Eating quality - whole Kingfish

[Death Ray]

Hi,

At the shops today they had whole yellow tail kingies for sale at $14.99kg. I know with most pelagic's it's best to clean and bleed them straight away. Do you think the whole kingie would still be OK (shop will clean and fillet also), or would I be better giving it a miss.

Had some real nice black kingie fillets from another fish shop by the way. So that's why I am keen to give these a go.

PS. I tried to find the appropriate category for this but couldn't find one so posted it here. Do we have a recipe/cooking forum?

[noname]

me, i would give it a miss. some of the fish i've seen in shops, god only knows how old they are.yeah mate, he was caught yesterday just doesn't do it for me. have seen in some shops, fish that they were asking top dollar for, the catch wasn't looked after to well, and nearly 1 week old.

[werewolf]

I take it they hadn't been gutted / gilled then?

[noname]

you would be correct.

[shortie]

when i buy from a fish shop i only tend to purchase whole fish. that way i know that what im paying for is what im getting.

for speedster fish i like to see the gutted and gilles and bled straight away.

So generally no i would not buy it.

[Death Ray]

Yeah,

thanks fellas, no not gutted and gilled on purchase. Have found Snapper was OK like this, just don't know about the Kingies.

Cheers

[Tybo]

Kingfish has gelatinous like flesh too it, and holds a lot of fluid. This fluid is good for the flesh but also gives it a strong taste. Unless it is bled the flesh will go dark, and will be super strong. If it is bled, then it must be eaten within a day, otherwise the flesh starts to dry out and tastes like mush.

Personally pelagics are only good eaten that day, and even strong fish like kingies are better used for sushi. Black Kingfish is Cobia, which can taste pretty good depending on the size and what the fish he's been eating. Big cobia taste a little off, and when gutting they can have a iodine smell in their guts. I think this may be what they've been eating. Young cobia live on crabs I'm told and have nice white flesh and taste good.

[noname]

myself, i consider kingies, aj's marwong, as dog food.

[roobs]

waste of a good kingie- great sushi at small sizes. anything over a day old and a teriyaki marinade is about as good as it gets...

[tugger]

i keep kingies but keep them in an ice slurry till filleted and are a oily fish that is really good for you. they are high in omega oils and i shallow fry them in a well oiled pan and add lemon juice while they are cooking towards the end. had some big cook ups with them while camping in a caravan park feeding 40 people and plenty come back for seconds