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Deep sea fishing haul - recipes/storage advice needed

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    Deep sea fishing haul - recipes/storage advice needed

    Hey guys

    just got back from a 2 day trip off the coast of north carolina. Altogether 5 of us took in almost 300lbs of mostly blackfin tuna with nice yellowfins and some king mackerel and a few amberjack.

    now i was planning on smoking the mackerel and eating some, possibly making some fishcakes and then freezing them with what doesnt get eaten. Has anyone had success freezing uncooked mackerel fillets or any worthwhile recipes? Ive also heard amberjack smokes particularly well but ive never had ot myself before.

    the main "problem" lies with the blackfin. I have way too much of it for the fridge and ive read it does not freeze well at all. Apart from that planned to eat some sashimi and some with a light sear. Any other thoughts? Click image for larger version  Name:	E1FB46F6-03DD-4D96-B52D-2583FE18D528.jpeg Views:	1 Size:	130.3 KB ID:	478642Click image for larger version  Name:	F795F2E6-F3CB-462C-BFC0-C286AB67EF2F.jpeg Views:	1 Size:	3.21 MB ID:	478643Click image for larger version  Name:	DC0D7E91-0B08-43AB-9DE6-4B68BE6A7F51.jpeg Views:	1 Size:	3.93 MB ID:	478644
    Last edited by grantgallagher; April 7, 2018, 09:17 PM.

    #2
    I am more of a catch and release guy myself, but with a haul like this I would invite all of my friends over and have a party, otherwise it sounds like it will go to waste. ​

    What about making some of it into a tuna salad? You might be able to make it last for a few days longer. Or buy a Himalayan salt block and invite your guests to sear their own. That is always a fun time, tastes great and makes for some great searing action. Of course a cast iron pan will work just as well.

    Comment


      #3
      I can't help much here.....I'M not a fan of frozen tuna so I like Spinaker 's idea of throwing a party! The way it seems to work around here is if you give your fresh tuna away to friends, they reciprocate! I usually only keep the mackeral I plan to eat in the next few days also....makes good cevechi! On the AJ, I like to cut it in 1" cubes, put on skewers, wrap on bacon, throw on a hot fire and melt swiss cheese when bacon is fully cooked and ready to serve. I disappears quick here!

      (if anyone is squeemish, cut the worms out of AJ if you find them.....)

      Comment


      • grantgallagher
        grantgallagher commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks man. This was all vertical jigging, no trawling. Anyone who has done that before knows that 10 hours a day for 2 days of jigging for tuna will half near kill you, lol.

      • smokenoob
        smokenoob commented
        Editing a comment
        oh yeah, you "earned" that tuna! I posted a seared tuna thread a month or so ago, check it out with advanced search!

      • grantgallagher
        grantgallagher commented
        Editing a comment
        I saw that seared tuna thread. I will be attempting to replicate

      #4
      Preserve by smoking comes to mind, short of that have a party. Where is the fish at this point? Your decision window is closing.

      Comment


        #5
        ultimately a lot of the tuna is going to go to friends/family/neighbors since i would never want to waste it. The mackerel is getting smoked today and i froze a little double wrapped in butcher paper with a thin coat of olive oil...more as a test. The yellow fin will also get mostly cooked today, quick sear in sesame seeds.

        I was mostly asking to see if anyone had successfully preserved fresh blackfin. That catch was between 5 of us so thankfully it wasnt completely crazy. No one else wanted the mackerel...i wasnt complaining.
        Last edited by grantgallagher; April 7, 2018, 09:18 PM. Reason: spelling

        Comment


          #6
          grantgallagher, Here in the Promised Land, We are So Damned Far from Salt Water I Can't Be of Much Help! Two Thoughts Come to Mind, 1: Smoking, 2: Pickeling ❓ My Dad Used to Pickel Northern Pike in Gallon Jars in the Refrigerator, People Would Come From Miles Arround to Beg Some❓
          From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

          Comment


          • grantgallagher
            grantgallagher commented
            Editing a comment
            Never really thought about smoking tuna...no idea how that would taste. Interesting though

          #7
          Yup. I second Danjohnston949 Smoked/dried fish can be a way to go. I have been able to dry fish on my KJ. My brother always was an old gutted fridge with a hot plate/wood chips underneath guy. The fish can be brined or marinated beforehand.
          Pickling can work too.

          Blackfin? NOT my forum but some ideas http://forums.floridasportsman.com/d...n-tuna-freezer

          M.

          Comment


            #8
            Nice catch!

            Comment


              #9
              Well i got it all packaged up for distribution or cooking in the next few days. Mackerel is post brine in the fridge.
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              Comment


              • Danjohnston949
                Danjohnston949 commented
                Editing a comment
                Makes You Want To Give Up Fishing, Until Next Time❓ 🤗😇🤗
                Dan

              • grantgallagher
                grantgallagher commented
                Editing a comment
                Dude. After day 1 i didnt think i could do another full day. Got a second wind though and now im dying, lol

              #10
              So so so so jealous! I could eat my weight in most seafoods, but yellowfin? Man, how awesome is that! Congrats on your success! If you're selling any let me know!!

              Comment


              • grantgallagher
                grantgallagher commented
                Editing a comment
                We split everything between the five of us so we got 3 big yellowfin loins each plus one for the captain. If i had more i would just send you for the shipping. Next time

              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                grantgallagher Deal! Willing to send you any number/variety of wood chunks as a trade, plus pay shipping for tuna!

              • grantgallagher
                grantgallagher commented
                Editing a comment
                Yeah, it will be better for me to send it direct from NC too. Rather than spend the 12 hours driving up to jersey to ship it the next day. Unless you dont mind it being shipped frozen on dry ice. Also, its not like we do these trips often. Its about twice a year so next one will be in the fall and thats likely to be triggers, beeliners, and mahi. So tuna might not be till next year, lol

              #11
              Where did you go fishing? The Outer Banks? Very nice catch by the way.

              Comment


              • grantgallagher
                grantgallagher commented
                Editing a comment
                Charter with a captain we know based out of Beaufort, NC. Went out about 50-60 miles into the gulfstream. The weather on thursday was horrendous. 10 foot swells on a boat that fishes 5. Felt like we were in the movie the perfect storm. Friday was much calmer.

              • Hulagn1971
                Hulagn1971 commented
                Editing a comment
                Beaufort is a beautiful place.

              #12
              Mmn smoked mackerel!

              Comment


                #13
                We lived in Panama City Beach, FL for 14 years (we had a 27' Pro-Line) and we always had Mackerel, Grouper, Snapper and Tuna in the freezer. We would cut them into meal sized pieces and freeze them in Food Saver bags. I tried to get the pieces about 1.25#. We noticed a small amount of degradation in the Tuna but the others were fine. The Mackerel is extremely oily, I tried brining it for about an hour and then smoking it but some tasted better not going through the brine. Would always brine AJ and Wahoo also.

                Comment


                • grantgallagher
                  grantgallagher commented
                  Editing a comment
                  The AJ was riddled with worms. I know you can just pull em or even just cook them but im not gonna lie, that turns me off a little and once the wife saw it it was straight for the trash.

                • smokenoob
                  smokenoob commented
                  Editing a comment
                  yeah, larger AJ have that....to bad

                • grantgallagher
                  grantgallagher commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yeah we caught some monster grouper which really sucks because they are out of season right now. Really tough to catch and release them because their swim bladder over expands from the depth change. Our captain had a method of deflating it which supposedly helps but either way it sux because still a pretty low survival rate i think

                #14
                Feast time. Didnt quite get the sear i wanted on the tuna but its delicious all the same.

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                Comment


                • smokenoob
                  smokenoob commented
                  Editing a comment
                  need f'in high heat for the sear, glad you liked it though!

                • grantgallagher
                  grantgallagher commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yeah, i really needed to use some bricks to raise the grate on my kettle but alas, i had none around. Once i get my grill grates though...

                #15
                The yellowfin was seasoned with a creole style rub and seared for about 45s a side on a hot grill. The mackerel was brined for 1 hour in Meatheads schmancy hot smoked salmon brine and then rested in the fridge for about 4 hours. Then smoked at 225 with a lot of alder until internal temp of 140. Mackerel actually had a very delicate flavor, not the typical super fishy mackerel. Im not sure if this was the excess smoke or just a characteristic of king mackerel. Either way, it was great.
                Last edited by grantgallagher; April 7, 2018, 09:15 PM.

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