Speared & 14 Day DryAged Gag Grouper at home (best sushi we’ve had…it is INSANELY GOOD if done right)

4 comments

1. While I’ll surely never try aging fish, I would *love* to read about it! Can you detail the process or share any resources about it?

2. I’m surprised that fish can be dry aged and edible after being dry aged. Can you explain more about this process?

3. Also here for the process. I would be into trying this myself.

4. I harvest the fish myself (headshots only). Dispatch, bleed, and gut immediately. Then put fish in ice brine in a cooler (ice and saltwater is fine or add some table salt also) on the boat. At the dock leave fish in cooler for 24hrs packed with ice (unplug cooler drain, tilt cooler overnight) After 24-48 hours rigor-mortis process is complete and it’s time to skin the fish. Using a sharp knife take the skin/scales off the fish leaving only that white membrane protecting the fillets (no raw meat should be exposed to the atmosphere, make your cuts accurate and don’t cut through that membrane into the fillet). Now it’s time to transfer the wholefish into your fridge. Hang fish head down by a butcher hook in middle of fridge with a towel under to catch initial drippings. ~35F is a good temp and ~65% humidity. I’ve aged my groupers as long as 30 days and they just get more tender and flavorful. Start with a 7day age. Cut a portion off for dinner and place the rest of fish back in fridge. Wait a couple days, take another fillet cut from the fish discarding the part that was adjacent to the air in fridge. It will be like fish jerky and not good, everything immediately inside of that portion will be edible and delicious (if you did everything properly). This take patience, practice, and some reasonable knife skills. Also a little tip, the *nose knows* so don’t consume if it stinks, be smart and good luck.