Stripers-good to eat?

[TNBronzeback]

Being from the north, we didnt have stripers. I know they are big business up in maine in regards to eating, but how are they from these waters? I wouldnt take a filet knife to a trophy by no means, but how about a 10 lber or so? Are they a frying fish or a baking fish?
Just curious if i catch another one if i should keep it or give it the old heave ho! lol

[Alphahawk]

To me good anyway you cook them.....remove dark meat.



Regards

[Travis C.]

I tried my first back in summer and after the red was removed boiled it like lobster then ate it with a butter dipping sauce.

To me it was pretty good, I just complain about the toughness of the bones to cut through with my electric fillet knife. That could be just as much my blade as fish's bones though.

[Tnriverluver]

Stripers, hybrid stripers, white bass also called stripes, are all good eating as long as you remove the dark meat. Breaded and fried, parmesan baked, etc are all good.

[TNBronzeback]

Thanks for the replies....i might have to try one next time i lay into one!

[Tnriverluver]

Thanks for the replies....i might have to try one next time i lay into one!
Striper is often used as one of the main ingredients on the show Iron Chef on Food Network if that tells you anything. Really nice firm meat. Just have to get that blood line cut out of the fillet. I do prefer the younger smaller 2-5 lb fish. As mentioned earlier those bones get tough to cut through on the bigger fish.

[agelesssone]

I think it's a matter of personal preference. My wife and I love to eat fish but neither of us care for the texture of the meat. White bass is good for us. Hybrids and stripers (rockfish) not so.

If you like the chewy texture of calamari, eat drum. Excellent white meat, tastes like whatever you use to cook it in/season with. Has a chewy texture. My four year old daughter loves it, the wife and I, again, don't care for the texture of the meat.

Having said all that, we eat bluegill, crappie, white bass, sauger, yellow bass, and walleye. No catfish, same reason, texture. And I've eaten yellow cats, blue cats, channel cats, flathead cats. Just don't care for it.

Best advice...catch one, cut out the red stuff, fry some, bake some, see what YOU think about it. They are all game fish and legal AND ETHICAL to catch and eat. Some folks get on a high horse about eating bass like they are a deity. I eat LM, SM, and Kentucky spotted bass. If it's legal length, in MY boat, it'll be on the dinner table sooner or later!

[MNfisher]

To be honest, since I moved here from MN, it is my favorite fish to eat. Nothing better than a 3-5 lb hybrid or striper. To me it is very close to grouper, or some other salt water fish. Very firm white meat.

[TNBronzeback]

If it's legal length, in MY boat, it'll be on the dinner table sooner or later![/QUOTE]

Yeah im with ya on that one! I will give it a try next time i get one. Im a fan of grilling anything and everything, so im sure that is where some filets will end up!

[Reel Tune]

I've never had it. I would like to try it, but I usually don't keep anything I catch. Maybe for the next gathering someone will bring some???

[StriperFan]

One of my favorites to broil. I think striper cooks up best when it cooks fast like a steak. I like to coat in a mixture of oil, soy sauce, and cayenne sauce, then sprinkle with some Cajun seasoning. Meanwhile I preheat a heavy pan, cast iron works best, to 450. After the pan pre-heats, I turn the oven to broil and put the fish in on the top shelf, let broil for 5 minutes or till fish starts to brown and sizzle real nice, then turn the broiler off and let sit another 5 minutes in the oven, and check. Finish with a squeeze of lemon. Real thick filets may need a couple more minutes. Also, when I clean fish I will usually put tail sections with tail sections and shoulder sections with shoulder sections so that they cook pretty evenly. I prefer fish in the 8-12# range for this. Smaller fish for frying.

[commdd]

i think they are great broiled and on the grill..the smaller ones I will fry. there is an easy way to remove the red meat just pull the fillet apart and grab the end of the red meat strip and "zipper" it off..

[TNBronzeback]

Yeah thats the common thing ive been told is to get the red meat out due to the fishiness of it.The one i got sunday would have surely made some nice fish steaks for the grill. Hybrid on the grill is awesome.
Im looking forward to catching another one now just to try it. a nice 8-12lb fish is a few meals worth if you make it for yourself.

[tkwalker]

Okay the red stuff ... It is Muscle !! The most fowl tasting that can be eaten ...

The 'Red Stuff" needs top be removed in any fish ... as far as I am concerned including Walleye and Sauger ... even though they have the least ...

Catfish and Crappie are at the bottom of my list ... until the muscle is removed ...

It is like a fresh Killed Deer ... A Deer has to be deboned ... In another words don't ever cut through a Deer bone ... Same effect ... poisoned the meat ...

Now for some folks they have developed a taste for pure Fish that has not been prepped ... Which is good ..."To Each His On" ... But for the less fishy bitter taste ... remove the muscle ... <'TK>< :)

[Tightlines]

To be honest, since I moved here from MN, it is my favorite fish to eat. Nothing better than a 3-5 lb hybrid or striper. To me it is very close to grouper, or some other salt water fish. Very firm white meat.

How do you cook it? Recipe please... Thanks

[Alphahawk]

okay the red stuff ... It is muscle !! The most fowl tasting that can be eaten ...

The 'red stuff" needs top be removed in any fish ... As far as i am concerned including walleye and sauger ... Even though they have the least ...

Catfish and crappie are at the bottom of my list ... Until the muscle is removed ...

It is like a fresh killed deer ... A deer has to be deboned ... In another words don't ever cut through a deer bone ... Same effect ... Poisoned the meat ...

Now for some folks they have developed a taste for pure fish that has not been prepped ... Which is good ..."to each his on" ... But for the less fishy bitter taste ... Remove the muscle ... <'tk>< :)

x2

[bd-]

Technically all of the meat you eat from a fish is muscle. The dark meat is just a different kind of muscle. It is a "stamina" kind of muscle - fish species which are strong swimmers that travel long distances (like stripers) will have this dark muscle. Some salmon species will have a strip of dark muscle under the skin as well, though it doesn't necessarily taste as "fishy" as the dark muscle on a striper. Catfish store their fat in dark muscle under the skin too.

The dark muscle has a much higher fat content than the white meat. That fat makes the dark meat get mushy when it cooks, and it gives the dark meat its strong flavor. The fat in the dark meat tends to oxidize quickly, and it will go bad much faster than a piece of white fish with the dark meat trimmed off too.

[MNfisher]

How do you cook it? Recipe please... Thanks

Any way is great!

Pam fry hot with blackening season and olive oil. Very good

Dip in egg or mustard, roll in Italian bread crumbs with added garlic powder, lowrys, and a bit of lemon pepper. Put on cookie cooling rack on pan to allow to drain so the bottom isn't soggy. Bake at 350 for 25 min, broil for 5 min to crisp the top. Squeeze lemon and serve...delish!!

[jad2t]

They're delicious. Some say larger ones don't taste as good but I've only eaten one and it was half of a 20 pounder generously given to me by a former member of this forum who took me striper fishing. It was fantastic. I baked it in the oven in olive oil and topped with red bell peppers, slices of shallot, and fresh chopped fennel. If the smaller ones DO taste better, even more reason for me to learn how to catch them. I'll take 4-6 pounders to the table anyday.

[TNBronzeback]

Sweet! got me some good info and recipes....now my luck is it will be 2-3 years before i catch another one! HA

[StriperFan]

i think they are great broiled and on the grill..the smaller ones I will fry. there is an easy way to remove the red meat just pull the fillet apart and grab the end of the red meat strip and "zipper" it off..
Hmmm. I'll have to try that. I'm sure I've lost a lot of meat cutting it away. Good tip. Starting at the tail end I'm guessing?

[StriperFan]

Okay the red stuff ... It is Muscle !! The most fowl tasting that can be eaten ...

The 'Red Stuff" needs top be removed in any fish ... as far as I am concerned including Walleye and Sauger ... even though they have the least ...

Catfish and Crappie are at the bottom of my list ... until the muscle is removed ...

It is like a fresh Killed Deer ... A Deer has to be deboned ... In another words don't ever cut through a Deer bone ... Same effect ... poisoned the meat ...

Now for some folks they have developed a taste for pure Fish that has not been prepped ... Which is good ..."To Each His On" ... But for the less fishy bitter taste ... remove the muscle ... <'TK>< :)
Case in point on developed tastes, Cajuns specifically. I almost got run off for wanting to scale the snapper filets that I like to keep the skin on. They kept the scales on theirs, and insisted I was missing out dearly. And they cried terribly when I was cutting away the red meat on my grouper(same treatment I give striper). By the way, for some reason, by the time I work my way from the outside edges of one of those snapper filets and all that is left is the dark meat in the middle, well, down the hatch it goes too.

[commdd]

striperfan, you have to get your finger behind the red meat strip to get it started so you can pull it, so try the thick end and zipper towards the tail.

[StriperFan]

Thanks, commdd, will give it a try.