No longer a sturgeon virgin... 1-8-05

So I've got a chunk that has a small amount of that orangeish yellow fatty stuff between the meat layers, is it critical to remove absolutely all of this stuff, or is a little going to be okay.  It seems like I'd have to remove a fair amount of good meat to get ridd of a small amount of this fatty stuff.

-Josh

Try to remove the bulk of it... but a little bit won't hurt anything.  

You can scrape the remainder off with your fork after its cooked... no problem.  

EK

Did you guys pull out the center cartilage piece?  A long time ago, I watched a guy show my dad/uncle how to clean it.  After they pulled out this white thing, they cut it up into 2 inch long pieces and boiled it.  It was pretty trippy.

I can't remember how the meat tasted (I was just a kid).  What is the taste/texture like?

Expecting feedback from 7 anglers!!!

Stuart

Stu,

I bake half of mine in a mayo coated, bread crumbs, lemon-pepper and some butter.  Got the recipe out of fishsniffer web site.  It was good.  But, had to add some soy sauce to make it better.  A Jap thing.

I took the other half and did a BBq sauce with bread crumbs.  Not so good.

It is a very mild fish.  But, firm and the beast part no bones.

I have smoked it before and it taste like smoke pork.

Ken

Stu... if you steak it out you need to pull the nodo cord... which is kind of trippy.  It's much easier to fillet them, and less mess.  

I always barbeque mine... choose whatever seasonings you want... you can do anything with it.  I'll do lemon pepper and butter or butter with dill and tarragon.  

The key is not overcooking it... it can get tough and dry.  

When done right it reminds me of a super tender porkchop.   White, mild, very firm.

I've heard of people using it in stirfry... it's firm enough and isn't fishy tasting at all... probably good.  

We missed you out there man... long time no see.  Hopefully we can get together for a Dino in Feb or March.

Erik

I dipped it in milk then coated it with bread crumbs w/ salt/pepper and baked it for about 15 minutes (until the center was cooked).  It was AWESOME.  The closest thing I can think of is abalone.  It had that seaweed flavor and a similar texture because it's very firm.  Fortunately not as filling as abalone so we could eat the whole 2/3lb steaks I cooked.

My wife's given me a mandate to catch more...

I gotta get me some.  Quite a range, from pork to abalone.  

Erik,
Yeah, it was the nodo cord.  Kinda like the umbilicle(sp?) cord (as you will soon see), but more clear and translucent.  Taste was bland. Wasn't impressed with that part.  I saw them partially cut the tail and pull.  The whole thing came out.   I need to pick up my rod one of these days.  Perhaps I can entrust Joel to pick it up.  Hmmm.   Maybe not!!!

BTW, my uncle caught a sturgy from the surf near the mouth of the Klamath river (caught on a sandcrab) while perch fishing.  It was undersize so he tossed it back!!!  

Stuart

abalone flavored pork is about as close as you can get to describing it.  

I also saved the strip from the back with the scutes and boiled it.  The meat and crud slipped right off the scutes and left nice gleaming bone.  I'm going to try to glue them to a piece of wood in a neat pattern, maybe with the rig that caught it, ect.  Something neat to put in my office.  Doubtful I'll catch another that big anytime soon...

Stu... so the actually ate the Nodo cord?  I never heard of that before... dang!  

It's like clear jello encapsulated in a thin membrane.  As you pull it out, it stretches and you wind up with like 20 feet of cord when you're all done.  It's kinda freaky... I always thought people pulled that out because it wasn't any good eating, hence no use when you cut steaks.  Dang... you learn something new every day.

Erik

I bet the noto cord is something like the beef tendon that is sometimes in Vietnamese Pho soup.  Sounds interesting.... I'd try it.

I dipped it in milk then coated it with bread crumbs w/ salt/pepper and baked it for about 15 minutes (until the center was cooked). It was AWESOME. The closest thing I can think of is abalone. It had that seaweed flavor and a similar texture because it's very firm. Fortunately not as filling as abalone so we could eat the whole 2/3lb steaks I cooked.

I cooked mine just like Josh = good stuff!
I heard thresher Sharks are also meaty - just like Sturgeon.

By the way, I forgot to mention = when I was getting my yak ready to launch, the duck hunters hanging out by the bar were talking some trash and laughing.....they were saying that we (the kayak fishing group) were going to have to be "rescued" by the end of the day. I guess they were suppose to head out to the duck blinds but decided not to because of the weather......

That's why it was such a sweet victory for us when Josh paddled in with a keeper dino ....now, maybe we will get some respect when we launch out of that place again. I suggest we give them a framed - photo of the group picture!  

I suggest we give them a framed - photo of the group picture!  

That's an awesome idea...  Sean... I'll offer to print it up and frame it and send it to them... If Sean can send me the high resolution picture...

Erik

I'd be glad to send the photo.  Those guys went from "no way" to "holy shit".  I love it!  This happens to me regularly at the coast too, particularly at Albion.  It is awesome to show up with a fat catch and watch their face.