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Well, as the title states, my last attempt at pompano sucked. My girlfriend and I are huge fish eaters and eat fish 2-3 times per week. I just cannot figure out how to prevent pompano from getting really FISHY. We almost couldnt eat it because of the taste (and we eat kings regularly) I have blackened it and it was ok, but have grilled it twice (as suggested with S&P, EVOO, lime) skin-on and it is terrible. Please tell me the secret to cooking these little guys!
I don't think there is really a secret. I've not had any bad experiences with pompano being fishy at all. Usually if I run into fishy taste it was mainly due to me not cleaning the fish right away.
I baked mine with a honey ginger marinade. Cooks very well, stays more firm than a lot of the other fish I've tried baking.
Try soaking it in lime/lemon iced water before putting the marinade/seasoning on it. That usually does really well for me. Good luck next time.
It may be that the pomp isn't going on ice as soon as it's caught? I've never had a "fishy" pomp. I fillet them and remove the rib bones, but leave the skin on each side.
Then I brush the top (of course, you don't turn it over, leaving the skin-side down) with butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and a little "Slap Ya' Momma" or other such cajun spice. The meat will turn opaque-white and the edges will brown when it's done. I've never had better fish than pompano prepared this way!
Something HR taught me 30 years ago, ground ginger is your friend ;-)
Sprinkle just a little on the fresh fillets, maybe a little more if frozen.
We ALWAYS bake them (though HR's smoked pompano are fantastic!)
Place the fillets with skin side down in a baking pan on a rack.
I usually use a little olive oil and rub over the meat (but have used Pam with similar results).
Add just a dash of salt & pepper and garlic POWDER or a light seasoning like Cavenders Greek
Bake for 20 minutes at 300 and then broil for 5 minutes to brown the outside.
My wife's most favorite fish and recipe!
The flesh should be white and flaky inside (not dry)
with slightly crispy light brown edges where the fillet is thin.
And it should NOT smell or taste 'fishy'.
Hope this helps :-)
Getting it on ice quickly will help. I have left them in a cooler of icy water for 3 days before cleaning and never had one taste fishy. There is a line of meat next to the skin on the middle of the filet that is dark red-turning dark brown when cooked. It tastes absolutely terrible. You can eat around it or remove the skin and cut it out before cooking.
Chillinfish nailed it. I clean my pomps like I clean Spanish; fillet, skin and CUT OUT THE RED LATERAL LINE. Put the fillets on a baking sheet lined with foil, spread a THIN layer of mayonnaise with salt and fresh ground pepper---pompano tastes so good you don't need heavy spices---broil on the top rack for six minutes. When you follow these directions, I have to warn you that you may need two limits of pompano to feed two people, because it's nearly impossible to stop eating it. Last time I had pomp, I bit myself on the wrist because my mouth thought my fingers were holding back.
That red meat tastes like cheap tuna fish no matter what species of fish it comes from. If this recipe doesn't give you some relief, just pass your future pompano on to me. (Instead of mayo, you can simply spread on some lemon juice and butter. Keep it simple)
You are right David , (HR 's is the best )
There is no solution. Just call me and I will take them off your hands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swamp Donkey
Kidding aside, best inshore fish bar none. I keep mine simple. I dehead, gut and scale. Then I wrap it in aluminum foil, coat it in a little olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and rosemary, add a little white wine and its done. It's like eating butter. You do have to be careful and hit that sweet spot in the baking though as to not overcook.
Never cooked a pomp with fishy taste; it our #1 choice to eat. Fillet and skin, heat skillet; melt butter and let foam subside; salt and pepper to taste; braise fish in butter 4-5 minutes on each side; toss everyone out of the house, and lock the doors. By the way, the dark nerve meat separates very cleanly after cooking.
I like my fish whole when I can, after that I prefer them steaked before fillets.
Pomps are great for cooking whole and it's my firm belief that just like a bone-in steak there is flavor imparted during cooking.
Anyways, like the others have said, never had a too fishy tasting/smelling Pomp.
You sure you took good care of the fish, on ice and cooked within a day or two?
My favorite way...
Whole pomps, gutted, washed and dried.
Sea salt, garlic powder, lime juice and olive oil, generously covered inside & out.
Wrap in aluminum foil and grill on BBQ over high heat for 10-15min per side depending on size of fish.
Skin peels off and the meat flakes right off the bones.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psq9bbklmg.jpg
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psonasbg2q.jpg
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psfmrke3rs.jpg
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Oh, Chile! Those are beautiful. I am absolutely in favor of bone-in meat and fish. But, my sweet and lovely wife cannot make herself eat fish with the bone in. Her loss. And as I am the primary cook, my loss also; What's a guy to do? Not much for cooking shows or food photos, but those plates look simply wonderful, IMHO. We have booked a house on Veterans Rd. for a week in Oct., and if the creeks don't rise, and the house sitter shows up, we will be cooking those and croakers and whiting and who knows what else in only a few short months! Practiced mono to flouro knots yesterday; flouro dropper loops and Duncan knots. Do I sound primed?
It could be that you really don't care for the taste of fish skin. Pompano is the only fish I have cooked whole, I couldn't stand the taste and wound up throwing it away after a couple of bites. Filet it like other fish and I'd bet that you notice an improvement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swamp Donkey
Is your Olive Oil rancid?
Did you eat the skin?
I never eat the skin on Pomp cooked this way, it peels off too easily.
It might be good if cooked like many fish, where the skin is cooked till crisp & crunchy, and then finished in the oven.
Works best with a thick fillet, 1" or thicker, great with Salmon, Trout, Seabass
Preheat oven to 400'
Skin on fillet, cut into serving size pieces, e.g. 3"x5"
Heat oil in skillet until hot, but not smoking.
Salt and/or other spices.
Place fish skin down for five minutes, do not move it till full 5 minutes, then use spatula to release and turn it over.
(some put a tab of butter under the skin as they put it down)
(if cooking multiple pieces of fish, they must have plenty of room between them or they will not crisp)
Place skillet in oven to finish, 2-5 minutes depending on thickness of fillet.
One of my favorite sushi handrolls is Spicy Crunchy Salmon Skin, especially when they trim the skin with about a 1/4" of flank or belly meat on it.
You sure you caught pompano and not hard tail right?
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I don't target pompano, but have heard others rave about them. The same held true for flounder, so this spring when I caught a decent pomp an a nice flounder, I cleaned both right away. I'm fussy about the way my fish are handled and cleaned, so since I'd never eaten either one, a great opportunity presented itself.
my wife fried both the pomp and flounder filets for super. I was amazed at the taste of the flounder, but could barely eat the pompano due to its strong fishy flavor. I was glad to see this post to find out I was not the only one who experienced strong fishy pompano.:nyd:nyd
Just to state the obvious, you should never fry pompano. This fish is too rich to be cooked in oil.
That would be like deep frying butter!Quote:
Originally Posted by Haywire
Sammy made a good point (I thought), sometimes is a mis ID...
I have been through this several times over the years. I think the issue is the skin/red meat flavoring the fillet. The fish were on ice within 30 seconds of exiting the gulf and were filleted within an hour or 2. Glad to know that I'm not the only one that has had this experience with pompano skin. Guess I will stick with the fillet-skin-pan sear method that has produced decent results in the past.
P.s.: they were pompano, not hard tails and I didn't eat the skin or bloodline. The white meat just had a very fishy flavor. Much worse than king or AJ.
Definitely pompano. Could have limited (2-4) fishermen every day last week in a couple of hours. Kept a few and released a TON of 12-16" pompano. Kept some stud whiting, flounder and specks.