Barracuda on the BBQ

[Chalifour]

Just bought a Baracuda from a fisherman back from sea in Datça. Wonderful delicate white meet fish, only needs salt & pepper, light cooking, a touch of oil and lemon. Absolute delight!!!
500 gr for 20 TL or 6$ CAN !!!

[Cheechako]

Yes it's very good!

[landsend]

Cut the bigger ones into steaks. Taste like king fish.

[Flyingriki]

Weird, I caught one once and it stank to high heaven. Threw it back....

[model 10]

Ciguatera on the grill? The small ones are tasty but I'm not sure about the big guys. Is there was a way to tell?

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Ecos

Ciguatera on the grill? The small ones are tasty but I'm not sure about the big guys. Is there was a way to tell?

There is absolutely no way to tell, unless you have a cat or other small animal to function as your official taster. Your spouse would work too, but that is less politically correct...

There are cases of ciguatera that have been documented in the eastern Med, but I am not at all sure if it is common there...

Since barracuda are one of the most common carriers of ciguatera, we generally avoid them, even the small ones. We catch enough other fish there is no reason to sit down to dinner and wonder...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Ecos

Ciguatera on the grill? The small ones are tasty but I'm not sure about the big guys. Is there was a way to tell?

AFAIK, it's not much of a problem with fish caught in the OP's area. Ciguatera poising in Europe appears to be mainly the result of imported fish or travellers returning from places like the Caribbean.

[poiu]

Are you sure that's a barracuda? It doesn't look like one. The eye seems too big and the bottom jaw isn't right. No teeth to see also. Pretty similar though. Barracuda is a tasty fish.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by poiu

Are you sure that's a barracuda? It doesn't look like one. The eye seems too big and the bottom jaw isn't right. No teeth to see also. Pretty similar though. Barracuda is a tasty fish.

That looks like sphyraena sphyraena - aka Mediterranean Barracuda.


Sphyraena sphyraena, barracuda, European barracuda, Mediterranean barracuda, photos, facts and physical characteristics



Not the same species as you would see in the Caribbean.



There are more than 20 different species of barracuda - you may be thinking of sphyreana barracuda (Great Barracuda) which is more world wide. They have a larger bottom jaw and more prominent teeth.

[Scaramanga F25]

Barracuda over 30-36 inches can poison you. Ciguatera.

[alansmith]

I know the French girls who worked the boats as cooks told me they would take the eye out and bite it between two teeth. Get a little juice out and swallow it. If they got upset stomach from this small amount the fish was tainted. They felt confident. Me... I am a chicken. I just won't eat 'cuda in the Carib.

[Ken Z]

When I lived aboard in the fl keys we ate barracuda 4-5 times a week. There were schools of 50 or more everywhere , they lived on grass flats. The ones around the reefs can be “off” as they eat reef fish, especially larger ones,I ate the 2’ ones.I was told by locals in the islands not to pepper the fish until you cook and taste it because if they are bad , fish poision, they will taste peppery. I never had a problem. They are good....

[Hardhead]

Looks good-

On a slightly related topic, has anyone found a really good way to prepare & cook King mackerel? Spanish mackerel are great grilled with lemon, olive oil, garlic and salt, but the King of mackerels is somewhat different matter in my mind..

[Chalifour]

Originally Posted by poiu

Are you sure that's a barracuda? It doesn't look like one. The eye seems too big and the bottom jaw isn't right. No teeth to see also. Pretty similar though. Barracuda is a tasty fish.

Definitely a Baracuda. In the Med they tend to be a lot smaller and thinner than in the Caraïbes. And ours had lots of teeth!

[jmschmidt]

I caught about a 3 footer about 3 miles offshore in Hawaii. Best tasting ever. My yacht club had it on the menu a few times. We ask the locals in French Polynesia once about eating them and they looked at us like we were nuts. Of course, why not was there answer. Other parts of the world you get different answers. The consensus seems to be if they are open ocean and not reef feeders it's OK, but some say exactly the opposite.