Steve Starling explains why you should take care of your catch of tailor.
As a born-again tailor eater, I can tell you that what you do with them
in the two or three minutes immediately after capture makes a big
difference to their culinary quality. Ideally, as they’re landed, cut
their throats, bend their heads back to snap the spine, bleed them out
thoroughly and then get them onto ice, or at least into a cool, shaded
spot. Try to fillet the catch within an hour or two of landing it,
chill the fillets in the fridge for a few hours and eat them within a
day — two at most. Otherwise, smoke them… or let them go! Sorry, but I
still can’t get my head around frozen tailor. Soap with bones would be
tastier, and soggy cardboard more visually appealing!
There’s a certain salty freshness about really fresh tailor, and I now
understand why some people love them as a ‘breakfast fish’. Caught at
first light and eaten two hours later, with the beach sand still on
your feet, they are pretty special, particularly when simply grilled,
dusted with salt and pepper and drizzled with lemon juice. In some
ways, it’s the morning equivalent of that midnight prawn and mayonnaise
sandwich when you get home from a long, late-night prawning session.
The fruits of a joyous labour.
Article From Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling at www.starlo.com.au
Marc Sibille
