Florida Pinfish Question

[gerri]

Hi Folks,
I know pinfish are used for bait for other species of fish but are they edible by humans? I've got a kid who thinks he is going to eat some 10 inch pinfish he caught.
Thanks for your help.

[Jim Hatch]

Hey Gerri,

10" pinfish are pretty respectable as
pinfish go. While I've never eaten them,
I have seen folks take them home. I tried
to do a search on pinfish recipes and I
started running into a bunch of young ladies
wanting to walk on the beach. Must be a
dating service by that name.*G* I don't
know if I'd want to fry them but if it's
important to him, you might clean and scale
a couple, boil until tender and remove from
pot. Throw in a couple of chopped potatoes,
a chopped onion and a dash of garlic, salt
and pepper. Cook it in the broth until
tender. Meanwhile, take a fork and remove flesh from the boiled fish and add it back
to the pot for a bit when the potatoes are
done. Pinfish chowder.*G* Warm regards, Jim

[saltydancindave]

From the Florida Sportsman Sport Fish of Florida by Vic Dunaway : page 97,the Pinfish food value = only the largest are really suitable for the table, small ones have excessive and tiny bones. The Spottail Pinfish food value = often large enough tomake a decent panfish-but watch those bones!

[Harold Hattaway]

gerri

They are wonderful to eat, lots of bones sure but take a few big ones, scale them and remove the heads.

Next cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with sweet onions, and pour white wine of your choice to cover the onions. Next the fish put about 1 tablespoon, of butter in little pieces on the fish, next another layer of onions and slices of lemon: now do not tell anyone the next step or the fish population of the world will decrease. sprinkle some cheese over the top. I use romono but you can use your favorite. Now cook in the over at 350 degrees, and watch the fish, when it flakes it is done. I use this with bass, gils, and other fish. But it is really tasty with the fish with white meat..
The bones will just lift out of the fish but heck I just eat around them. The skin is edible. This will be a soft messy dish when finished very tender. So if you are feeding a lot of people this dish, use foil and make packages, then throw them on the grill, the amount of wine is less important in the foil because it will not escape.

Now go catch a dozen or so pins and eat lunch.


A pinch of garlic is good if you like garlic.


Harold

[This message has been edited by Harold Hattaway (edited 06 October 2005).]

[drolfson]

Okay Harold;

That sounds wonderful! Why didn't you submit that to LF when she was looking for recipes a bit back? I am thinking that you ought to.

Don

[willg8rr]

Saltwater bluegills are fun to catch on a flyrod but as table fare they are not much. They have a strong iodine taste. As a kid some of my earliest fishing was for pinfish on the old wooden causeways between Sarasota and the islands and we ate them rolled in cornmeal and deep fried but then we ate almost anything we caught. They were even below the old keys survival meal of "grits and grunts"

[Harold Hattaway]

I am from the Sarasota area and one thing I forgot to say. Pinfish that smell strong are like willg8rr said. If they smell strong then soak them in milk for about 1 hour. Takes the strong taste away. Same with sheephead and most of the drum that you can catch. Most of the pinfish we caught were in the Tampa Bay near in moving water they were tastier than the ones that we caught in tidal water. Try them if you do not like them then you will know your own taste buds.

drolfson: I thought I saw a recipe that was pretty close to mine, I'll check back on it and if not then I will shoot it to her. Also have you ever soaked dark meat fish like King Mackerel in Catalina dressing?

drolfson; Update, I went back into the archives and there is a recipe very close to mine, [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/whatscooking/cookin071204.html:43c9d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/whatscooking/cookin071204.html[/url:43c9d]
His is just slightly different but cooks about the same way. I'll bet either will taste wonderful on any white fish. Dark fish seem to me need a marinade. But that is just me, and my taste buds.

Harold

[This message has been edited by Harold Hattaway (edited 06 October 2005).]

[LadyFisher]

To remove the 'muddy' taste/smell from any fish, put the cleaned fish in a pan with enough water to cover it. Add equal parts (about a small pile in the palm of your hand) of soda and salt.
The old timers called that sal-soda. Let soak for an hour or so, rinse and cook.

Also works on 'muddy' ducks.

------------------
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Small tip: On Salmon and large Trout , scrape the grey stuff away from the lateral line after the salmon is cooked . It is the source of an vaguely unpleasant after taste .