Eating Mullet

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Music Man
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Music Man »

Do you mean hearts of palm? I really like hearts of palm.
Yes! With dates and a dressing made from lime sherbet. Sounds crazy but is wonderful! There seems to be quite a few different versions. I've tried to replicate what I remember from the restaurants in Cedar Key but don't have it quite right. The hearts of palm that I find in the Houston area are soggy and more tart than I remember.

Probably just need to load up the kayaks and head to Cedar Key for more research and fishing.
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Chubs
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Chubs »

mwatson71 wrote:I have never had a mullet but recently tried gaftop catfish and it was pretty good. It was way too hard to clean for what I got out of it.
Here is how to clean them super duper easy.

https://youtu.be/RXgJ8eRK0oE

Literally I can break one down in like 5 min and I'm an amateur. I always have then on ice in the chest for awhile, when I get them home the slime just washes off super easy. Then it's a matter of cutting them with a sharp knife. You don't need pliers to hold the skin like he shows, I just grabbed the skin with my fingers and it's fine (they aren't slippery without the slime). I keep the belly meat too which is an extra step he doesn't show. I trim the blood line but I'm not anal about it. They taste good like that fried up for sure.

As for the mullet, I kept some once but never tried them and then my wife made me throw it away last freezer cleaning :( I had every intention of smoking them but just never remembered when I'd get out the smoker. I would also note, I think it's not a legal means to catch them with a net for consumption, only as bait. But I could be mistaken.

Also, stingrays are good eats.

Sharks are ok if you clean them right and ideally before the urea seeps into the meat (fun fact, sharks don't have natural bladders and they pee through their skin...).

Can you tell I'm not afraid to eat anything haha.

Oh ya,I caught a big jack in Trinidad. Cleaned it myself, even left the dreaded bloodline on. Fried it up and it taste like steak.
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karstopo
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Re: Eating Mullet

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History of Cedar Key Hearts of Palm salad.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/c ... -ice-cream

http://www.abingdonmanor.com/db/recipes ... wantid=244

A recipe.

http://www.foragingtexas.com/2006/12/dw ... metto.html

Our local palmetto can be a source for fresh hearts of palm. In Florida, I guess it’s the sabal palmetto they use.
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by WoodsWaterSky »

Funny this topic should arise... I have entertained the thought of eating (trying) mullet. I have see some of the biggest ones I have ever seen this year and wondered what one might taste like. I caught one on a Kden Blazing Shad paddle tail in Church Hill Bayou this spring that was 14 inches long. Though I released it, that prompted me to wonder if eating them was common.
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karstopo
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Re: Eating Mullet

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TexasJim
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by TexasJim »

karstopo & Music Man: I've been eating hearts of palm since I was introduced to it in St. Martin in '84. It was served as a salad, just slivered pieces of palm, about two inches long, with oil & vinegar-type dressing, and sprinkled with paprika. I even got my Texas cotton-patch-raised wife to like it. The only good palm we can find in Texas is Roland brand in a can. All the others we tried were mushy and not good. In the Caribbean there's several good brands. The H-E-B palm in a glass jar isn't too bad, in a pinch.
Most people we know won't even try hearts of palm. Kinda like people's bias toward some fish. My dad fished with shrimp all the time, but he wouldn't eat one under threat of death. Oh well, more for us!

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karstopo
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by karstopo »

I may have to go and harvest some dwarf palmetto hearts just to say I did. I have eaten the ripe berries right off the plant. Supposed to be good for the old prostate gland.

I've had Roland hearts of palm and it is good. Probably a lot easier going with the Roland can than trying to chop through the outer layers of a palmetto to get the heart.

It's hard to imagine a life without eating fresh gulf shrimp. My daughter manages as she hates eating shrimp.

I like trying oddball seafood. Latest was sea urchin. Not bad, but it's not the best thing I've eaten. I tried sargassum seaweed recently right from the surf and it was surprisingly good with a peppery flavor.
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Music Man
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Music Man »

Thanks for the brand suggestions. "Mushy and not good" is a perfect description of what I have found in our stores. Going to try the Roland brand. Also have to try the dressing and paprika you mentioned.

Actually, some ceviche sounds really good right now!

It's funny, my youngest son and I were just talking today about picky eaters and how much great food people bypass.
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Earl
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Earl »

mwatson71 wrote:
weekendyakker wrote:
reelfisherman wrote:Haven't eaten mullet. However I'm not a big fan af trout and flounder. However redfish is a favorite of mine so . . .
Fresh water bass is good as are perch, crappie, pike and walleye.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
Holy Jesus, Mary & Joseph! Eats bass, perch & reds but not a fan of flounder or specs? Dang, you might be a spectacular fisherman but your tastebuds check engine light is on. Lol, everyone has their own likes/dislikes for sure.
+1
+2: That is funny right there.
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Earl
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Earl »

Well, certainly an interesting topic. So I guess I am a 1 percenter as I am native Texan and have eaten Mullet. Growing up on the Tx beach I tried most of anything I brought home, even rattlesnake. Yep, we all have our tastes, for me no diet coffee, no diet beer, no flavored water. When I smoke a cigar I get the last puff, when I drink a beer I get the last drop, when I make love to a woman I give it my all. I learned to fish for a reason, because I like to eat and eat well. I use mullet to produce better eats. Yea, at the end of the day if I am hungry then I am going to eat the bait.

I do still try new things and places to visit just not like I used to. Probably why I have been married for 32 yrs now

My personal top 5: Triple Tail, Red snapper, Dolphin (mahi-mahi), Crappie, Ling

SYOTW,
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Reefmonkey
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by Reefmonkey »

Chubs wrote: I would also note, I think it's not a legal means to catch them with a net for consumption, only as bait. But I could be mistaken.
Looking through the outdoor annual, looks like you're right on that, my bad. Though in this case, I was preparing it for "research and educational purposes" which I believe provides an exemption...yeah, that's the ticket!

To any game warden reading, I promise from here on after to catch any mullet I intend to eat with hook and line. :oops:

It does give me pause to think about how arbitrary and nonsensical some of our fishing regulations are, though. There are absolutely no limits on how many mullet I take or what size they are, as long as I cut them up and use them to catch other fish I may eat, but if I eat just one I caught with cast net, I'm violating the regs. On the other hand, you can gig for fish, even eat the ones you gig, as long as they are nongame, and here is the kicker...somehow flounder has remained a nongame fish even though it has both a bag and minimum size, so it can be gigged...why? I’m guessing because some person or group with clout in Austin liked to gig for flounder (plus the commercial fishermen) and so lobbied to keep them off the game fish list.
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screwston420
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by screwston420 »

ppl in florida love mullet its pretty popular dish from what ive heard... ive had it before from galveston surf... its not bad
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Re: Eating Mullet

Post by mwatson71 »

I was with my kids last night at the Galveston Fishing Pier and caught a 20" mullet on a tandem rig. It was the biggest mullet I have ever seen and the only mullet I have ever caught on a plastic. I was honestly tempted to take it home and try it based on some of the posts in this thread but I just couldn't do it.
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Re: Eating Mullet

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