spider crabs taste like king crabs just a lot more work....

Big hardtails are like bluefish, just have to take out the bloodline.

Fresh grilled sardines are on the menu all over the world, except the US! I intend to try some next time I get some big ones on the sabiki rig.

I have tried ladyfish a few different ways.I am still kinda ehhhh on it.as for sailcat I think its ok.and I have tried hardheads as well.I am waiting to catch a remora again to cook up.but as for the sailcat and hardhead get the guts out fast and they are good grilled or baked.with a lemon wedge on top and lightly seasoned with black pepper.

A couple of weeks ago Wall St. Journal weekend edition (of all things) had a grilled sardine recipe in an article on getting folks to eat fish not commonly served in restaurants. I've also seen bobo discussed as edible (perhaps on a site somewhat to your east) based on grilled ground-fish burgers. Like all bloody fish, bleeding, icing, and trimming bloodlines would be very helpful.

Ya gotta try Jack Crevalle burgers. They are great! Just grind the Jack meat in a food processor or sausage grinder along with a pack of bacon, a large onion and a bell pepper. Salt and pepper then grill or fry. You will be surprised. As far as fish go, if you haven't tried it, don't rule it out.

Originally Posted by CarlF

Big hardtails are like bluefish, just have to take out the bloodline.

Fresh grilled sardines are on the menu all over the world, except the US! I intend to try some next time I get some big ones on the sabiki rig.

When I lived overseas I had a lot of friends from Spain and they love fresh sardines on the grill. They sure do stink though when they are on the grill.

I loved canned sardines although my wife won't let me eat them in the house.

Ask Haywire about my affection for Smoked Kippers (Herring) on Triscuit crackers.
I'll do him the favor of never eating them around him again, thouh it was funny watching his nostrils flaring at the smell.
I put the remains in one of his traps for a coon that'd been raiding his garbage cans, no coon, he must not've liked the smell either.

Most sane people wouldn't eat commercially raised chicken if they knew how they're raised. The growth hormones and antibiotics they pump them full of is just asinine crazy. I know and still I eat chicken once in awhile, but I'd much rather eat, an have eaten, many of the species listed here so far.

I've eaten:
Shark-great
Bluefish - great
Crevalle Jack-very good
Bobo - fair-good
Gafftopsail- good-very good
Hardhead- poor
Rays- great
Hardtail- fair
Many types of Sardines/Herring - good-very good

Rays, hang with me here...
You need a big ray, a fat Cownose with at least a 3' wingspan is prime for eating.
Two ways to clean them relatively easily.
Cut the wings off, fillet the meat of both sides of the cartilage that runs through the middle, then skin.
Get 2-3" piece of conduit, bevel one edge and sharpen it.
With a mallet use it to cookie cutter the wings into rounds, once again fillet and skin.

As for cooking, they are too tasty to just deep fry.
I like them sauteed in butter or olive oil, garlic & salt with some rotel, maybe a splash of white wine.
Lightly dusted with seasoned flour and pan fried and then a good squirt of fresh lemon is good too.