How 2 people can eat every part of a 25" lingcod in 3 days.

Well this all started at the Albion fish cleaning station last year when MontanaN8V enlightened me about how good ling collars were. I am used to being given a hard time at the fish cleaning station by "Hella Asian" types which I always blew off like the balut egg.  I grew up in a Cantonese restaurant family and I am sorry, fish stomachs, skin and collars weren't on the menu. Anyway Rich started a journey to find the best way to consume every part of a 25" lingcod in 3 days. Why a 25" lingcod? That's all I seem to catch these days. Those lings are going to be like gophers in a year or 2. Why 3 days? I don't freeze rockfish so only take home 3 days worth of fish. You can also use the 3 recipes as a 3 course meal for 4 people. I didn't cook the liver, but you can make pâté with it. So here is day one: skin, collars belly and 1/2 of the fillets.

Fish Collar Shioyaki with Ponzu Dipping Sauce

Ingredients: (serves 2-4)
4-8 fish lingcod, striped bass, yellow tail, tuna or salmon collars (2-3 pounds or 2 collars per person)
Olive oil
Fine sea salt
Ponzu Sauce
1/3 cup light soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon Mirin
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 green onions, minced

Directions:
Wash collars and pat dry. If the collars are whole, cut into 2-3 pieces depending on the size of the fish. I usually remove the collar in one piece with the belly meat attached then cut it down the middle. Sprinkle sea salt and chill uncovered for 30-60 minutes. Lightly rub the fish collars with oil.

Broiling: Line a baking pan with foil and brush with oil. Place the collars in the pan, skin side down, and broil until fish begins to brown, 5-7 minutes. Turn fish and broil, watching carefully to prevent burning, until the skin is crisp and brown about 5-6 minutes. Try not to burn the fins.

Grilling: Grill on medium-high direct heat about 5 minutes on each side. Grill with the skin side up for the first 5 minutes. Try not to burn the fins.
While the fish is cooking, mix the ponzu sauce ingredients in a bowl then pour into small individual bowls for dipping. Serve with steamed rice and furikake.

Well...what's the verdict on Ling's collars? 

Nice recipe and write up!

Big Jim can put down an entire ling in one dinner party. And I mean the entire fish. Deep fried lips, ass, eye balls. Deep fried bones and spines. The meat off the fins (quite good) The skull meat. Anyway gonna try your technique.

Well...what's the verdict on Ling's collars? 

Sonny - Delicious including the belly. I will need some hella Asian help on the stomach and intestines. I know there is a Vietnamese soup that uses the stomach. You got a recipe? I have a recipe for the head and skelleton.

I found the recipe but it's in Vietnamese    So here is the Enlish version of it:

Fish Stomach Soup

The Ingredients:

•Dried (or fresh) Fish Stomach (around 4 to 5)
•Handful of dried (or fresh) Scallops
•One small piece of Ginger (about 5 slices)
•2 Cans of Chicken Broth or Chicken Bouillon
•3 Green Onions
•2-3 Parsley
•2 Eggs
•¼ Rice Cooking Wine
•1.5 -2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
•Salt
•Water

Directions:

•Soak the dried fish stomach and dried scallops for approximately ½ hour (just clean for fresh ones)
•Slice the ginger to about 5 slices and slice 1 green onion in big pieces
•Boil 6-7 cups of water
•Once water boils, add sliced ginger, sliced green onion and ¼ rice cooking wine
•Then add the fish stomach and boil on low heat for 10 minutes
•While the fish stomach is heating, boil 2 cans of chicken broth with water or chicken bouillon with water for soup base
•After 10 minutes of boiling fish stomach, take the fish stomach out, rinse and cut/slice it into small pieces, using scissors are recommended
•Add the fish stomach, scallop and sprinkle some salt into the soup base and bring to a boil.
•After it boils, reduce heat to medium-high for ½ an hour
•After ½ an hour, bring the soup to a boil and mix 2 eggs into the soup (I mix it fast with chopsticks)
•Add chopped green onions and parsley
•To thicken the soup base, mix 1.5 -2 tablespoons cornstarch with 5 tablespoons water, then mix this into the soup
•Taste and add salt to flavor

Special Notes:

•I love adding white pepper to this soup, it will bring out more flavor!

I found the recipe but it's in Vietnamese    So here is the Enlish version of it:

Fish Stomach Soup

The Ingredients:

•Dried (or fresh) Fish Stomach (around 4 to 5)
•Handful of dried (or fresh) Scallops
•One small piece of Ginger (about 5 slices)
•2 Cans of Chicken Broth or Chicken Bouillon
•3 Green Onions
•2-3 Parsley
•2 Eggs
•¼ Rice Cooking Wine
•1.5 -2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
•Salt
•Water

Directions:

•Soak the dried fish stomach and dried scallops for approximately ½ hour (just clean for fresh ones)
•Slice the ginger to about 5 slices and slice 1 green onion in big pieces
•Boil 6-7 cups of water
•Once water boils, add sliced ginger, sliced green onion and ¼ rice cooking wine
•Then add the fish stomach and boil on low heat for 10 minutes
•While the fish stomach is heating, boil 2 cans of chicken broth with water or chicken bouillon with water for soup base
•After 10 minutes of boiling fish stomach, take the fish stomach out, rinse and cut/slice it into small pieces, using scissors are recommended
•Add the fish stomach, scallop and sprinkle some salt into the soup base and bring to a boil.
•After it boils, reduce heat to medium-high for ½ an hour
•After ½ an hour, bring the soup to a boil and mix 2 eggs into the soup (I mix it fast with chopsticks)
•Add chopped green onions and parsley
•To thicken the soup base, mix 1.5 -2 tablespoons cornstarch with 5 tablespoons water, then mix this into the soup
•Taste and add salt to flavor

Special Notes:

•I love adding white pepper to this soup, it will bring out more flavor!

Sonny -

WOW thanks Sonny!!!! My Vietnamese friends always asked me not to puncture the intestines or stomach when I was filleting it for them. What's the thinking there?

Scott

I think it's easier to clean the intestine (turn it inside out) when it's intact. 

nice work Scott, but your title is all wrong.  Nathan could eat a 25" ling solo in one sitting if he is hungry 

Day 2 was the other ling fillet. If you are Cantonese, really hard to beat steamed fish. I got this recipe from Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery about 20 years ago and is still Karen's favorite recipe especially with blue or black rockfish.

Steamed Fish with Garlic
Adapted from Ken Hom

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 whole rockfish or lingcod fillet (2-3 pounds)
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp finely minced ginger
For the Topping:
3 tbsp finely shredded spring onions
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Directions:
Remove the gut and gills from the fish and pat dry with kitchen paper. Score the fish along the spine and diagonally 3-4 times. Rub with the salt on both sides, and let sit for 30 minutes.

Put a steamer over a deep pan filled with 2” of water. Bring the water to the boil over a high heat. Put the fish on a heatproof plate and scatter the ginger evenly over the top. Put the plate of fish into the steamer. Cover the pan tightly and gently steam the fish until it is just cooked. Allow 12 to 20 minutes for a whole fish.

Remove the plate of cooked fish and sprinkle on the spring onions and light and dark soy sauces. Heat the peanut and sesame oils together in a small pan. When they are smoking hot, add the garlic slices cook for a few seconds but don't brown. Pour the garlic-oil mixture over the top of the fish. Serve at once.

Looks mighty delicious!    Thanks for sharing the recipe Scott.

nice work Scott, but your title is all wrong.  Nathan could eat a 25" ling solo in one sitting if he is hungry 

Your boy can also put down a whole cake and jumbo Kit Kat, all while diving at the same time!

Thanks for this post Scott!  Linda has been nagging me about wasting the collar/belly.  I will give your recipes a shot!

Day 3+.... Well I got distracted with the salmon thing but resumed my quest to eat an entire ling cod with a 31" upgrade. Made a couple of mods to Sonny's recipe adding a few more aromatics to the stock. It was a hit with Karen's Japanese tennis friends so a recipe worthy of trying. Enjoy. Scott

Vietnamese Fish Soup
Adapted from Sonny (NCKA)

Ingredients: (serves 4)
Fish Stock:
1 lingcod head and skeleton, head split in half and rinsed of any blood, blood line removed from skeleton
1 ling stomach cut open and cleaned (optional)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3 shallots quartered
1 celery stalk, cut into 3” pieces
1  lemon grass stalk, cut into 1” pieces
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 slices of ginger
½ bunch fresh cilantro sprigs
1 lime, juiced
¼ cup rice wine
2 quarts water, or enough to cover bones and head
Soup:
Fish meat reserved from fish stock 
Fish stomach rinsed and cut into small pieces with scissors (optional)
½ pound fresh or frozen bay scallops
4-6 cups fish stock
2 Cans of chicken broth
3 Green onions, minced
½ bunch cilantro, minced
2 Eggs, beaten
1.5-2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 5 Tbl water
Sea salt, to taste
White pepper, freshly ground to taste

Directions:
Fish Stock: In a large stockpot add peanut oil and sauté shallots, celery, and lemon grass for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, fish head and skeleton, cilantro, rice wine and lime juice and cover and sweat for 5 minutes on medium low heat. Add enough water to cover the fish, fish stomach (optional), and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any scum that rises to the top. Take stomach, head and skeleton out after 10 minutes.  Cut the stomach with scissors info small pieces and reserve. Use a fork to remove the meat and cheeks from the skeleton and head and reserve. Return the head and bones to the stock.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes then strain through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve 4-6 cups for the soup and freeze the rest if not using right away.

Soup: In a large pot add the fish stock and chicken broth and bring to a boil. If using the fish stomach add and boil for 20 minutes. Add scallops and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add the reserved fish meat and boil for 3-5 minutes. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Mix 2 eggs into the soup fast with chopsticks. Thicken the soup with cornstarch. Add chopped green onions and cilantro. Taste and add salt and white pepper to flavor. Serve with lime wedges and Sriracha.

I got enlightened last year to eating more of the fish I caught and have been able to stretch the meat.  While I don't eat the skin or any "innards, I have been routinely eating
the head, collar and belly.  Usually after I return, the next day I steam the head.  I find that you don't have to do a lot of prep.  Steam it for 10 minutes then put some fresh shredded ginger and spicy miso or other Asian sauce over it.  Put it is a bowl and start taking it apart.     My girlfriend, takes the
skeleton with tail fin attached and deep fries it.  Then she eats it like corn on the cob. She is Japanese and is an expert on getting every ounce of meat off a fish.   I thinks it's almost criminal now to just take a boneless fillet and discard the rest.  My opinion is that the more we use what we catch, the less we waste and the more fish we leave in the water.

I love this thread!!

Great recipes Scott!! 

I thinks it's almost criminal now to just take a boneless fillet and discard the rest.  My opinion is that the more we use what we catch, the less we waste and the more fish we leave in the water.

+100.   

I often serve the filets to my guests and save the head for myself, or do the head and collars as the first course and serve it in the center of the table for people to pick off it.

I just rub the head/collars with olive oil or sesame oil (cut the collars off and do separately if big enough) put in some whole peeled garlic cloves and cilantro and ginger and wrap in foil and throw on BBQ. Flip after 10 minutes for a medium head (longer for a bigger one) and cook for equal time on other side.

Unwrap foil and go to town.   

Here is some Ling Head Porn from this year.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim