Recipe courtesy of David Dadekian of Eat Drink RI.
Our friend David Dadekian from Eat Drink RI shared with us how to prepare chicken fried skate wing at home. This mouthwatering dish can be adapted to your own flavor preferences and can also be used on a variety of other fish such as butterfish, pollock, haddock, acadian redfish, or whiting.
Butterfish
Salt
Oil
Gut your butterfish.
Butterfly the butterfish and cut out spine.
Pat dry and lightly salt butterfish.
Cover with paper towel and place in fridge for about 24 hours (allow air to circulate, don’t place in air tight container).
Remove butterfish from fridge. Lightly oil aluminum foil on a baking sheet.
Move oven rack to so that it is close to the broiler. Turn broiler onto high.
Place butterfish on baking sheet. Broil for about 7 minutes and enjoy!
Here is how I usually prepare Butterfish: brine and dry.
No need to fillet them (but a bit of cutting is involved), easy cooking, and best of all you can eat everything -- including all the bones! Just make sure to thoroughly grill the fish, so the bones become crunchy and easy to eat.
(1) Clean and cut open as in the first picture. Some recipe says to use 4% saltwater when cleaning; I just use the plain tap water b/c I'm lazy.
(2) Make 15% saltwater. Ex. for 1 quart of water, add about 6 ounces of salt (or if you prefer the metric system like me, add 176 grams of salt to one liter of water). Submerge the butterfish in this solution and let it sit for about 20 minutes but no more than 25 min (second picture).
(3) Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Place them on a rack and dry them overnight. Here, I placed them inside the fridge and it worked beautifully (third picture). But the smell could be an issue. What they need is a cold and dry place. During the NE winter, maybe this can be done outside.
To cook, I prefer simple grilling. Because of its fattiness and drying process, you can't really overcook the fish (unless you burn it down, of course). As mentioned above, grill thoroughly, aim for well-done and a bit more so that all bones become crunchy, like crackers. I usually eat everything except the head. My friend ate everything including the head!
Recipe courtesy of Saveur Magazine. Click the button below to access the recipe.
Photo Credit: Maura McEvoy
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Serves 4
1 bunch parsley, stems removed
1 handful of baby arugula
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
2 salted anchovies, rinsed
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients except for oil in a food processor. Pulse until chunky. While processor is running, drizzle in oil. Place salsa verde in serving bowl.
12 4-ounce whole butterfish, gutted and rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt to taste
Make slits in fish with a sharp knife. Rub fish with oil and season with salt. Grill for 2 minutes on each side over charcoal. Plate and drizzle with salsa verde.
This recipe can also be prepared with scup, black sea bass, or tautog.
Serves 4
4 Whole Butterfish, scaled & gutted
2 cups oil, to fry
For the Tandoori Spice:
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1tsp black pepper, ground
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ginger, finely minced
1 tsp garlic, finely minced
Salt to taste
Garnish:
1 Cucumber, thinly sliced
2 spring onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp cilantro, picked
Start by mixing together all the tandoori spices with lemon juice to create a paste. Wash and pat dry fish. Make approximately 4 to 5 slits on either side of fish. Gently massage paste over fish and into slits and let marinate for an hour. Shallow fry in oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on either side. Garnish with cucumber, spring onion and cilantro.
This recipe can also be used to grill or bake the fish.