Gopher and brownie ready for the oven.
So we've been experimenting with whole rockfish here at the MFN HQ lately and I have to say, whole is the way to go. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still loves me some rockfish tacos, but whole rockfish are so awesome. And frankly it kind of sickens me to see all that wasted meat getting thrown into the dumpster at the Princeton Ramp. Far more efficient, and I think ultimately sustainable, to utilize 60 percent of the carcass as opposed to 30 percent, right?
Vermillion rockfish stuffed and slathered with tomatoes (sticking with a reddish theme).
Not that I'm done filleting my fish. I think only a truly twisted individual would eat an eel whole. Though I imagine this is exactly what the Miwok did (you watch, I'll get an angry e-mail from the last Miwok in California--hey man, we never ate our eels whole, haven't you read your Kroeber). Prickleback otoliths have been found in indian shellmounds going back thousands of years. So we know they were eaten here. I wonder if the Miwok used their skins for anything? Arrowhead lashings, mocasin soles, bow strings, bullet proof vests. By which I mean to say Monkeyface eel skin is some tough shite, man. And I should know. I am the lone white man in history who has actually succeeded in tanning it. Okay maybe not "tanning" pe se. But the spines on all my 'zines have held up over time--it can't be denied.
The spine of this book, Monkeyface News #1, is made of semi-tanned monkeyface skin. And let me ask you something. How cool is that?
I'll tell you how cool... so cool I have to post a few more pix here.
In addition to the home-tanned prickleback-skin-spine, of Ed. #1, I included a prickleback skin pouch that also housed a full length CD of Kirk Lombard and the Armchair Geographers, singing sea chanties, and Leighton Kelly's masterful monkeyface mermaid pinup girl...
More home-tanned eel-skin book spines.
It's funny, I got so used to skinning the eels I used to catch that instead of filleting them and then simply cutting the skin off the fillet, like one would do with rockfish fillets, to this day I still skin all my eels first. In fact it's kind of like this:
Fresh Local Fish... (Not!)
Mmmmm, can't wait to sink my teeth into some fresh, frozen, slabs of Alaskan pollack
Driving around HMB yesterday after my tour--could there be a worse place to go for a drive than HMB on July 4th? The fish wife, and my colleague at Forage SF, "Feral" Kevin Feinstein, asked me if there was a place where we could get fresh local fish. As we had already left Princeton Harbor, and Catch Joannes and Barbara's Fish Trap were a good 1.5 hours through bumper to bumper traffic away, I figured our only options were Duartes (in Pescadero) or the Flying Fish Grill on 92. As the day was winding down (we started early), and no one wanted to deal with the traffic at dusk, Pescadero was out. So we sauntered up to the take out window at the Flying Fish and looked at the menus.
Low and behold, a seafood restaurant in HMB that does not list a single item of local fish on it's menu. Their fish and chips? Alaskan pollack (the very nice, and hopelessly over-worked waitress actually said Pole-lock, so I guess there's a possibility they've gotten some local Poles to donate flesh). Further inquiry produced this phrase: "We don't serve any local fish." So if it turns out I'm wrong about this, I can't be blamed. It's what they told me.
One wonders how much business they would do if this was posted under their sign. Or at the top of their menu. I'll never forget a few years ago when passing through Boston, I couldn't get a bowl of non-Campbells clam chowder anywhere. Not unlike Fisherman's Wharf in that respect.
Flying Fish makes a superb fish sandwich, it can't be denied. But I mean, come on people. How hard would it be to get some local halibut. Or rockfish? For the love of Neptune, there's even a fish market next door.
Even here, most of the fish wasn't local... didn't feel like bugging the fishmongers. When I asked one of them if he had any local rockfish for sale, he pointed down to the end of the counter. So I sauntered over there and looked. I saw nothing that indicated sebastes complex. However, there was a small tray, loaded with fillets that said: "Red Snapper, Product of USA." Is it possible? Could it be that a fish market in HMB, CA., is selling it's "local rockfish" as red snapper? Ugh.
I will give it up for HMB Fish Market though. They, evidently, do sell local fishies when they can get 'em. And I have to say, in my entire fish-centric existence, I have rarely seen this guy being sold in a fish market outside of Chinatown:
Not surf smelt, not night smelt... drum roll please: jacksmelt! Straight outa Princeton Harbor!
You know, even I have to key-out jacksmelt and toppies to tell them apart, and I didn't do that, so I guess it's possible some of these are toppies. It's just very ironic to me is all. I mean, honestly, of all the species to choose as your representative local fish... these dirty little buggers with their black guts, annoying scales, and stomachs full of worms! Why not surf smelt, one wonders? Or nighties? Go figya.
Maybe the red snapper was local chilli-pepper? Maybe the salmon was local? (But isn't the season closed?) The dungies were obviously from Mars. They had some truly epic dungies in this place--Frisbee sized. Maybe the petrale came off of The Malesa? The Mr. Morgan? (Is either or the two Cap'n Steves fishing petrale right now?). I saw some lingcod in a box near the salmon. Maybe that was local? I prefer to think it all was. Hopefully I'm right.
Thing is, it's hard on a fish business trying to stick to local stuff. There just aren't that many guys on the water anymore. And what with restrictions, quotas, and the capricious qualities of our local seas, weeks must pass before a local fishmonger can get his hands on local product... but still. Alaskan pollock in a HMB fish and chips joint? A waitress saying: "We don't serve local fish." Something is wrong with the universe. I mean pollock is frozen anyway, right? Why not buy some local rockfish and freeze it? I don't know. I'm sure there's a good reason.
Anyway... time to go deliver sustainable fish to worthy restaurants.
The Bust
$50.00 per snail for every snail over the limit of 35. And this ain't even half the bag.
While in the middle of my "Expedition" tour yesterday, just as I was launching into a discussion of rules and regs, I came upon a large black garbage bag sitting, suspiciously, near the low tide line, about 100 yards north of the jetty. Being of a curious nature I walked over to said garbage bag and peeked inside. Low and behold the bag was filled with black tegulas, or turban snails. Of course the limit on black tegulas is 35 snails per person. There were approximately 2,000 of them in this bag. That's my estimate, anyway. It could have been more. We looked around. There were two people about 50 yards off, squatting in the shallows, picking tegulas and putting them into a three gallon bucket. The bucket was almost full. One of my tour goers went over and snapped a few pictures. The snail poachers quickly gathered their stuff and made for the parking lot--black garbage bag, bucket, and all.
It's a funny thing. I'm not in anyway concerned about the turban snail population. I don't think anyone is. If these guys were a few snails over limit I wouldn't have cared at all. But they had about 75 pounds of snails. And the limit is 35 total snails (or about 8 ounces). Egregious violators of fish and game rules suck. And the fact that these guys kept looking over their shoulders and that they left the bag sitting 50 yards away from where they were gathering snails, indicates they knew they were doing something wrong.
All I can say is this... there are several enforcement personnel who will show up very quickly if you call and tell them there are 2,000 black tegulas leaving the beach in a black garbage bag.
'Nuff said.
Gotta go deliver sustainable fish to worthy restauranteurs. More Wednesday, hopefully.
Kirk-out
opportunity!
Posted by: rene | 07/05/2011 at 09:15 AM
Good on you! This kind of thing is just unconscionable... is there an option to get a turban snail commercial license? It makes me wonder where all the snails you see in Marina Foods or Ranch 99 are coming from...
Posted by: Scott Parker | 07/05/2011 at 10:09 AM
The sign in the HMB fish store seems to say "Fresh King Salmon", but at least one of those whole fish look like Atlantic (big spots on head and jaw)?
mc
Posted by: mikechin | 07/05/2011 at 11:29 AM
After several bad fish experiences, I gave up on the HMB Fish Market many years ago. Since then, it's either been self-caught or bought right off the boat in Princeton. It's good to see there are more options now, and I guess I need to start looking harder.
On another note, while pokepoling a secret spot south of HMB a few weeks ago, I spotted a group of 4 ripping & tearing limpets. After chatting briefly with one of them I figured they clearly knew they were breaking the regs. I personally never take more than a handful of limpets at a time, and was absolutely pissed that these guys were wrecking "my" spot. Called DFG when I got back to the truck, thinking the poachers would be long gone. A warden happened to be less than 5 minutes away. He busted these pigs with 250 limpets and over 600 snails. Win one for the good guys, and how to make friends with your local warden all in one shot!
Posted by: airushsf | 07/05/2011 at 07:55 PM
Hmm. Does it seem like there is more of this type of activity going on now than in the past? Or is there just a much larger market for poached limpets and snails than we ever realized?
As an aside, wouldn't the shellfish quarantine make these inherently unsafe for consumption at this time?
Posted by: Scott Parker | 07/06/2011 at 09:09 AM
I'm no longer filleting rockfish under 15 inches, ever since I had one steamed whole and served with some sauce. They have a great, delicate flavor that gets lost when you filet/fry them. Best thing is the bones come right off and you get much more meat than if you just filet it (especially those cheeks!)
As far as local fish goes, I kind of prefer that most fish bought comes from other places. It keeps pressure off of local stocks, and makes recreational fishing that much more valuable. I think it speaks more to the ignorance of the consumer that local fish isn't demanded though. I was up in Seattle recently and discovered how important local fish is to people up there. It still doesn't make up the majority of fish at a given market, but it's very well labeled and I overheard people asking about it in almost every fish market I visited.
Posted by: Ryan | 07/06/2011 at 12:39 PM
Busted. Actually, I'm surprised at how close they were to you guys... not exactly ninja-stealth were they. That black market seafood trade is something that most people don't realize is going on along our shores. Good to know that fish n game caught up to them before they got away.
As for whole fish, heck yea! Every fish has a distinct flavor and texture that's suited for a certain dish. I love my fish n chips and fish tacos, but I love a whole steamed rockfish too.
Posted by: Chris Xiong | 07/07/2011 at 12:05 PM
Scott, yes one could legally commercially collect tidal invertebrates, though that kinda negates the whole point of poaching. Commercial fishermen have to operate under a slew of regulations in CA and pay a whole bunch of fees - poachers do not have to concern themselves with any of the above. Hey "at least they ate em", right?
Good work Kirk, happy to see everything working out well for ya.
Posted by: Alan | 07/11/2011 at 12:44 AM