Thresher shark processing help

[TJones]

He was mortally wounded and wasn't gonna make it. Now what do I do? Decapitated him, cut tail, bleed out, and gutted. Can I donate it? Is It worth preserving and vacuum sealing? He was the perfect size for harvesting though. About 80 lbs. How is the taste on scale of 1-10? Thanks for help.

[jruiz]

HOW used to take fish donations when they were still holding events. Sharks are pretty tough. How did it get to the point of getting mortally wounded?

[igotpron]

Many people love it. Compare it to swordfish. Goes great on the bbq. Cut the beast in 1” steaks keep some and hand some out. People like the idea of free steaks. And usually eat them right away. Gives you a chance to experiment and try new things.


Now the important question. Where did you catch this beast? And I’m presume you gut hooked this one?


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[FullFlavorPike]

Agreed. Eat as you would eat a sword.

Makes great escabeche, which will keep for quite a while in the fridge.

[Harry Hill]

if prepped immediately should be good but allowed to lay around dead and I can taste the uric acid in the meat. I quit buying swordfish in the market because it is usually shark and tastes of urine.

[YakDout]

HOW used to take fish donations when they were still holding events. Sharks are pretty tough. How did it get to the point of getting mortally wounded?


Gaff [emoji51]


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[Hunters Pa]

Steaks or cubes for kebab.


Have a stone nearby to keep sharpening your blade, that shark skin can really dull it fast if you are doing skin-on steaks.

[TJones]

Gaff [emoji51]


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:sifone:
On the serious note, he was done fighting within 10 min and he just hunkered down. I replaced the treble on the jig with a massive single hook that went through and through on his lower jaw. No way in hell was I wanting to get B slapped trying to pry out my jig with pliers. Of course cutting the line would be a good option, but I was worried he was too green. Granted, he at surface in about 10 min. There was a lot of superficial damage to his face from jig smashing into his grill. Is it possible that I was drawing his mouth closed and it suffocated him? Well, this is my first harvested, not my first caught. Hopefully, my last harvested. Free pick up in Burbank, if anyone is interested. Neighbors will take some. I decapitated him immediately after gaffing. Severed the tail off to bleed out both ends. Hopefully to reduce the urination and gamey taste.

[TJones]

Steaks or cubes for kebab.


Have a stone nearby to keep sharpening your blade, that shark skin can really dull it fast if you are doing skin-on steaks.

I saw videos on you tube and they were serving up these nice clean steak and loins.

[Oolie]

You don't need to remove the skin if steaking, you can score it before grilling, but if you do remove the skin, it makes a nice wasabi oroshi.

[CardShark]

:sifone:
On the serious note, he was done fighting within 10 min and he just hunkered down. I replaced the treble on the jig with a massive single hook that went through and through on his lower jaw. No way in hell was I wanting to get B slapped trying to pry out my jig with pliers. Of course cutting the line would be a good option, but I was worried he was too green. Granted, he at surface in about 10 min. There was a lot of superficial damage to his face from jig smashing into his grill. Is it possible that I was drawing his mouth closed and it suffocated him? Well, this is my first harvested, not my first caught. Hopefully, my last harvested. Free pick up in Burbank, if anyone is interested. Neighbors will take some. I decapitated him immediately after gaffing. Severed the tail off to bleed out both ends. Hopefully to reduce the urination and gamey taste.

I'd like to try it out. I'm just 10-15 mins north of you in Mission Hills. Sent you a PM with my contact info.

[summers in kuwait]

If properly harvested, Thresher is amazing meat and the belly might be some of the best meat the ocean offers. I was speaking with Yanni about this subject years ago and he said its one of his favorites! Steaks are amazing, you can also cube and grill.

I served a part of 20-30 people with some of my thresher. I made sliders with Hawaiian sweet bread, a chipotle aioli and slaw. I informed everyone ahead of time that it was shark. People were amazed by the flavor and said it was some of the best seafood they had ever had!

Here is a little recap from my thresher catch in 2017. (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/showthread.php?t=31330)


Cheers,
Todd

[FoodGeekFish]

If properly harvested, Thresher is amazing meat and the belly might be some of the best meat the ocean offers.

Todd - how do you define "properly harvested"? Bled and gutted on the water? Bled only? Time between catch and putting on ice?

[TJones]

I'd like to try it out. I'm just 10-15 mins north of you in Mission Hills. Sent you a PM with my contact info.

Just saw this message. I will reply. Fish has been packed in ice and I will start to steak it out today.

[TJones]

I have used the utmost care which is my standard practice. Decapitated immediately upon gaffing. Back end severed off. Gutted and rinsed on water so I don't have a mess at home. Catch was taken early in morning with overcast sky's. Stored in hull of PA while heading in. Placed into a large cooler and drove to nearest place for 10 bags of ice. Im looking forward to this.
:drool5:
:cheers1:

[TJones]

You don't need to remove the skin if steaking, you can score it before grilling, but if you do remove the skin, it makes a nice wasabi oroshi.
Let me know if you get it. Thanks.

[TJones]

On the water

[kayakfisherman]

Hey TJones! Todd is right, T shark meat is my favorite. Especially the belly.

I always leave the skin on and only remove it after I cook it. Plus, I always simply steak the fish from head to tail. That way it keeps it simple and easy to manage in the freezer.

Good eats there!! Yanni

[SoCalEDC]

its typically fantastic meat. Makes great tacos. Very "meaty" fish.

[PapaDave]

It tastes great, I like it. And that looks to have been a female, not a he...

[TJones]

Sweeeettt. My new lucky jig. I can feel it. Keep you posted. Just like the one I used to hook T.

[summers in kuwait]

It tastes great, I like it. And that looks to have been a female, not a he...


Dave is correct. That is a female.

A male shark will have claspers.

For all looking to better understand how to identify the sex of the shark, see below:

https://www.sharktrust.org/male-female-sharks#:~:text=Male%20sharks%20tend%20to%20be,up%2 0fins%20under%20their%20body.

https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/Narragansett/sharks/sexdet.html

[summers in kuwait]

Todd - how do you define "properly harvested"? Bled and gutted on the water? Bled only? Time between catch and putting on ice?

Correct.

If possible, I always do the following on the water.

Dispatch
Gil
Bleed
Gut
Ice asap

These steps will greatly help with meat quality for all species. But some species will be more crucial. IE Bonito.

Cheers!

[Oolie]

The meat seems perfect.
I can't wait!

[matthew7!]

How was the fish???


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[FISH11]

Thresher is very tasty and has a nice firm meat. Heroes on the Water used to cook fish tacos to serve the Disabled Vets and volunteers for lunch during the HOW events and was sometimes Thresher from Catalina Offshore. Also it's been served at some of the Mission Bay Classic Tournaments. Very good for Tacos or Steaks.

[matthew7!]

Thresher is very tasty and has a nice firm meat. Heroes on the Water used to cook fish tacos to serve the Disabled Vets and volunteers for lunch during the HOW events and was sometimes Thresher from Catalina Offshore. Also it's been served at some of the Mission Bay Classic Tournaments. Very good for Tacos or Steaks.


Caught my first one today excited to get it cooked up!! Tacos on the 4th


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[FISH11]

Congrats enjoy, HAPPY 4th!

[CardShark]

TJones was nice enough to give me some to try.

My mom made fish curry with it and it was great!

[TJones]

You are not far from my crib. Give me a shout out. I got a new species in my freezer.

[TJones]

Caught my first one today excited to get it cooked up!! Tacos on the 4th


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And did not post yet? Congrats.