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Random Quote: If the lord did not mean for us to eat fish and game, he wouldn't have made them outta meat
Growing up in South Florida, I was always told that Amberjacks were not very good eating and had lots of worms, so I've always passed on ever eating it. My friends in the Florida panhandle tell me the opposite and that its some of the best tasting fish. Anyone have an opinion on this?
Bleed it, cut out the bloodlines, flakes up a lot like grouper. I've only kept a few small AJ's, but I think they have about the same amount of worms as red grouper. More protein.
Cook it how you like, it's good grilled, fried, or baked.
Very Good. We caught our limit of AJ, Grouper, and Snapper on saturday and the first fillets out of the fridge yesterday was AJ. Grilled or fried it makes a Great Fresh Fish sandwich.
I'm with you FLboater99. I grew up fishinf the gulf coast of Alabama where Amberjack was always on the menu everywhere. Now I am in Georgia and they are considered poor eating. Can't figure it out myself.
It is a very firm fish. Can be cooked pretty much any way you like fish. We prefer it Blackened, Grilled and deep fried. There are worms (parasites) in the tail section of the larger fish and there is a blood line like in Red Fish, Tuna and many others, you just need to fillet it then cut it down the center of the bloodline and trim it up, then cut into steaks. I would not recommend keeping anything bigger than 30-40 pounds. Here is link to a previous post on this very topic.
It is a very firm fish. Can be cooked pretty much any way you like fish. We prefer it Blackened, Grilled and deep fried. There are worms (parasites) in the tail section of the larger fish and there is a blood line like in Red Fish, Tuna and many others, you just need to fillet it then cut it down the center of the bloodline and trim it up, then cut into steaks. I would not recommend keeping anything bigger than 30-40 pounds. Here is link to a previous post on this very topic.
some one mentioned bleeding them out, i do this with salmon and walleye when time permits by simply clipping the gill and putting it in a bucket of water for 10 minutes before i ice them down. same thing for AJs?
BTW when i have caught them i marinated and grilled them same day. i thought they were fine with good firm texture.
I shared your fear of AJs, since a few large ones that we caught off Key West one summer years ago were really full of parasitic worms in the tail sections. However, we tried a 30 pounder caught off Venice, LA a few years ago, and they were excellent. We cut all the red meat out, and didn't try to skin them too closely, and the fillets were great grilled and blackened. They definitely get to ride home in the ProKat...
As a couple have mentioned previously, I always discard the tail section of the meat because of the worms that you find in there. Just look when you clean them and you will see the worms if they are present in the tail. They are white/yellowish. The meat is good eating to me.
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"no matter how beautiful a woman is, someone, somewhere is sick of her sh*t"
Here's my take on Amberjack. I make it a point to catch a couple every trip I'm offshore. I consider myself a bit of a foodie and EVERYONE who as ever had this agrees it is simply delectable and easy.
1.There are frequently worms in the tail section, simply discard the first few inches from the tail. It's full of tendons anyway.
2. AJ's fresh are one of the best tasting grilled fish you will ever have. I promise. You people who eat Kings and despise AJ truly have no idea what good fish is, you probably like tuna well done also...
3. ALWAYS clean the bloodlines out of the fillet, it is about the most repulsive thing ever.
4. Only keep what you can eat fresh, it really is inedible after freezing. Why, I have no idea, but it is terrible frozen.
5. It makes for the best fish tacos. Here's how I do it.
This is good for Tacos or as an entree without the Mexican fixings.
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, a tad white wine, copius amounts of garlic(or Cavender's season all), chili powder, cumin, and a bit of red pepper and perhaps a bit of Kosher Salt. Mix thouroughly and marinate steaks for about 30 minutes to an hour. Throw on the grill and cook to medium rare/ medium. Do not overcook!!!
Break the steaks up with a fork. Put them on a soft flour tortilla with black beans, cheese, guacomole, and any other traditional taco fixings you might like.
Again, its really good without serving on a taco. Serve the same with spanish rice and a nice salad but leave the steaks whole and you've got a variation of the same meal that is quite good and as easy as you could possibly get to cook.
Even if you don't use this recipe, don't even attempt to tell me this fish is anything other than first class when fresh. Many of the finest restaurants in New Orleans use this fish on a regular basis and honestly, these restaurants are hands down some of the best in the nation and without peers on the gulf coast. For some reason though, I've never seen King Mack's on the menu, anywhere....
Amberjack??
