OK....we have a few shark fishermen and women....what type of shark is worth keeping for food, what will get you throwin in jail, and what is not worth eating? With enough soy sauce, tapatio, and Corona most anything can be eaten
Gummy Shark is probably ranked as the premium shark to eat. Some say in the interests of conservation shark is a "say no" species. There are of course protected species and as I understand that can differ dependant on where and what country your in. In Australia not withstanding protected species you cannot kill anything over 1.5mtrs however i do hear that protection laws are being reviewed with a likely hood of being removed.
If your in Australia and walk into any fish and chip store and order "flake" you are being served shark.
Short Fin Mako and Thresher are delicious with a lot of cooking possibilites.
Salmon shark are also tasty.
Mako is good but rare to catch in NC. Balcktip however, is fairly plentiful and tasty but there are limits on them. Steve-O sent me a nice shark recipe last week; maybe he'll share if he sees this.
I haven't eaten any Shark that I've caught yet. I have had Thresher steaks when I lived in San Diego from the market. They were Delicious. I think the most important thing is that you stick to a smaller one, say a blacktip that swallowed the hook, gut them right away and get them on ice.
I know any species of Hammerhead is protected and cannot be eaten.
tru dat. Steve-O was very explicit about the bleeding, gilling and handling should you decide to harvest an apex predator as such.
I know any species of Hammerhead is protected and cannot be eaten.
[/quote]Except the Bonnethead, But they are only good for bait. ;D
Most of your smaller coastal 'brown shark' varieties are edible as well. Make sure you follow existing state and federal regs. Then make a cut on either side of the tail stock while the animal is still alive. You can then cut into the heart chamber, and throughly bleed the animal, just before cutting it's spine to kill it. Cool the meat down quickly, and you can soak in a bit of buttermilk, to draw out some residual urea, a soak in brine will firm the meat up. Eat the steaks fresh, most shark does not do well after frozen.
Mako, Thresher, and Salmon are the exception.
Stay away from Blue Shark, or any bottom dwelling species. You should be able to smell the meat. If you detect any noticable trace of urea, I'd forget it as table fare.
When I fished for Leopard sharks in years past, we bled them out right away. Then tie them up and throw them over the side to keep cool in the current until we headed for home.
I once had a large multi-family BBQ and told my wife I was going to serve a big dish of shark chunks. She knew there was going to be bunches of rug rats so she made me get hot dogs and make hamburgers too.
Short story long, I made a big tray of burgers and dogs and another of shark, coated with Italian dressing. There wasn't a single piece of shark left. Almost ALL eaten by 5-10 year olds.
Soak the shark chunks in milk prior, then mix up a bowl of Italian dressing and dip them. Throw them on the barbie. They'll flame up like crazy and cook pretty quick. Keep brushing them with the dressing while they cook. Lots of flare ups but they don't burn somehow. Roll 'em over, get some grill marks going. Poof! They're gonna go.
Threshers, Shortfin Makos, Blacktips and believe it or not Nurse Sharks are the only ones I eat.
No one said Porbeagle Shark. They are good any way you can cook them.
Mike
Buddy of mine had some real nice Thresher Steaks and he was trimming the bottom off to make a perfect steak? I took I guess the loins and put them in an olive oil, lime, sea salt, garlic & onion powder, cayenne pepper, rosemary marinade for a couple of hours, then put them on wood skewers with mushrooms, grape tomatoes, peppers & onions...Grilled them up while dinner was cooking then drizzled the rest of the marinade on the skewers to get a smoke/flame char...Served prior to dinner..I think my appetizer was best, but I always do. ;D Works well with Swordfish loins as well.
Big Tim
Quote from: Big Tim on June 20, 2015, 01:39:58 AM
Buddy of mine had some real nice Thresher Steaks and he was trimming the bottom off to make a perfect steak? I took I guess the loins and put them in an olive oil, lime, sea salt, garlic & onion powder, cayenne pepper, rosemary marinade for a couple of hours, then put them on wood skewers with mushrooms, grape tomatoes, peppers & onions...Grilled them up while dinner was cooking then drizzled the rest of the marinade on the skewers to get a smoke/flame char...Served prior to dinner..I think my appetizer was best, but I always do. ;D Works well with Swordfish loins as well.
Big Tim
Now you've got me salavating.
Quote from: bluefish69 on June 20, 2015, 12:58:14 AM
No one said Porbeagle Shark. They are good any way you can cook them.
Mike
They are related to our salmon sharks.
I like the way that they hide under the boat & wait to steal your fish. I was told they are cold water Mako.
Mike
Quote from: bluefish69 on June 20, 2015, 03:21:45 AM
I like the way that they hide under the boat & wait to steal your fish. I was told they are cold water Mako.
Mike
I think most anythung that comes outta the cold water is good to eat...
Except Greenland Sharks..
they can kill you if you eat them...
though..come to think of it...
I think the natives figured out a waybto ferment away the poison to make 'em eatable. That's ok, I guess, if you like your fish rotten.
Quote from: Shark Hunter on June 19, 2015, 04:56:33 PM
I know any species of Hammerhead is protected and cannot be eaten.
That depends on which state you're fishing in.
Florida for example, all Hammers except the Bonnetheads are protected.
Sidestep over to Alabama and keep any hammer you wish to with a 78" FL, again excepting the Bonnethead with no size limit.
Check your state's laws.
These are the ones I've actually eaten.
Shortfin Mako ranks with Swordfish.
Thresher isn't far behind.
Blacktip & Spinner yield some very good steaks for the BBQ.
Atlantic Sharpnose are fine eating.
I haven't had one, but Bonnethead are supposed to be as good as Sharpnose.
I've been told smaller legal Hammers are good to eat.
Bulls are OK, if one dies, don't waste it.
Great Hammerheads, and Scalloped are in the process of being listed under ESA. Specific management regions have specific take caps in place already. Ither shark species (some threshers, iceanic white tips silkys are also likely to be lusted on a region by region basis. States will have to comply with fed listings.
Quote from: Keta on June 20, 2015, 02:09:25 AM
Quote from: bluefish69 on June 20, 2015, 12:58:14 AM
No one said Porbeagle Shark. They are good any way you can cook them.
Mike
They are related to our salmon sharks.
Also related to the Mako and White shark. They are In womb Cannibals With only one ore two young born Alive. The Porbeagle is a thermo regulator and Has the same habits as the mako but found in more temperate waters. I am guessing that would be a trait of the Salmon Shark also?
Yes, you would be correct.
Quote from: Tightlines666 on June 27, 2015, 12:06:48 PM
Yes, you would be correct.
Broadbill Swordfish are the Masters of Thermoregulation
and the tastiest. Maybe there is a link? I have found as a rule Deep water fish taste good and lots of reef fish taste like junk.
I have found as a rule Deep water fish taste good and lots of reef fish taste like junk.
I will agree with you on that! Some fish I caught in the US Atlantic Ocean came out of 20-30 fathoms and the water was bathtub warm. Yucky flavor, IMO. And these were the "popular" species to catch.
Now the Pacific Northwest fish I angle for....anything that grabs my hook tastes good. Been throwing these ugly buggers back for years - The Great Sculpin = a member of the Scorpion fish family and decided to eat one. Tastes great, small fillets for the big head, white meat with chickenish texture and lobstery flavor. yum!
With ANY variety of Shark you intend to eat, ONLY keep the SMALL ones. The BIGGER they get, the HIGHER the Mercury count !!!
P.S. - Blacktip on the grill is excellent !!!
You may be right Dave. However, are you going to eat the parts where the Mercury concentrates? Nope. Just the fillets for me.
But I agree about the small ones as better table fare generally.
Which is good for me since that's all I catch. :(
Quote from: Rancanfish on July 11, 2015, 04:06:31 AM
You may be right Dave. However, are you going to eat the parts where the Mercury concentrates? Nope. Just the fillets for me.
But I agree about the small ones as better table fare generally.
Which is good for me since that's all I catch. :(
TRUE . . . Bleed'em & Steak'em !!!