Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Grill-a-Fishzilla

The frightful fishzilla, the northern snakehead, an invader normally native to China, Russia and Korea, is now found in tidal Maryland waters.  That's bad news for our ecosystem.  As I blogged yesterday, I caught my first snakehead this weekend, a 36 and 1/2 inch, fourteen pound brute that mangled a white chatterbait with a plastic worm trailer.  I took some pics, killed it, took it home and grilled it (well, broiled it).  Here's that post in case you missed it:  Monster Toothy Fish of the Potomac.
Snakeheads like this one eat just about anything that they can swallow.  They are an apex predator.  But guess what?  They ran into another apex predator...me!  And boy did it taste good!!!!
There is a bright side however, being that they are willing biters on bass tackle, fight like gangbusters, and taste fantastic.

That's right, they taste fantastic.  I promised to grill snakehead for my wife this evening, but things didn't quite work out as planned.  The big storm that knocked everyone's power out a while back also knocked over my grill.  I didn't realize it until tonight that the damage requires more than minor repair.

So, I had to move to plan B, cook indoors.  So, between you and me, my promised recipe should be termed, broiled snakehead rather than grilled snakehead.  Regardless of the method, my wife scarfed hers down with gusto while at the same time trying to get the ugly mug of the snakehead out of her mind.  And, I'll admit, I stuffed myself silly on the remaining filet cuts...and we still have enough for another meal or two in the 'fridge.
Here's the frightful snakehead in it's rightful Maryland environment...on my broiler pan!  YUM!


I didn't cook a gourmet meal by any means, serving my newly discovered fish filets with Ore Ida Tater Tots.  But man was it ever a tasty meal.
My recipe?  It's not gourmet by any means.  In fact, we served it with extra crispy Ore Ida Tater Tots.  Good eats, but hardly gourmet.  I'd cook it all again in a heartbeat if I wasn't so plum full right now though.  OK, I'll get to it, and you can't get much simpler:

McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic and Herb and
a little olive oil is all I needed for a tasty meal of
broiled snakehead filets.
1)  roll the snakehead filets in extra virgin olive oil.

2)  sprinkle McCormick's Roasted Garlic and Herb Grillmates spice on both sides

3)  broil 8 to 10 minutes on each side

4)  scarf it down.

It's that easy, and yes, it's that delicious.  I recommend the bass fishing throughout the Upper Tidal Potomac, and as a bonus, I wish you the best of luck in nabbing a snakehead. 

Do Maryland a favor and kill a snakehead, and do yourself, your family or friends a favor and take it home, filet it and grill it.  This meal will bring you all nothing but smiles and satisfaction, guaranteed!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good stuff right there! I would love to try it but we don't have any snakeheads on the Yough (Thank Goodness)- Mike

Mike said...

I had no idea they were native to Russian waters. I knew about the Far East being their territory. Nothing wrong with some grilled snakeheads and tatertots- I would eat tatertots for every meal if my waistline and cardiovascular system could tolerate it!

Bass.Junky said...

looks tasty, I like the idea of getting them out of our waters and into our bellies

Anonymous said...

"Scarfed", really...
It was good tho'!!!

Idalia Conn said...

Some people say that the best part about fishing is the thrill of battling the fish, and the pride that comes along when you win that battle. But for me, the best part is cooking my catch! The quickest way to cook it is usually to put it on a stick after cleaning it and letting it roast over a fire. But taking it home gives me better options. I can make fillets out of the smaller fish, and make steaks out of the bigger ones.

Fat Boy said...

Thanks for the comments Idalia and everyone. Yes, when my palate is being pleased by freshly cooked fish, I often feel the same way. There are species that I target specifically for catch and release, but these snakeheads are for just plain grillin' and eatin'!

Logan Morgan said...

This was a lovely blog post