Fish That You Would Definitely Not Want To Bring To A Dead Animal Party...

It's not often that ichthyology makes it into the Washington Post, so when a friend pointed out a discussion of the, umm, side effects of eating certain species of snake mackerels on Gene Weingarten's chat (http://www.washingto...7110602265.html), I had to check it out...

Let's just say that there's a substantial body of literature (both popular as well as quasi-scientific, see attached) on the effects of gempylids on the human gastrointestinal system. Despite this, some foodies persist on coming up with not-quite-descriptive names for these things ("ice-cream tuna" anyone?), and they continue to be widely marketed in the US and elsewhere. This will definitely make it into an ichthyology lecture sometime...

More fun reading on the subject:

http://www.twistyfas...crap-shoot.html

(worth it just for the quote "remember to question fish authority," and...

http://www.twistyfas...on-escolar.html


cheers,
Dave

Okay. Orange seepage. Yuck.

On a less scatalogical slide...

"Remember to question fish authority."

I love it. We need to make a t-shirt.

Oh that is too funny....
There is the perfect dish to bring over to your favorite annoyances house for dinner

Interesting .... I've eaten escolar before and never had any problems. Good to know though.

I know what I'm serving next April first! Maybe the company Christmas party?

Escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum and Walu Ruvettus pretiotus are delicious. I order Escolar every time my fish purveyor has several come in. They are gruesome to look at for sure but with restraint and proper technique the flesh is a perfectly suitable protein for RESTAURANT use. The wax esters contained within create the unparallelled flavor and texture as well as the undesirable side effects. So what is one to do? -moderation. I never serve it in portions larger than six ounces and never prepare it in methods that do not allow the rendered fats to drip away. There has been some discussion that sous-vide preparations with high acid contents can "unzip" the alcohol from the fatty acids allowing the body to digest but I have not seen it and I question the pallatibility of this product. I have eaten large quantities (8-10 oz.) raw at sushi bars where it is sold as "White Tuna or Toro Blanc" and never had a problem but people digest in different ways. All in all Escolar is a supremely delicious fish that I hope will stay available to be chosen from.

As far as it being sold as scallops - I've always thought that these tales were urban myth. Patagonian Toothfish (Chilean Sea Bass hah!) is nothing like Escolar. When you are cheated with Sea Bass it is Sablefish on the plate. Neither of which should continue to be harvested. Also, Orange Roughy is fairly high in the same wax esters and is commonly sold as -insert creative marketing name-snapper so if you have digestive problems with Escolar stay away from the Roughy.

My company Christmas Party has Chilean sea bass as one of the choices I might just go with the chicken medallions just to be safe.

I'm gonna have to try this Escolar when I visit Oxford.