Barracuda.jpg
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?
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.
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 !
Mike