Barracuda? REALLY? REALLY!
 

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I met a older man one evening last week in LJ while we were both loading up after a long day of chasing YT. After telling him that I only caught a couple of Barracudas and was pissed that they countinually took my bait he asked me if I kept them, I said no, why would I want to keep THEM?:confused: He said because they are good to eat. I told him I heard they were full of bones and that they didnt taste good. He laughed and told me that I must have heard that from someone who never ate it before.
ANYWAY... as a guy who is pretty f#cking tired of hearing "where's the fish?" everytime I return home after spending 12 plus hours on the water I decided that If I caught a decent sized Barracuda that I would see if the old guy was right. I doubted he was right because first of all I heard (I cant tell you when or from whom) that Barracuda is a bitch to fillet and tastes like shit and second of all I heard that Barracuda is a bitch to fillet and tasted like shit.... But hey, its better then hearing "where's the fish?" again.
So, a couple of days ago I hook up with this pretty good sized one on a squid, get it to my side, game clip it, and bleed it. Two hours later I pull up at my house and while unloading I hear the familiar "Where's the fish?" from a neighbor. I finally get to say "right here" and pull the fish from the ice only to hear "thats a Barracuda and they taste like shit". I asked if they ever had it before and they said "No way!"

I finish unloading truck, get picture of fish, fillet fish and remove the blood line from the meat and then get on line to see how to cook the thing. I came accross a Dan Hernandez Barracuda taco recipe that called for Lawrys (go figure... lol) marinade. I followed the directions exactly how they were written........................................... ...................

First of all let me tell you that the fish was very easy to fillet. Id say it was easier then the Bass that I'm used to and a lot less bones.

Second and most important IT TASTED GREAT! I was actually surprised that it tasted so good. I wouldnt even say that its an aquired taste. IT WAS JUST PLAIN GOOD and EVERYONE who tried the tacos thought the same. :eating:

Now I know that we are spoiled with the type of game fish we have in our local water and that maybe we are sooo spoiled that we might even overlook one type for another more "prestigious" type but if you want to try something new then dont listen to what people say they've heard... give the Barracuda a try, I think you will like it.

Thanks to everyone on BWE !

:cheers1:

Mike

they make good leopard shark bait. :D

i know they taste good, but i never catch any over 22"

I kept hearing they were good smoked since they're so oily. Took two anacondas home any smoked them up for 5 hours in a brown sugar teriyaki marinade..... pretty friggen good.

smoke em
 

Haven't caught a legal of my yak yet but on the cattle boats, I've caught my share. I mainly smoke them and they are great; I also pan fry with a garlic onions. I've heard people say they don't like bass, shark, hali, and yes; even yellow tail. Just drive down the street and you'll come across 5 different hamburger joints, so to each his own.

Nice catch, and glad you tried it.

Cuda are pretty damn good if you take care of them. You just have to bleed them and keep them cool. Many peoples first(and last) experience with eating cuda is after the things have sat in a gunny sack for hours in the sun. And like you found out they are super easy to clean. A buddy of mine used to cook them in an unusual way that was excellent. He would set up like he was making a lasagna except swap out the noodles for the barracuda. So layers of fish, onions/zuchinis/egg plant/tomatoes, sause, and a little cheese. Bake for 45-60 minutes, fish stays moist and absorbs the veggie and sause flavors. very good, good for you, and dirtys up one pan. Mike

i am tired also
 

of hearing where is the fish? piss on the neighbor. :the_finger: . maybe i will get lucky and get a legal cuda. one day i am also gonna catch a :wsb: . till then piss on everyone. congrats on the catch.:cheers1:

MMMMMMMM..... Stovepipes are gooooooooood!

Heck yea! Barracuda make great fish tacos. Way to go Mike.

I soak them in milk to neutralize the fishy taste then marinate them in italian dressing. Grill 'em. Taste great! Like you say, just make to get rid of the blood line first. They don't freeze well to plan on eating them when you get home.

EXACTLY. If you do this, you can get get some great clean looking filets off them!

Nice Mike! Yes I agree they are tasty. I read this post right before he cooked some up : ) it's nice to know what is good to eat and what isn't. I don't want to keep fish we can't eat!

Agree, taste great fresh, they don't freeze well.

I make fish chowder out of them; the texture of barracuda is perfect for it. Barracuda tasting like shit is a wives tale...

That's a nice sized one you got there Mike, congratulations! ;)