Puffers, Toads, Blowfish

Some call them puffers, some call them toads. Still others call them blowfish. Whatever you prefer to call this ugly little fish........ they taste wonderful! I had never eaten puffers, never really had the urge to. I had heard all my life they were poisonous. Whether that was true or not, they surely were not appealing to the eye, so I never thought about eating one. But when I moved to the coast of North Carolina from the piedmont area several years ago, I started hearing about folks eating this ugly trash fish that made me so upset me every time one bit my hook. They are hard to get off the hook, those sharp protruding teeth sometimes bending my hooks or breaking them in half. But after a couple of years hearing things like, "Best fish you ever ate!", "Nothing better!", "Chicken of the sea!", I finally decided I would have to give this nasty looking fish a try. So when I caught two really nice ones today, (one over a pound, the other close to a pound), I had my chance. I held the fish in the palm of my hand facing me, and inserted my fillet knife sharp side up, into the skin just behind the fishes eyes. I gently made a slit along the back bone, (which isn't really bone, but cartilage), all the way to the tail. Then I inserted my fingers under the loose skin and pulled it apart exposing some of the prettiest white fish meat I have ever seen. I carefully sliced down each side of the back cartilage, since I have been told that if I puncture the innards of this critter I needed to throw the whole thing away. I worked my fingers between the little fillet and the skin and seperated the fillet from the skin and back cartilage. I then cut it at the head and tail, again being very careful not to cut anything nasty. I cleaned up the fillets, which weren't a bit bloody, and threw them into my cleaning basket. I breaded them with cornmeal and a little salt and pepper, and fried them up over medium heat in a little veggie oil. I ate them up along with some slaw and pork and beans, all the while wishing I had some good ol fried grits to go along with the meal. Anyway, it was really good, and I will never again make fun of the folks that run up and down the pier saying, "You gonna keep that?" every time a toad fish comes over the rail. Because now, I will be one of these folks. MMMMMMMM GOOD!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny