what's a good AJ recipe?

Do you have a smoker?

Not as strong but I love it smoked in steaks. I would suggest you do that with some of it. Of course it also makes great dip

I like fresh AJ on the grill. To get the most out of them, I like to "slab" the fish.

This simply means cutting the side of the the fish off the skeleton without trimming anything from it, I especially like the collars of the fish the part just behind the gill plate which will also include the pectoral fins.

To do this, simply from the "vent":D up to the chin and pull the guts out along with the gills. make another cut along the underside along the spine to the tail. Then cut from just behind the bony part of the head, on the top side all the way to the tail. Keep the knife parallel to the vertical bones and use them as a guide. The vertabra are large, do not try to cut all the way through, but rather to the top and bottom of them in relation to which side you are cutting.

Cut both sides like this before removing the slab from the fish. it makes it much easier to cut the second side, rather than remove one side and then have the fish bend once you turn it over.

Once both sides are cut along the top and bottom, cut from the head following the gill plate and back up to the chin. I cut a small hole in the tail so I can easily "grab" the fillet from the back. Work the knife up to the head from the side and cut through the rib bones and you then have your slab. Rmove the dark red meat from the top of the ribs. This is the kidney. I like to remove it when I gill and gut the fish on the boat before putting it on ice. This prevents blood from saturating the meat.

Bigger fish may require a heavy serrated knife to cut (saw) through the rib bones.

season the fish lightly with simple ingredients. In this photo I used fresh onions, garlic, and rosemary. Salt and pepper (fresh cracked) and squeezed a generous amount of lime juice. This was also a thicker fish so I made some diagonal cuts across the slab and made sure to stuff the seasonings down inside of it to have more uniform seasoning, rather than just on the top of the fish.

Place the fish on the grill, skin side down and close the cover until cooked. You can then pick the fish off the skin in chunks, or turn it over and remove the skin. I will take out the darker meat along the lateral line, as it is quite strong. It can be eaten, but I prefer not to. You must also remove the inner membrane from the ribs and belly on the inside of the fish. Keeping the skin and the membrane on while grilling helps keep the fish moist and prevents it from burning. The meat from the ribs is my favorite part:delicious:

John, that looks really good.

Here in the Caribbean we are always worried with ciguatera on the
really big predatory fish, Amberjacks being one of them we normally
dont eat them, but the smaller ones I do, and I like them in Ceviche.

Everywere else around the world they are priced fish, I dont think
there is a way you can go wrong with it no matter how you cook it.

Butter,salt and garlic on a pan has always been the fastest way to a
great meal.

Quote from Roberto Reyes

John, that looks really good.

Here in the Caribbean we are always worried with ciguatera on the
really big predatory fish, Amberjacks being one of them we normally
dont eat them, but the smaller ones I do, and I like them in Ceviche.

Everywere else around the world they are priced fish, I dont think
there is a way you can go wrong with it no matter how you cook it.

Butter,salt and garlic on a pan has always been the fastest way to a
great meal.

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truer words have never been typed

JHON ya traigo el vino
VINO BLANCO JULIAN CHIVITE COLECCION 125-- 05-06 :D:D:thumbsup2:

Quote from ollie

wow thats a worry but i dont think we get any ciguatera around here but up north they get it, i have decided to smoke a side and fry a side, lunkerbuster can you recommend me a good smoking recipe i currently have a bonito in the fridge in a wet brown sugar and salt recipe which i cant wait to try so i guess ill smoke them at the same time.

There are many schools of thought on this matter from the type and composition of your brine to the time you smoke it for to the type of wood used.

My favorite recipe is simple. Fill a cooler w water and let it sit for ten to twelve hours indoors to get the cholorine out. Some propel buy distiller water for this but I am cheap. I then add liberal amounts of brown sugar, sea salt, red and black pepper and a bottle of beer or hard cider. I then soak the fish at least two hours. I try to give the fish overnight if I can. For this reason I will sometimes throw a few ice cubes into the cooler when I go to bed so they stay cool.

After your brine time, remove the fish and gently blot and let them sit until a thin film, called th pelicle, forms on the surface of the fish. You are now ready to smoke. I try to keep the fish in pieces no more than an inch thick an as close to uniform so they all cook the same speed.

I presoak my chips overnight and like to soak them in some cider as well. I have always done this but I have been told it makes no difference. So make your own call there.

If you keep the pieces less than an inch it should be done in two hours I check one time at ninety minutes for thin pieces which might be done faster. My smoker stays at 205* absent any wind or bizarre outdoor temperatures. This makes it hot smoking. For cold smoking you'd need to give it another two hours

I'll post a few good websites for you as well

:thumbsup2:

Quote from LunkerBuster

truer words have never been typed