Wild Edible Seafood Update

By -
Good morning Chefs and Buyers,
 
Well it looks like once again the old adage of March coming in like lamb and out like a lion may hold true. Here comes another N'or Easter. Rain is in the forecast until the end of the month and April first gets warmer and dries out on Thursday. But rain did not stop good fish from getting in to us and we have a nice varied line up of product.
 
From a direct flight last night arrived Portuguese sardines, and fresh sepia (cuttlefish). The sepia are about 2 to 3 per lb, a good size to stuff or grill. Sardines are making it onto more and more menus these days. It is great to see the public finally embracing this delicious "bottom of the food chain" species, a great sustainable and green choice.
 
Wild stripe bass landings are moving to different areas with the majority of the fish from the Potomac River management area. Super nice fish from this small allotment tag area.
 
Florida boats brought us a mix of species; including pompano (1-2lbs), snapper (all sizes), red grouper (5-10lbs) and fresh 16/20 pink shrimp.
Corvina from Costa Rica, and Mahi from Panama round out the specials.
 
Shad roe looks to be on a brief hiatus as it moves up the coast, nothing available until further notice. The heavy rains may cause some shellfish closures in the short term, but we have plenty of product for Tuesday. Island creeks are in short supply, we hope to get our small allotment but at press we still had no confirmation. Pemaquid mussels are still plumping up in the shells, so we will not be bringing any until they are back to their former full and fleshy selves.
 
"A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King."
~Emily Dickenson
 
All the best,
 
Matthew Hovey http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhovey
718-433-4321 ext.121 / fax 718-433-4616 cell 718-679-0641
"Hand picked specialties from the Seas"
www.wildedibles.com 
http://sustainablefishmonger.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Yields - or - How Much Does This Really Cost Me?

By -
Image
I often find it necessary to explain the yield (amount of usable flesh) off of various fish. By knowing what percentage of meat will be available when a whole fish is filleted one can make an accurate analysis of; A. how much whole fish must be purchased and B. what is the true fillet cost. Knowing how to correctly perform these calculations will benefit not only seafood suppliers, restaurant chefs, but also the casual cook. Below is a list of some common fish and the net yield percentages. Actual percentages may vary depending on skill of the butcher. Salmon (head-on gutted) yields 75% skin-on fillet Snapper (head-on gutted) yields 40% skin-on fillet Mahi (headed and gutted) yields 65% skin-on fillet Monkfish (tail) yields 70% skinless fillet Cod (headed and gutted) yields 60% skin-on fillet Grouper (head-on gutted) yields 35% skinless fillet Halibut (headed and gutted) yields 66% skin-on fillet Tuna (headless bullets) yields 75% untrimmed loins Sword (headless bullets) yields 80% cen
Read more

Flounder and Sole: or A Fish By Any Other Name Would Still Taste as Sweet.

By -
Image
Ever wonder what the differences are between Sole and Flounder? Some customers recently asked me the question so I thought I would take a moment to shed a bit of light on the subject. Here in North America we have no true sole only flounders. When Europeans came to the Americas they called flounders soles because they looked like the fish they knew in the "old world". This has led understandably to much confusion over the years. The only true sole would be Dover Sole, Solea solea . Lemon sole is one of the names given to winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus , (also known as black back). Usually at the retail level when multiple flounder sku's are sold; flounder is the name given to the refreshed less expensive product, and sole (or lemon sole) is the name given to the more expensive fresh cut product. Fluke, Paralichthys dentatus also called summer flounder can also be sold as sole fillet. Sometimes there is a distinction
Read more

Sugar Toads, What? : Blowfish Tails Check

By -
Image
So Friday morning I am on the phone with one of the good old boy fish sellers in Maryland, and after hearing about how the Maryland DNC might be the ones "poaching" all those rock fish (wild striped bass) in ghost driftnets he finally gives me his catch list, and he just says it 'sugar toads'. So I had to look at the calendar and make sure it wasn't April 1st, because I hate to admit it but I have no idea what this is. He says "..you know theses little puffer tails". The lights go on in my head: BLOWFISH TAILS.....send me 50 lbs to sell and a couple for testing. I have to say these are one of this Fishmonger's favorite appetizing seafood specialties, and no they are not poisonous that is a different fish. I cannot wait until these jewels arrive Monday. I did a little research and it looks like they are a 'micro-trend' according to a recent article in Grubstreet declares this, who knew. So if you get the chance try some at the next chance you
Read more