Did a little fishing near Castle Island late last night on an ebb tide. There was another angler fishing the same swim. He hooked and landed a spiny dogfish. He cuts the line and joyfully proceeds to open up a potato sack to bag the shark. I said to him "what are you so happy about, you actually gonna eat that thing". He shoots me the coldest stare and in sheer annoyance replies, "if I fried this thing up and put it on plate for you with some chips, you'd think it was Haddock". Is this guy serious? Do dogfish taste like Haddock!!!???

Ive heard a million times that thats what the Brits use in fish and chips

bleed it to get the ammonia out.

dogfish piss thru their skin, but that didn't stop me from trying it, and all I can say, is dogfish is one nasty fish, but I tried to bake it like cod.
The meat is white as snow and looks great, but it tasted like something that pisses thru its skin.

You should of taken him up on his offer. I like the way they swim in circles after they bounce off the gunnel.

yea iv heard that you just hav to kill em and bleed em rly quick after you catch it and they taste good

bttfish would tell you that singing the hairs off is the hardest part.

Smoked dogfish belly. Mmmmmm. :huh:

http://www.vims.edu/GreyLit/SeaGrant/vmrb14-1.pdf

Yep, the Brits buy 'em up and serve them in their beloved "fish and chips". They'r e actually pretty good that way, and most British cooking isn't known for flavor.

bttfish would tell you that singing the hairs off is the hardest part.

The millesecond I saw the title of this thread, I just knew I'd find this post in it :rotflmao:

Last week I took a neighbor lady out. She waists nothing. A few weeks ago she even tried a pogy. Yuck! Anyway we got two Dog Fish. She took them home and cooked them. She and her husband came by with a container of the cooked fish. I couldn’t get by the smell. They thought it was good. No accounting for taste.

Al

Brits idea of fish and chips is really a platter of oil on a newspaper with a side of fried fish and fries.

Had a Dogfish sandwich tonight. I caught it, bled it, skinned it, and cut out the fillets from the sides even B4 I got back to the dock. I salt and peppered the fillet, applied a little miracle whip and dipped it in cracker crumbs. Pan fried for 2 minutes/side and placed in a Hamburger bun with Tarter sauce, lettuce, and a tomato. I thought I was at MickeyD's as it tasted much like the Pollock they use in their fish sandwich. YUMMMM!!!

Swish the fillet in salt water a minute or so (after bleeding) to further remove residual ammonia and blood, which I like to do with any fish fillet.

my guess is its all in how you care for it- Ive eaten it when in england and it was delicious. maybe the ink in the newspaper that they wrap it in masks the bad flavors :hihi:

Brits idea of fish and chips is really a platter of oil on a newspaper with a side of fried fish and fries.

On my first trip to London I tried a greasy bag full of their Fish and Chips. It tasted exactly like I expected Dogfish to taste. Brits aren't exactly known for their high culinary standards.

I've been swishing the fillets in fresh water ever since the Oil Spill in Buzzards Bay (that's where I fish). With the reports of contamination from the Rivers, the high going to low tide brings everything out into the bay.

I am going to give the dogfish a try this weekend, both smooth and spiney. I have been meaning to do this now for a while. Will report back.
I think they could be the next "lobster"...after all lobster was once thought as a trash fish as well.

Experts have argued with me about the piss thru the skin thing... I think the jury is still out. No matter, I will give it a go.

I am going to give the dogfish a try this weekend, both smooth and spiney. I have been meaning to do this now for a while. Will report back.
I think they could be the next "lobster"...after all lobster was once thought as a trash fish as well.

Experts have argued with me about the piss thru the skin thing... I think the jury is still out. No matter, I will give it a go.

Yea, I am interested to read your reviews of both species. Don't forget

"Rip & Gut" while still alive,,, but on ice ASAP.
It's not bad,,, but some eat bluefish too! Dogs are much better IMO.

Try soaking the filet in some milk for a 2-3 hours. This helps break down the piss and tenderizes the flesh a bit.

It's what we used to do for Mako when served in some of the restaurants I worked in.

Also, I think the Brits use a different type of dogfish, not sure though.

BN

Brits use the spiny dogfish, same dogfish we catch so many of around here. They've just about wiped them out on the other side of the Atlantic.

OK, Just finished my first Dogfish.

We were having Fluke tonight and I tossed in the Dogfish for a taste test. First I caught it on Sunday Afternoon and as soon as it hit the deck I removed its head, then filleted and skinned it in less then a minute. It was placed in a cooler of ice chips, really chilled. The fillet was long white meat with a nice firm texture..it looks like any other food fish. It has some pin bones down the blood line but the meat looks good.

I prepared it like I did tonight's fluke...Dipped the fillets in milk then my favorite dry mix for fish...Byrd Mill seasoned seafood breader (good stuff) and then put in a hot cast iron skillet with a little oil and butter and cooked till brown.

The fluke was excellent as usual. The Dogfish (smooth) was very mild and very moist. IMO too moist. I think it would be good for fish and chips as this fish could stand up to serious heat in small pieces and still stay moist. It was rather bland also and slightly soft. The fluke (which is considered mild) had a lot more flavor to it then the dog. I was surprised to see how bland the fish was. The breading mix (which is not overpowing by anymeans) was the only real flavor coming thru.
I think I'll let the Brits keep them. I would rather have a flounder sandwich anyday.

(Never did get a spiny on sunday.)

Next experiment will be skate wings...they say they are tasty

Sandman,

Skates are good eating although I recommend catching and cooking the larger ones as " there ain't much meat on that boy". taste like scallops (same texture) but not quite as sweet as the Bay Scallops.
When I tried it, I cut off the 2 wings, skinned them, and cooked them with the bone still in place with salt and pepper, in butter. Definitely worth a try...better than Dogfish.

A friend of mine who is a very casual fisherman caught a doggy and without knowing any better or reading the about all the ammonia nonsense, cooked the damn thing up and ate it. He said is was the best fish he ever had!!! I suspect that if he had read all the baloney about ammonia and peeing through the skin, he would have thrown it out, but he ate it and gave an unbiased opinion. Remember that Mako sharks pee through the skin and I have not heard any bunk about them being full of ammonia.

As far as what species the Limey's eat, in the old days Arnold Spooner in Westport, MA was exporting local doggies for the British market. He did a hell of a business; he only paid a penny a pund and sold it for who knows how much.

skate wings are actually pretty good eating - better than spiny dogfish IMO. the meat is very tender.

like all shark-like creatures that do not have kidneys to process waste - you have to kill, gut, and bleed skates ASAP - else you will be eating ammonia filet.

skate wings are actually pretty good eating - better than spiny dogfish IMO. the meat is very tender.

like all shark-like creatures that do not have kidneys to process waste - you have to kill, gut, and bleed skates ASAP - else you will be eating ammonia filet.

How big do the skates have to be? The ones that I catch are not very big. Actually, they are about the size of my computer monitor and I believe they are the clearnose variety.

hard to say. the skates i have caught in Long Island, NY waters are measurably larger than ones i've caught in RI/Mass, and so the former have been dinner-fare.

you're eating the wings, so if you have wings that have more meat than cartilage, or if you're into a mess of skates, by all means, give it a try.

if anyone here has a method for quickly and humanely dispatching skates (cutting the wings off a life skate is cruel) ... lemme know. sharp blow to the head?

hard to say. the skates i have caught in Long Island, NY waters are measurably larger than ones i've caught in RI/Mass, and so the former have been dinner-fare.

you're eating the wings, so if you have wings that have more meat than cartilage, or if you're into a mess of skates, by all means, give it a try.

if anyone here has a method for quickly and humanely dispatching skates (cutting the wings off a life skate is cruel) ... lemme know. sharp blow to the head?

A sharp blow to the head, or a sharp knife right through the top of the skull. They will die very quickly as opposed to cutting the wings off.
I used to club dogfish, then throw them overboard. Sometimes I would see them swimming upside down in circles a half hour later. I actually felt bad for them.
Also, lets promote dogfish as great table fare, whether they are good or not. The more that end up on plates, the less there are in the water being nuisances.

Brits use the spiny dogfish, same dogfish we catch so many of around here. They've just about wiped them out on the other side of the Atlantic.

Well, I am happy to let the Brits come and get our dog fish ... just stay away from our stripers, cod, weakfish, fluke, and pretty much anything else we want to target ... but they are more than welcome to help alleviate the overcrowding of that species IMHO ...:yak6:

we could also use a few eskimoes to cull our fat juicy seal population.

Dogfish goes under the name of 'Rock' in the UK, and the irony about the ammonia comments above is that most (usually Northern) Brits soak the whole newspaper wrapped collection of fish N chips with malt vinegar. It does make it hard for the batter to stay crunchy, though......

Me, I was fine without the vinegar, and rock really wasn't all that different from cod or haddock when battered and fried.

BTW, about the British cuisine - a lot of the comments here are about 20 years out of date. Back then it was bloody awful, but now there are a lot of seriously good (British food) restaurants and food serving pubs that belie the old stereotype.

And before anyone comments that I am merely defending the old country's cooking, I fully agree that there are some places that are still as bad as they used to be (and I've found a lot of both good and bad places over here, too!!), but there has been a huge improvement.

I've actually had stranger stuff in Kenya and Canada (seal steak, anyone?...) :eek:

I've actually had stranger stuff in Kenya and Canada (seal steak, anyone?...) :eek:

An answear to a lot of peoples problems!

Dogfish goes under the name of 'Rock' in the UK, and the irony about the ammonia comments above is that most (usually Northern) Brits soak the whole newspaper wrapped collection of fish N chips with malt vinegar. It does make it hard for the batter to stay crunchy, though......

Me, I was fine without the vinegar, and rock really wasn't all that different from cod or haddock when battered and fried.

BTW, about the British cuisine - a lot of the comments here are about 20 years out of date. Back then it was bloody awful, but now there are a lot of seriously good (British food) restaurants and food serving pubs that belie the old stereotype.

And before anyone comments that I am merely defending the old country's cooking, I fully agree that there are some places that are still as bad as they used to be (and I've found a lot of both good and bad places over here, too!!), but there has been a huge improvement.

I've actually had stranger stuff in Kenya and Canada (seal steak, anyone?...) :eek:

But wait, the newspaper is soaked with vinegar along with the rock? Wouldn't that leach the print into the fish? And isn't a lot print done with lead-based ink? Maybe this is a stretch...

I used to work with a fun bunch of "Roast Beefs" and their lunch would consist of a going to the sleaziest pub in town and washing a greasy hamburger down with a couple of Bass ales and then staggering back to work. That was bad enough, but they used to pine away for their steak and kidney pies....yucch.

And then there are the Haggis's. What's up with that?

I was in Scotland the food was not to bad. I had lots of lamb which was very good. I definitely stayed away from the Haggis. But the Scotch distilleries tours were the best:buds:

But wait, the newspaper is soaked with vinegar along with the rock? Wouldn't that leach the print into the fish? And isn't a lot print done with lead-based ink? Maybe this is a stretch...

I used to work with a fun bunch of "Roast Beefs" and their lunch would consist of a going to the sleaziest pub in town and washing a greasy hamburger down with a couple of Bass ales and then staggering back to work. That was bad enough, but they used to pine away for their steak and kidney pies....yucch.

And then there are the Haggis's. What's up with that?

Och, haggis......somehow I knew that this was going to come up !!:rotf2:

The Scottish part of me is going to have to reply on this:

Noo then, therrrre's nuthin' wrong wi' a freshly caught haggis, ye ken. Verrrra tasty beasties. All that healthy highlands air and the heather they graze on. It's just that the canny wee sods are verra hard to hunt....:happy:

Actually, a real one (NOT canned) is very good. Especially with the aforementioned wee dram to accompany it...


As for the steak and kidney puds, like anything else there's good and bad. The good ones are well worth trying.