Everyone loves a good fishing story, and anglers love recounting a battle between rod and beast, the story growing more exaggerated each time it鈥檚 told. The details become bolder, more colorful, more intense. We only wish that, when they鈥檙e cooked up for dinner, the larger-than-life record-sized fish featured in these escapades hold a flavor just as big, and bursting with surprises.聽

A fish strikes the bait, the hook is set, the rod bends into a steep arc as the tip is pulled toward the water, and the fight begins. It鈥檚 not simple pugilism, but a dance鈥攔eleasing the drag, allowing the fish to run and take line, with the angler keeping enough tension to reel in slack as potential prize begins to tire. After what might seem like an eternity, cramped muscles turn the last few rotations of the reel before a massive, potentially record-sized fish crests the surface and is hauled aboard or ashore.聽

The catch could remain a fish story, growing in size and hyperbole upon every recounting. Or, if you act fast, the prized fish could be enshrined in the record books and set the new benchmark for its species. Its fate, however, depends on which record the fish qualifies for; it could be released to live another day or it could be brought home and cooked for dinner.

is the global body that certifies world record-sized fish. Within the United States, however, state records are tracked by individual agencies that manage recreational fisheries. Records differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and can be classified by either length or weight and can include catch-and-release requirements.

The IGFA鈥檚 most popular record category, accounting for 70 percent of record submissions in 2022, is the All-Tackle Length World Record. This requires anglers to find the length of the fish on a certified IGFA measuring device on a flat surface, confirm with a photo, and release the fish to the water in a healthy condition so that it can swim away with no signs of injury.

Record size catches are relative to species, from the 1,402-pound landed off the coast of Brazil in 1992 to the 3.2-ounce, a species of herring, caught in May 2023. Both are record-holders, though the former could stock to freezers of friends and family for a year while the latter would barely whet one鈥檚 palette as an amuse-bouche.

鈥淚 caught a record fish recently鈥攁 31-inch mutton snapper,鈥� says Zack Bellapigna, Florida-based fisherman and the Angler Recognition Coordinator IGFA. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 one of the best eating fish out there so I decided to skip the record books and stock my freezer.鈥�

Bellapigna simmered the potential record-length mutton snapper in tomato sauce with onions and garlic. But, a record length does not mean a record weight. Had that 31-inch scaly creature named after a mature sheep been a bit more plump, 30 pounds and 4 ounces plump to be exact, it would have beaten the current record. Bellapigna could have, in fact, had his world record and eaten it too.

Anglers who decide to keep their record haul might be disappointed when it comes to eating their prize, as there is often a negative correlation between the size of the fish and its flavor, similar to lamb having a lighter, less gamey taste and texture than mutton. 鈥淚n terms of table-fare quality, a record fish [more than 100-pounds] probably wouldn鈥檛 be the best example of that species,鈥� Bellapigna says.

Furthermore, larger fish are often older fish, and could have been subject to years of of toxins and heavy metals like mercury, making them less healthy than their smaller species counterparts. In fact, the recommends that children under 11 and pregnant women avoid eating marlin, swordfish, and bigeye tuna, among others, because of high levels of mercury.

Fermin N煤帽ez, executive chef of Austin, Texas-based restaurants and , says the flavor of a huge fish depends on the type.聽

鈥淲e often use cod or branzino in the restaurant, which, in my opinion, decays the bigger it gets,鈥� N煤帽ez says. 鈥淏ut fish like halibut gets more flavorful when it鈥檚 matured in size, and you鈥檒l not only get good yield, but amazing texture. It will have these big flakes after you cook it.鈥�

N煤帽ez utilizes both farm-raised fish, which are often more uniform in size, and wild fish, which he says is exciting because it鈥檚 really up to what the fishermen bring in.聽

He recently handled a 520-pound bluefin tuna that he was thrilled to butcher. While it doesn鈥檛 hold a candle to the bluefin record holder 鈥� 1,496 pounds 鈥� it was quite the task to prepare. The fish had to be taken to a warehouse, hoisted onto a palette, and lifted onto a table by a machine.聽

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 easy, because this was the biggest fish I鈥檝e ever seen in my life,鈥� N煤帽ez says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not something we do often. We used, generally, the same tools as we鈥檇 use for a regular-sized fish, but moving it was the most challenging part. It took two hours to butcher it.鈥�

The fish was dispersed to both of N煤帽ez鈥檚 restaurants and lasted about a week and half. N煤帽ez says the benefit of such a big tuna is that he could use it in a plethora of applications. The 10-pound tuna collar 鈥� the fattiest part of the fish 鈥� was roasted, thrown on the grill with a tamron glaze, and made into tacos. The tuna belly, a fatty meat he likes to cut into large sections, was served raw over oysters. The leanest part of the loin was served raw with avocado, allium salsa negra, and fried leeks.聽

For the average angler who catches a massive fish and wants to invite it to dinner, N煤帽ez suggests slowly roasting it over an outdoor fire. But if you don鈥檛 have access to a fire pit that large, you can also break the fish down and fry or bake it in smaller portions.聽

鈥淵ou have to have the right equipment and space, though,鈥� N煤帽ez says. 鈥淵ou also don鈥檛 want to just throw it on the grill. I would salt it, marinate it, and cook it low and slow over flames. That usually requires an outdoor space.鈥�

Anglers who don鈥檛 have an appetite for their trophy fish also have the option to taxidermize it for posterity, but the process has changed over the past decade from using the actual fish, called a skin mount, to fiberglass recreations. This allows the fish to swim free while also having a trophy mounted on the wall.

Although a cool memento to have, we can鈥檛 help but think a prize-winning catch would be better suited seasoned, roasted, and in our bellies.

The post Big, Bad, Basted: Cooking Record-Sized Fish appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Rarely overlooked but often overcooked, shrimp is the shellfish that home cooks love to botch. Despite the pitfalls that often accompany this much beloved protein, there are some hacks that can help make shrimp on the barbie a resounding success, every single time. Chef of offers much-needed advice on grilling perfect shrimp.

There are, to hear Lonsdale tell it, more than 300 species of shrimp, most of which are classified by color. 鈥淕ulf white shrimp, the most ubiquitous variety in North America, can be fished from New Jersey all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico,鈥� she says. Shrimp are also categorized by size. 鈥淎 label reading 21/25 means that there are 21 to 25 individual shrimp per pound,鈥� Lonsdale says. This information can help determine appropriate cooking time, she notes.

The time it takes to grill shrimp depends on size and whether you prefer to cook them with the head and shells on, which, she says, adds about a minute鈥攕ometimes a little less鈥攖o overall cooking time. 鈥淟arge shrimp (16/20-count) should take about two to three minutes a side on a hot grill,鈥� Lonsdale says. (The that shrimp reach an internal cooking temperature of 145 degrees before being consumed.)

To avoid overcooking, Lonsdale recommends using a very hot grill. 鈥淪ince shrimp cooks quickly, it鈥檚 crucial to develop a good char as fast as possible,鈥� she says. She also suggests drying the shellfish thoroughly before grilling. “If I’m not camping and have access to a kitchen, I鈥檒l use the refrigerator technique from J. Kenji L贸pez-Alt,鈥� she says. This technique involves uncovering shrimp and refrigerating it for an hour to promote browning and allowing it to dry out before it hits the hot grill.

Another helpful hack to keep the interior of shrimp super moist: skewers.鈥淣estling shrimp snugly on skewers protects the inner flesh from overcooking, allowing a little more time on the grill to develop color and texture,鈥� Lonsdale says. 鈥淏efore grilling, brush your seasoned shrimp skewers with olive oil to boost charring and prevent sticking.鈥� Make sure that the grill grates are clean, too, she advises, since shrimp are particularly prone to sticking to the grates if they are not well seasoned and well cleaned from previous grill sessions.

And, of course, one other way to promote best grilling practices is to choose a quality product to begin with. The better the shrimp, the better the outcome, and that extends all the way down to the moisture retention in the end. 鈥淐hoose wild shrimp for the best flavor and sustainability,鈥� Lonsdale says. 鈥淎nd don鈥檛 be afraid of frozen shrimp. It can be of higher quality than the fresh options and is easy to defrost quickly.鈥�

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It鈥檚 a topic too taboo, too controversial for dinnertime, though debating it might make you hungry for seafood. Grilled clams vs. grilled oysters 鈥� which is better?

鈥淎 raw oyster is one of the best things a human on planet Earth can consume,鈥� says Christopher Sherman, CEO of in Duxbury, Massachusetts. 鈥淲hy grill it once it is shucked?鈥�

Island Creek grows both oysters and clams, so Sherman is quick to claim he doesn鈥檛 鈥渉ave a dog in this fight.鈥� But the CEO does confess a certain preference for raw oysters over raw clams, and generally he only grills oysters as a last resort. 鈥淚 really only find myself grilling oysters when I have a lot of them (which, given my line of work, I often do) and grow tired of shucking,鈥� he says.

Sherman explains that grilling oysters requires a bit of finesse. Sure, he admits, you can place them onto the grill whole and allow them to pop open the same way you would clams (one point for clams here, it seems), but oysters fare better when they鈥檙e shucked first and adorned with extras. This allows them to 鈥減arboil in their own liquor, taking on the smoke of the grill,鈥� he explains. Oysters cooked this way are best served with breadcrumbs, bacon, 鈥渙r whatever else you can come up with.鈥�

And what of clams? Hard-shell clams are best for grilling, which means quahogs and littlenecks on the east coast, and manilas on the west. Clam shells, Sherman cautions, can break when brought up to too high a temperature, while oysters are heartier and can withstand more time over the grates. (As an aside, Sherman highly recommends clams on pizza: 鈥淚f you are lucky enough to have a pizza oven in your outdoor grilling setup, clams make a better pizza topping [than oysters].鈥�) To help avoid issues of temperature, says Eric Bartle, the culinary director at , a Willamette Valley winery and the Pacific Northwest鈥檚 premier producer of olive oil, it鈥檚 often best to cook clams in a pot. 鈥淵ou can use a cast-iron pot and get the smokiness and have fun with a grill, but they just need to be quickly steamed until the shells pop open,鈥� he says.

Bartle, though, is partial to oysters when it comes to this battle. 鈥淐lams are amazing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 love them, and they鈥檙e great for a clambake, but you don鈥檛 get the nuance of the grill, even in cast-iron. And there鈥檚 something magical about putting that oyster right over the fire.鈥� The best oysters for grilling, he says, are larger ones, which are often referred to as barbecue oysters. The summer months, Bartle says, is when the larger, more succulent, more grillable oysters are available, since oysters continue to grow. 鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 as firm or tight [as younger, smaller oysters], and are more suited for the barbecue, especially with a knob of your favorite compound butter.鈥�

Butter鈥攁ny kind of fat, really鈥攃an help absorb the smoke from the grill, and will pair well with the oysters鈥� natural salinity, Bartle says. 鈥淥live oil would be delicious, with a squeeze of lemon and some herbs,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 endless. That鈥檚 the fun thing about grilled oysters.鈥�

Whether your heart lands on oysters or clams, Sherman has some wisdom to impart to those thinking of grilling. 鈥淪ome people think a clam or an oyster isn鈥檛 cooked until its shell opens,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is erroneous.鈥� Both bivalves can be eaten raw, and so there is, he says, 鈥渓ittle risk in underdoing them and all downside in overcooking.鈥� He suggests pulling shellfish off the grill as soon as the first few pop open.

So, grilled oysters or clams? Oysters seem to win slightly in this debate, although the best way to find out may be to fire up the grill and taste for yourself.

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Justin and Danielle Walker, owners and operators of Walkers Maine, a seafood restaurant in Cape Neddick, Maine, know clams. Several months ago, as part of the Ogunquit Soft Shell Clam Commission鈥檚 clam flat re-seeding program (which has taken place every year since 2008 under the supervision of Shellfish Warden Everett Leach and other local wardens) Danielle arranged for some of her guests to go clamming on Ogunquit Beach.

鈥淲e went down and brought a group of our guests鈥攁bout 30 of them鈥攖o the last day of clamming,鈥� Walker says. 鈥淲e showed them how to harvest clams, how to find them, how to clean them, work with the product, and then, later in the evening they came back at 5 o鈥檆lock to the restaurant to have dinner.鈥�

The day was a success, and Danielle soon received a call from Everett Leach, the Shellfish Warden for the towns of Wells and Ogunquit, asking her if she would drum up some volunteers to help reseed the clam flats, part of an existing program that typically takes place in early spring.

The Whys and Hows of Reseeding Clams

Reseeding clams means just what it sounds like: these fingernail-sized mollusks are buried in mud in order to create pressure so the clams grow thicker, stronger shells.聽

The process begins with volunteers digging numerous shallow trenches in the sand, where a net can be installed. Baby clams, also known as seed clams, are placed directly into muddy sand and then covered with the net. Reseeding plots are often denoted by buoys or flags, which can help clam farmers and marine biologists chart how many clams have dug into the sand, and how many have survived through the year. Clams naturally find a soft, muddy plot and attach to it for years at a time; netting simply helps these bivalves have a longer lifespan in a world filled with predators, tidal variation, and other natural variables.

Determining a possible success rate of reseeding is challenging, particularly in the face of the European green crab, which hitchhiked to the United States in the 1800s. The green crab, an invasive predator, has seen a spike in population with warmer sea temperatures. 鈥淭he biggest thing that we鈥檙e up against is the green crab population,鈥� Danielle explains. 鈥淭he green crabs, even the small ones, go for the seed clams that are smaller than themselves.鈥� According to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, these crustaceans can eat as many as 15 soft shell clams in a day, and it takes a single clam two years to grow to harvesting size.

Soft-shell clams, often referred to as steamer clams, though the shells are still firm and inedible, are not classified as an endangered species. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization, or NOAA, lists the species as particularly imperiled by ocean acidification, warming water temperatures, and warming air temperatures, and the National Environmental Education Center states that the average global sea surface temperature has been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since record-keeping began in the late 1800s.

Other fish, though鈥攎ost notably ama ebi, otherwise known as Maine shrimp, and certain species of tuna鈥攈ave seen a more precipitous decline in numbers than clams, which are still readily available. For Danielle, who grew up in this area, prioritizing the humble clam is a way of recognizing an ecological moment that is actively unfolding. 鈥淎s the years go on, we鈥檙e harvesting less and less clams, not because we鈥檙e allowed less, but there are less,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 perspective on it, for all of us who live here. You can still go and get what you want, but we don鈥檛 go as often, just because we know that they鈥檙e not there.鈥� Re-seeding clams now, she notes, can set up more robust populations for the future.

A Community Passionate About Clams聽

Drawing attention to the reseed through social media, Danielle got about a dozen people to congregate in April. 鈥淭he request was: Bring your garden weasel and bring your strength, we are going to rough up areas,鈥� she explains. The Downeast Institute, based in Machias鈥攁bout four hours north鈥攑rovided close to 50,000 clam babies for seeding, and the conservation committee flew a drone overhead to take photographs, recording how many clams had been seeded. Next year, conservation will return to these same spots to gauge the success of the program, and to make a plan of action for next year鈥檚 seeding.聽

Ultimately, Danielle, who hopes to be part of the future of reseeding at Ogunquit Beach, sees clam re-seeding as part of preemptive ecological work that can help to tackle a problem before it becomes endemic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ahead of being endangered,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 inspiration to do something before you can鈥檛 have it. It鈥檚 the Maine shrimp. That鈥檚 my analogy. It was here. It was cheap. And then it was gone. There was no in between. It鈥檚 something that everyone misses.鈥澛�

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In Anna Hezel鈥檚 newly released cookbook (Chronicle Books, $24.95, 2023), she champions all the ways we should be indulging in , or tinned seafood. We鈥檙e taking it a step further and encouraging those headed outside to pack a tin or two for snacking.

鈥淚 love taking canned fish camping and hiking,鈥� Hezel says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 compact protein.鈥� That it is, and small but mighty is the name of the game when your pack has limited space and your hunger runs deep. As Hezel writes in the book鈥檚 intro, because of conserva鈥檚 rich sources of protein and omega-3, many a tin has powered overseas voyages and treks up Mount Everest.

But first, the trend: We鈥檙e not talking about squatty cans of Starkist tuna here. Instead, think of luxury imports like and , both from Spain where conserva is a lifestyle and an art form (just check out ). 鈥淭here are entire youTube channels, Instagram accounts, lines of merchandise, and subreddits dedicated to the topic of tinned seafood,鈥� Hezel says.

Think of Tin to Table (which is itself gorgeous and compact like the tins it celebrates) as a field guide of sorts. Page by page, Hezel walks you through the basics of conserva and why it鈥檚 become such a desirable product and where and how to experience it. And, of course, there are recipes鈥攎ore than 50 of them, ranging from salads and sandwiches to a happy hour trifecta of vermouth, thick-cut potato chips, and seafood straight from the tin.

But back to lunch or dinner on the trail, Hezel recommends bringing along a spectacular tin of olive oil-packed octopus for a delicious, completely out of the ordinary meal of lusty seafood marinated with chili powder and orange peel. Just don鈥檛 forget the baguette.

Of note, be mindful when heating seafood tins near the campfire, as you don鈥檛 want the cans鈥� linings getting too hot.

Octopus Marinated with Chili Powder and Orange Peel

Octopus packed in olive oil is one of the most luxurious treats you can buy in a tin for less than the cost of a glass of wine. The best tins contain perfectly portioned, bite-size pieces of tender, glossy purple octopus meat in a savory oil. These don鈥檛 need much tinkering to taste great, but I like to give them a quick warm bath in some garlicky, subtly spiced olive oil. The oil melds with the liquid from the can and a splash of fresh citrus and vinegar to create a broth you鈥檒l want to eat by the spoonful, or at least sop up with the heel of a baguette.

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