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Old 04-18-2016, 08:20 PM   #1
pingpangdang
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Originally Posted by YakDout View Post
Maybe people will finally stop calling horse mackerel Spanish mackerel. I haven't ever caught a Spanish mackerel locally? Have you guys? I'm guessing no, they look like sierra mackerel for reference. Horse or jack mackerel sure, Spanish mackerel? NAH
Kind of confused me when I got here. I have attached a screen shot that explains horse mackerel aka jack mackeral. I just refer it as aji. When I was in japan all the sushi joints served aji raw with Ponzu sauce and green onions on top. Some have them swimming in the tank...i ordered one he scooped it from the tank made sushi then took the head and bones deep fried it and served. The bones, tail, and head when deep fried and salted tastes like a crunchy chip...good with asahi, sapporro, kirin, orion or whatever japanese beer of your liking. ..or just your favorite local ipa. I prefer aji grilled. As the screen shot explains it is not really part of the mackeral family...i don't like mackerel but aji is pretty good. I dip the meat in a vinegar soy sauce mix with hot sauce.

Ask any japanese person about aji and they will tell you they love it. Here's a youtube clip about aji as well. ..it's said that if you can clean aji you can clean any fish..
https://youtu.be/s4_opwO2SgU
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Old 04-18-2016, 10:45 PM   #2
Aaron&Julie
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Names can be like that.

No we don't have a true Spanish mackerel in SoCal, but for over 50 years, I've heard the 2 common species we catch off of SoCal called either spanish or greenback (which is the generally larger of the 2).

I've had greenback that was cooked on a party boat right after it was caught by the boat's cook. He cut it into strips, threw it right on the grill and just splashed a lot of teriyaki on it, constantly flipping it until cooked. He then passed samples around to everyone. Everybody enjoyed it, it was fantastic fresh like that. It's just one of many species that goes to mush when not cared for (bled & put on ice, or bled & cooked right away), like bonito, barries, etc.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I heard how fantastic horse, jack, spanish or whatever you feel like calling it, is fantastic raw (or cooked). I guess I never troubled to try it, it's bones are much finer than the greenies we catch.
I ate so much fine boned trout as a kid, that I tended to avoid fine boned fish in the past. This summer I am going to experiment both raw and cooked, the greenies cousin.
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Old 04-19-2016, 05:41 AM   #3
pingpangdang
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Originally Posted by Aaron&Julie View Post
Names can be like that.

No we don't have a true Spanish mackerel in SoCal, but for over 50 years, I've heard the 2 common species we catch off of SoCal called either spanish or greenback (which is the generally larger of the 2).

I've had greenback that was cooked on a party boat right after it was caught by the boat's cook. He cut it into strips, threw it right on the grill and just splashed a lot of teriyaki on it, constantly flipping it until cooked. He then passed samples around to everyone. Everybody enjoyed it, it was fantastic fresh like that. It's just one of many species that goes to mush when not cared for (bled & put on ice, or bled & cooked right away), like bonito, barries, etc.

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I heard how fantastic horse, jack, spanish or whatever you feel like calling it, is fantastic raw (or cooked). I guess I never troubled to try it, it's bones are much finer than the greenies we catch.
I ate so much fine boned trout as a kid, that I tended to avoid fine boned fish in the past. This summer I am going to experiment both raw and cooked, the greenies cousin.
The bones are not too much trouble. ..A lot of meet will flake off. Chop sticks or hashi are great to use on these. I'm not a fan of regular real mackerel but these have soft white meat. Gave some to some local japanese friends and even the kids loved it.
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Old 04-19-2016, 10:29 AM   #4
Mr. NiceGuy
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Originally Posted by pingpangdang View Post
Kind of confused me when I got here. I have attached a screen shot that explains horse mackerel aka jack mackeral. I just refer it as aji. When I was in japan all the sushi joints served aji raw with Ponzu sauce and green onions on top. Some have them swimming in the tank...i ordered one he scooped it from the tank made sushi then took the head and bones deep fried it and served. The bones, tail, and head when deep fried and salted tastes like a crunchy chip...good with asahi, sapporro, kirin, orion or whatever japanese beer of your liking. ..or just your favorite local ipa. I prefer aji grilled. As the screen shot explains it is not really part of the mackeral family...i don't like mackerel but aji is pretty good. I dip the meat in a vinegar soy sauce mix with hot sauce.

Ask any japanese person about aji and they will tell you they love it. Here's a youtube clip about aji as well. ..it's said that if you can clean aji you can clean any fish..
https://youtu.be/s4_opwO2SgU
When you say "Aji" do you mean Ahi?

If not, then disregard my post. I don't speak Japanese, so I don't know if Aji means mackerel. Dumb Me.

If so, I think you might be confusing Ahi with the wrong species. Ahi is generally Yellowfin tuna. It might also be Big Eye tuna, but I'm not so sure about that. Last summer we were blessed with Bluefin tuna coming into the LJ fishing area. Bluefin might be higher on the list for Ahi aficionados, and it may have a different Japanese name in the sushi world.

Yellowtail (subject of this thread) is Hamachi. Hamachi sashimi is good too, but it's not as popular as Ahi. Next time you are hanging out in a Japanese restaurant ask if they have Hamachi Kama -- Yellowtail collars. They can be wonderful, washed down with a large bottle of ice cold Sapporo. Oh yeah.

The last guy who prepared Hamachi Kama for me was in Hillcrest at "Sushi Deli 1." He popped them in the deep fryer for a few minutes. It made the meat inside wonderfully fluffy white and perfect. There is plenty of meat on yellowtail collars. I tried Hamachi Kama at another Japanese Izakaya place in Convoy. It was grilled in a way that made it greasy. Not nearly as good.

Now I'm confused :P
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Old 04-19-2016, 04:52 PM   #5
pingpangdang
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Originally Posted by Mr. NiceGuy View Post
When you say "Aji" do you mean Ahi?

If not, then disregard my post. I don't speak Japanese, so I don't know if Aji means mackerel. Dumb Me.

If so, I think you might be confusing Ahi with the wrong species. Ahi is generally Yellowfin tuna. It might also be Big Eye tuna, but I'm not so sure about that. Last summer we were blessed with Bluefin tuna coming into the LJ fishing area. Bluefin might be higher on the list for Ahi aficionados, and it may have a different Japanese name in the sushi world.

Yellowtail (subject of this thread) is Hamachi. Hamachi sashimi is good too, but it's not as popular as Ahi. Next time you are hanging out in a Japanese restaurant ask if they have Hamachi Kama -- Yellowtail collars. They can be wonderful, washed down with a large bottle of ice cold Sapporo. Oh yeah.

The last guy who prepared Hamachi Kama for me was in Hillcrest at "Sushi Deli 1." He popped them in the deep fryer for a few minutes. It made the meat inside wonderfully fluffy white and perfect. There is plenty of meat on yellowtail collars. I tried Hamachi Kama at another Japanese Izakaya place in Convoy. It was grilled in a way that made it greasy. Not nearly as good.

Now I'm confused :P
It's aji. ...my wife is Japanese born and raised...i love japanese food
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Old 04-19-2016, 06:25 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by pingpangdang View Post
It's aji. ...my wife is Japanese born and raised...i love japanese food
Ahso, ...

ありがとう。私のミス。あなたは幸運の男です。
また、私は日本の食べ物が大好き

I had a Japanese student inspecting and assembling products for me in the past. She took my bait mackerel home and cooked them. The thought of trying to eat those suckers made me quiver.

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