I lived in Kodiak from 1984 to 2013, and everybody considered black cod a delicacy, but I just could not stand how oily it was. I loved Pacific grey cod, instead, though many people considered that trash fish. Then the last years I was there grey cod began to go up in value. My wife, my daughter and I caught all kinds of fish. My wife once caught a 350-pound halibut. It wasn't that good. Its flesh was too dry and stringy. The best halibut are the "chickens" and the adults up to 80-100 lbs. Then they begin to get too tough. My favorite fish, in Kodiak? Dolly Vardens. They do not freeze well, but very fresh, dredged in flour and fried, they are fabulous. They are not very good in the spring when they come down from the rivers into the bays. They are skinny, and their flesh is white and falls apar when you cook them. Give them a few weeks to fatten up in saltwater on crustaceans and salmon fry and their flesh becomes firm and pink. At Mission Beach and at the mouth of Myrtle Creek one could catch some really big ones. Kodiakans still think that pink salmon are only slightly above trash. These, too, do not freeze well. Fresh, though, the bright ones with sea lice still attached near the anal fin are great, and I cold-smoked lots of them every year. The salmon I loved to catch were the coho, a.k.a. "silver salmon." cut into steaks and barbecued they were fantastic. I miss the fishing and the fish of Kodiak, and the duck hunting at Kalsin Bay...
This fish (Sablefish) is the only fish that tastes as good if not better than Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish). It is also more sustainable. THANK YOU for not wasting the Collar!
Here in Hawaii we call Black Cod "Butterfish". It's amazingly delicious and broiling it in your miso/soy sauce/honey mixture is definitely the way to go!!
Miso butterfish is ono! Just be careful when you're at the fish market, as some places sell "Butterfish" which is a completely different fish. It's not sablefish (aka black cod).
This is NOT Alaskas most expensive fish. Tastiest maybe but not the most expensive. No thanks to trawlers flooding the market. Opening season Copper River king and sockeye are the most expensive.
Smoked Sable fish is king of all fish ! Beats salmon or any other oily fish I know my father was a fish buyer on the west coast out of crescent city ca from 1950 to 1978.
I agree I fish blkcd out of port Orford lowest price in my 30 years of longline fishing 2024 lucky to get a 1.60 big fish as low as .15 cents a lb small fish
Wow set up a commercial smoker get a processors wholesale license then vacume seal it sell over the net or take to Frisco or Seattle to sell make a fortune.
I enjoy your videos very much. When I was a teenager ( 13 till 18 years old) I commercial fished catfish baskets with my dad. I'm 50 years old now. Brings back great memories of my childhood when men were men and taught their kids about the world and survival. Bye the way I know for sure that I've cleaned more fish than most people. I took a lot of pride in doing it too. Thanks for the videos.
When I was a kid back in the 60s to mid 70s my Grandfather worked on ships that ran between Alaska and California . His home Port was Vancouver . He always brought Smoked Black Alskan Cod . He would have the family over for a feed . I think he would Poach it in Heavy Cream and Butter . Amazing ! I,m going to get one .
That throat cut was gold! I hear you about oily fish in stock, but these non-farmed oily fish are so good for health. Maybe some of these off cuts (other healthy oily fish as well) could be processed to make an Asian style fish sauce, or even an anchovy alternative (I love anchovies). Great video as always, thank you 😊
I started watching your videos about a year ago. You have a tremendous amount of knowledge on preparing a huge variety of seafood. Much respect and presentation on all your videos and greatly appreciated sharing of your vast knowledge.👏👏👏
We call those butter fish her in Hawaii. Always welcomed at any cook out or celebration, especially the butterfish collars! The big pieces of meat we add to our laulau to be cooked with the pork and chicken.
Nice to see someone who knows how to fillet & more Importantly make use of all usable parts. My personal favorite with BC are the "tips" or the collar meat, smoked or BBQ'd. Not unusual here In S.E Alaska to see a group of folks around a tote full of BC heads peeling out the tips for homepack. I haven't looked at all your video's as of yet Reed, but besides halibut cheeks being highly sought, Ling cod cheeks are wonderful also, and can be quit large depending on the size of the fish, of coarse. I appreciate your efforts greatly Reed and will seek out more of your videos. I make my living commercial fishing for salmon In S.E. Alaska and have much respect for the resource available to us. The two biggest Issues I have against the use of our resource Is: 1) How poorly the fish are cared for when caught and 2) How reckless and wasteful they are processed and utilized. Thanks again Reed I'll be watching more of your videos as time allows.
Japanese restaurants here where I live serve these as "gindara" where they cook them teriyaki style. The meat is real buttery and soft-it really does melt in your mouth.
This fish is so expensive because it's hard to catch. Orcas know when the boats are fishing for the cod on long lines and when the lines start to come up, the orcas come and pick them up off the line. On average, fisherman only get about 25% of what they actually hook. Some say it's lower to 20%.
I caught a bunch of black cod and halibut while in Homer AK two years ago. I went out a few miles out past Elizabeth Island. All of caught limits of halibut and black cod. I had everything fileted, and put into crates for the air trip home in California. Both the black cod and halibut are very good and tasty!
Heading to Sitka on Friday for our annual expedition to catch a freezer full of Salmon, Halibut, Sablefish, Shortraker, Lingcod and other absolutely delicious rockfish. We catch the sablefish and shortraker at 1600ft and deeper just off the continental shelf. Thanks for the video to get the juices flowing.
Another master class, great presentation! I remember back in the 60s we caught these by the sack full on the barge out of Redondo Beach! It was anchored in about 300 feet of water and we dropped 5 hook gangions and usually came back up with 2-5 fish per drop. The bottom was paved with black cod, or sable fish, as they were called back then. These are usually very deep water fish, requiring drops of a thousand feet plus.
Wish I had seen this a couple weeks ago, I bought a prev. frozen sablefish for the first time from the fisherman's terminal in my city. I think I did a decent job figuring it out as I went along, but certainly took me a lot longer--and left behind more meat. That all did go in a stock, which I haven't tried seasoned yet, but surprisingly doesn't seem to greasy to me. The steaks turned out great!
I just caught a pile of them last week in Washington. It's definitely best smoked. Even used a smaller one for halibut bait. Smoked callers are the best.
@reedthefishmonger I saw another comment in this video, and it got me thinking, can you make a video on how you personally sharpen knives and keep them sharp?
Love your videos Reed. It looks like you have several standard techniques. Would you do a video on general filleting techniques rather than species specific?
Holy mackerel!! beautiful and superb grilling fish the black cod! i' had tasted it as sashimi in Australia it was so good! thanks for mouthwatering moment!
That's very impressive you make it look easy.I was wondering how do you keep your knifes so sharp? Do you sharpen them yourself or do you have them professionally sharpened?
Great demo Reed! This is truly one of THE best northern Pacific fish. Sad that they're called "black cod," it's both inaccurate and misleading. These rich SABLEFISH are a just substitute for Chilean "Sea Bass."
Which filleting knife do you recommend? And which model? I need a knife for rockcod, yellowtail and tuna in Southern California. I see you are using Dexter knifes but would you recommend anything else? Thank you!
After watching his videos for awhile, I ordered the same Dexter he uses 90% of the time, $15? On Amazon, only fillet knife I use now, for everything from bluegill to big catfish ;)
This isn’t a true cod though. It’s called a sablefish or black cod but isn’t really a cod. It is extremely expensive on the west coast though. It’s extremely good and I think it’s the best fish to smoke.
How come you don't use the tongue and jaws of the cod? Here in Newfoundland fried tongue and cheeks and lower jaws are the best cuts! As is the sound bone with the swim bladder attached! Waste not!
A very Basic Question: What knife (Brand and model) is the guy using? I have bener had one that good advice would be appriciated. Thank you and keep up the good work:)
I think he has a link in the description to Dexter's series of outdoor knives. I've got a Dexter chef's knife. It's been a good knife for years but it's never been sharpened to a razor's edge like his!
My favorite fish, we in Hawaii call this fish butter fish for obvious reasons. Japanese people in Hawaii and Japan cherish this fish, if you have eaten miso butter fish you would understand what I’m speaking of.
This guy strikes me as outstanding. I could never keep up with this knife skills despite him making it look so easy. I also really respected how he said something like "This fish came from maybe 5000 feet. Dont waste the meat." And today, we waste too much and people are struggling. Get out of the cesspool cities with their corruptness, weakness and moral bankruptcy and get back to basics. COVID wont scrare you like beyatches when you have 400 lbs of meat in a freezer that you hunted or fished and a giant garden and know how to can. BUT! Stay in the cities and dont pollute America by bringing your moral bankruptcy and cowardice to the countryside.
Donpret12…12 years olds wouldn’t eat a hook and bait while swimming underwater. I doubt they are as smart as a 12 old year old but they are smarter than Joe Biden.
Funny: When I lived on Kodiak in the 70's Nobody except me ate Black cod!! It was considered trash fish!!!! I loved it.. Great knife skills.
Best smoked fish out there.
At one time lobster was considered trash and fed to inmates.
@@msa4548 causeits a bottom feeder
@@msa4548 There are no trash fish only bad cooks.
I lived in Kodiak from 1984 to 2013, and everybody considered black cod a delicacy, but I just could not stand how oily it was. I loved Pacific grey cod, instead, though many people considered that trash fish. Then the last years I was there grey cod began to go up in value. My wife, my daughter and I caught all kinds of fish. My wife once caught a 350-pound halibut. It wasn't that good. Its flesh was too dry and stringy. The best halibut are the "chickens" and the adults up to 80-100 lbs. Then they begin to get too tough. My favorite fish, in Kodiak? Dolly Vardens. They do not freeze well, but very fresh, dredged in flour and fried, they are fabulous. They are not very good in the spring when they come down from the rivers into the bays. They are skinny, and their flesh is white and falls apar when you cook them. Give them a few weeks to fatten up in saltwater on crustaceans and salmon fry and their flesh becomes firm and pink. At Mission Beach and at the mouth of Myrtle Creek one could catch some really big ones. Kodiakans still think that pink salmon are only slightly above trash. These, too, do not freeze well. Fresh, though, the bright ones with sea lice still attached near the anal fin are great, and I cold-smoked lots of them every year. The salmon I loved to catch were the coho, a.k.a. "silver salmon." cut into steaks and barbecued they were fantastic. I miss the fishing and the fish of Kodiak, and the duck hunting at Kalsin Bay...
Yea this is by far one of the best demonstrations and fillet job I've seen 👏
This is the best filet job of a black cod I've seen. Kudos.
This fish (Sablefish) is the only fish that tastes as good if not better than Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish). It is also more sustainable. THANK YOU for not wasting the Collar!
I thought they were the same species. But makes sense as they're opposite parts of the world.
@@seabassmastermatt80 halibut and tru cod are both better
Here in Hawaii we call Black Cod "Butterfish".
It's amazingly delicious and broiling it in your miso/soy sauce/honey mixture is definitely the way to go!!
It’s also called butter fish in the mainland or sablefish and the technical not a cod. Yup Miso and Soy.
@@brucelee5576 On Kaua'i some markets have Bento with the Miso marinated Black cod was truly a delicacy.
That sounds so good 😭
Miso butterfish is ono! Just be careful when you're at the fish market, as some places sell "Butterfish" which is a completely different fish. It's not sablefish (aka black cod).
This is NOT Alaskas most expensive fish. Tastiest maybe but not the most expensive. No thanks to trawlers flooding the market. Opening season Copper River king and sockeye are the most expensive.
Forget Alaska the Copper River King is expensive period.
That's because of marketing. Columbia River springers are way better.
@@brucelee5576$100lb this year
@@duckwacker8720 I was going to make this same comment
There is literally no better smoked fish than black cod.
As a former offshore sport fishing charter captain I have cleaned my fair share of fish, but you sir are a surgeon!
Thank you brotha! 🙏
To make a stock from the bones it is best to roast them first, render some of the excess fat and oil out then start your stock from there.
Smoked Sable fish is king of all fish !
Beats salmon or any other oily fish I know my father was a fish buyer on the west coast out of crescent city ca from 1950 to 1978.
I agree I fish blkcd out of port Orford lowest price in my 30 years of longline fishing 2024 lucky to get a 1.60 big fish as low as .15 cents a lb small fish
Wow set up a commercial smoker get a processors wholesale license then vacume seal it sell over the net or take to Frisco or Seattle to sell make a fortune.
I enjoy your videos very much. When I was a teenager ( 13 till 18 years old) I commercial fished catfish baskets with my dad. I'm 50 years old now. Brings back great memories of my childhood when men were men and taught their kids about the world and survival. Bye the way I know for sure that I've cleaned more fish than most people. I took a lot of pride in doing it too. Thanks for the videos.
This is my favorite fish to eat. Man the first time I had Alaskan Black cod, I was just blown away how buttery delicious it is.
Love how nothing is wasted and how you walk us thru
When I was a kid back in the 60s to mid 70s my Grandfather worked on ships that ran between Alaska and California . His home Port was Vancouver . He always brought Smoked Black Alskan Cod . He would have the family over for a feed . I think he would Poach it in Heavy Cream and Butter . Amazing ! I,m going to get one .
That throat cut was gold!
I hear you about oily fish in stock, but these non-farmed oily fish are so good for health. Maybe some of these off cuts (other healthy oily fish as well) could be processed to make an Asian style fish sauce, or even an anchovy alternative (I love anchovies).
Great video as always, thank you 😊
Smoked black cod is the best fish you can get. Its like eating tender buttery bacon.
I started watching your videos about a year ago. You have a tremendous amount of knowledge on preparing a huge variety of seafood. Much respect and presentation on all your videos and greatly appreciated sharing of your vast knowledge.👏👏👏
I'm glad you put an emphasis on eating the collar. Best part imo. Alot of westerns are wasteful. Love that this video shows not too be wasteful.
THANKS ANTHONY! YOUR TIP ON RENDERING THE BONES BEFORE MAKING STOCK IS GOLDEN!
AKA Sable. Amazing when smoked! A delicacy at NY Jewish appetizing stores.
We call those butter fish her in Hawaii. Always welcomed at any cook out or celebration, especially the butterfish collars! The big pieces of meat we add to our laulau to be cooked with the pork and chicken.
I’m an avid fisherman and I release most everything. Reason is that for as many fish as I’ve caught, I absolutely suck at filleting them.
"One more gentle incision..." SLASH!!!
Nice to see someone who knows how to fillet & more Importantly make use of all usable parts. My personal favorite with BC are the "tips" or the collar meat, smoked or BBQ'd. Not unusual here In S.E Alaska to see a group of folks around a tote full of BC heads peeling out the tips for homepack. I haven't looked at all your video's as of yet Reed, but besides halibut cheeks being highly sought, Ling cod cheeks are wonderful also, and can be quit large depending on the size of the fish, of coarse. I appreciate your efforts greatly Reed and will seek out more of your videos. I make my living commercial fishing for salmon In S.E. Alaska and have much respect for the resource available to us. The two biggest Issues I have against the use of our resource Is: 1) How poorly the fish are cared for when caught and 2) How reckless and wasteful they are processed and utilized.
Thanks again Reed
I'll be watching more of your videos as time allows.
Sablefish is my favorite! I’ve had it smoked and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I’d choose smoked sablefish over smoked coho any day!
skillful techniques ... I'm glad I've discovered your channel - intriguing; have watched several of your videos already and even multiple times ...
Thanks so much for this! One of my favorite fish.
Japanese restaurants here where I live serve these as "gindara" where they cook them teriyaki style. The meat is real buttery and soft-it really does melt in your mouth.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and this is my absolute favorite fish! Nothing comes close in flavor!
This fish is so expensive because it's hard to catch. Orcas know when the boats are fishing for the cod on long lines and when the lines start to come up, the orcas come and pick them up off the line. On average, fisherman only get about 25% of what they actually hook. Some say it's lower to 20%.
It makes my mouth water to watch your show wth no sound.
I caught a bunch of black cod and halibut while in Homer AK two years ago. I went out a few miles out past Elizabeth Island. All of caught limits of halibut and black cod. I had everything fileted, and put into crates for the air trip home in California.
Both the black cod and halibut are very good and tasty!
Halibut are delicious,never tried black cod.
Sounds like a good fishing trip.
Very Nice! I youtuber fish in Brasil!
Fished for these in Sitka and Ketchikan, in the 80's on tour with a rock band. Usually fried whole, or baked. Excellent meat!
smother the fillet with miso paste , Broil or cook it on charcoal with grill rack to hold the fish in place. yea...Thank you!
Heading to Sitka on Friday for our annual expedition to catch a freezer full of Salmon, Halibut, Sablefish, Shortraker, Lingcod and other absolutely delicious rockfish. We catch the sablefish and shortraker at 1600ft and deeper just off the continental shelf. Thanks for the video to get the juices flowing.
Coming to this video 3 mos late. How did the fishing go?
Appreciate the video. Great job.
Legit, my favorite fish
REED Which Dexter fillet knife do you prefer? the 8" or the 9"
I see that the 9 inch model is stiffer
Another master class, great presentation!
I remember back in the 60s we caught these by the sack full on the barge out of Redondo Beach! It was anchored in about 300 feet of water and we dropped 5 hook gangions and usually came back up with 2-5 fish per drop. The bottom was paved with black cod, or sable fish, as they were called back then. These are usually very deep water fish, requiring drops of a thousand feet plus.
That was Awesome!
Thanks
Wish I had seen this a couple weeks ago, I bought a prev. frozen sablefish for the first time from the fisherman's terminal in my city. I think I did a decent job figuring it out as I went along, but certainly took me a lot longer--and left behind more meat. That all did go in a stock, which I haven't tried seasoned yet, but surprisingly doesn't seem to greasy to me. The steaks turned out great!
Very admirable skills! Thank you for demonstrating!
If “but wait there’s more” was a fish filleting demonstration.
😂😂😂
I just caught a pile of them last week in Washington. It's definitely best smoked. Even used a smaller one for halibut bait. Smoked callers are the best.
Another nice video and that is a good fish! Goes great in lau lau in Hawaii 🤙🏾
Crazy knife skills
is the black cod flesh that much different from the cod normally used in fish & chips?
Huge fat difference! Like wagyu to choice
@reedthefishmonger I saw another comment in this video, and it got me thinking, can you make a video on how you personally sharpen knives and keep them sharp?
He already did that video a couple of weeks ago @@goldminer83
Yes it actually taste closer to Chilean Seabass than it does to North Atlantic cod
Atlantic cod are not a fatty fish, which is fine by me, I don't particularly like fatty fish.
GINDARA (grilled black cod with miso) is a popular dish in Japanese restaurants
Oh boy! Cold water fish are here! Black rockfish and lingcod gotta be coming soon.
We've been catching them for months.
I fucking love black cod so much. Top 3 favorite fish
Love your videos Reed. It looks like you have several standard techniques. Would you do a video on general filleting techniques rather than species specific?
Killing it as always!
It was already dead.
Congratulation sir, you have just reached god level surgeon skill.
Great! I learned a lot.
AKA Sablefish
ALSO KNOWN AS THE CHILEAN SEA BASS ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!
@@rodulfotardo6328 tastes similar but not the same
I lived for 5 years in Norway and fished almost every day, how I miss filleting fish.
Holy mackerel!! beautiful and superb grilling fish the black cod!
i' had tasted it as sashimi in Australia it was so good!
thanks for mouthwatering moment!
I was in Alaska last August, and we smashed the Sable-Fish, aka Butterfish.
That's very impressive you make it look easy.I was wondering how do you keep your knifes so sharp? Do you sharpen them yourself or do you have them professionally sharpened?
Love this fish. Delicious.😊
Thanks!
Great demo Reed! This is truly one of THE best northern Pacific fish. Sad that they're called "black cod," it's both inaccurate and misleading. These rich SABLEFISH are a just substitute for Chilean "Sea Bass."
Worked in Alaska on a fishing boat and we tore these down just like this and it’s the best fish out there.
I bet that was a great time!
@@reedthefishmonger It’s a lot better looking back than it was doing it… kinda like telling prison stories I suppose
@@reedthefishmonger but yeah we ate some fish I’ve never had and haven’t had since to expensive
A striped bass grilled skin down with olive oil and salt and garlic is unmatched
Which filleting knife do you recommend? And which model? I need a knife for rockcod, yellowtail and tuna in Southern California. I see you are using Dexter knifes but would you recommend anything else? Thank you!
After watching his videos for awhile, I ordered the same Dexter he uses 90% of the time, $15? On Amazon, only fillet knife I use now, for everything from bluegill to big catfish ;)
Aloha. Dexter.
Dexter makes excellent knives.
My absolute favorite fish to eat!
He didn't waste anything...great job
When a dead fish calls you poor in a few languages😂
😂😭😂😭
We get these in California too and are locally caught.
Wish those were easier to buy in NE. Delicious fish.
This isn’t a true cod though. It’s called a sablefish or black cod but isn’t really a cod. It is extremely expensive on the west coast though. It’s extremely good and I think it’s the best fish to smoke.
That cheek meat is so special and delicious on any fish
How come you don't use the tongue and jaws of the cod? Here in Newfoundland fried tongue and cheeks and lower jaws are the best cuts! As is the sound bone with the swim bladder attached! Waste not!
No matter what I do, my knives are never that sharp.
MOST PEOPLE DON'T SHARPEN THE TIP, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE SURGICAL PART OF THE BLADE"S ACTION,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
You need good steel to begin with.
I love black cod
Mais um ótimo trabalho . Parabéns . Abraço aqui do Brasil...
its the best eating fish in Alaska too! id take this over halibut all day.. but i dont catch these sport fishing up here they are too deep.
very good! I also do the same type of content in Brazil! my channel is fillet fishmonger
Sablefish. Fish markets call it "cod" because they can get more money for it lol
A very Basic Question: What knife (Brand and model) is the guy using? I have bener had one that good advice would be appriciated. Thank you and keep up the good work:)
I think he has a link in the description to Dexter's series of outdoor knives. I've got a Dexter chef's knife. It's been a good knife for years but it's never been sharpened to a razor's edge like his!
Dexters are favored by many in the fish trade. Sharpening a filet knife is a bit of an art! A good stone setup really helps.
My favorite fish, we in Hawaii call this fish butter fish for obvious reasons. Japanese people in Hawaii and Japan cherish this fish, if you have eaten miso butter fish you would understand what I’m speaking of.
This guy strikes me as outstanding. I could never keep up with this knife skills despite him making it look so easy. I also really respected how he said something like "This fish came from maybe 5000 feet. Dont waste the meat." And today, we waste too much and people are struggling. Get out of the cesspool cities with their corruptness, weakness and moral bankruptcy and get back to basics. COVID wont scrare you like beyatches when you have 400 lbs of meat in a freezer that you hunted or fished and a giant garden and know how to can. BUT! Stay in the cities and dont pollute America by bringing your moral bankruptcy and cowardice to the countryside.
I'd love to make fish n chips with that!
Time for a redfish video!
Love the chips(cheeks) my favorite part.
Do you ever ship fresh fish? I live a thousand miles inland and getting fresh fish is impossible.
now this is how you actually fillet
Black Cod 24/7 365 🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽Misoyaki Butterfish,Smoked,or Steamed Chinese style🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽
COOK IT???
No way! *_SUSHI!_*
If you think you can clean fish, Do a Lake Erie Perch
Sablefish is going to skyrocket in price when people find out about it.
We've been eating it for years in the pnw.🤣
@@duckwacker8720 Me too. But have you been buying it or catching it?
They've done tests and apparently the black cod has the intelligence of a 12 year old human...
Donpret12…12 years olds wouldn’t eat a hook and bait while swimming underwater. I doubt they are as smart as a 12 old year old but they are smarter than Joe Biden.
No wonder all our fish are almost extinct.
Do you eat the eyes? They looked very fresh.
This fish is so rich that most people can only eat a small portion otherwise you’re on the toilet for a while.
6 Oz or less and you shouldn't need the cork 🤭
Aloha. Are you sure you’re not confusing this with Walu, Or Escolar, Hawaiian oil fish?
I think he's talking about escolar ,they do like alike though 😂@@adamyoung480
You are thinking of Escolar or also called an oil fish
That’s Escolar, not Black Cod.
The fish head can make the most delicious fish head curry, Singapore style.
Chilean seabass is the best fish
Sablefish, nice
Fish fillets are so sad. Try fish ribs sometimes. Keep the spine in. Better taste, and more fun to eat.
We love that fish it makes some of the best fish sandwiches on the planet..?