Favorite tog receipe?
 

I dont know if this is the proper forum for this, move it if needed John R. We caught a ton of em last weekend. I gave some of it away to the neighbor with the generator. I deep fried a couple fillets and wow, ive always heard it was a good fish to eat but i had no idea how good it is. What a fun fish to catch also. We had a steady pick of them, one fish every 5 minutes or so, then moved locations and it was one keeper after another for an hour or so. We probably caught 200 of em between the 5 of us. Nothing huge, i think the average keeper was 5-6 lbs.

Nice - wish I could have gone :btu:

Tog & Chips?

Last week I put the fillets down and covered with a seafood stuffing and baked. Was very good.

Also I rolled in panko bread crumbs salt and pepper and pan fried. Also excellent.

Doesn't one of the Rhode Island guys (piemma??) make a "Drunkin 'Tog Chowder" I've always wanted to hear about that one :want: :stir:

I make a simple chowder;lots of heavy cream and a bunch of leeks sauteed in butter,some bacon in there too. Finish it up with potatoes and 2" fish chunks but do not overcook spuds. For a stock try clam juice, unless you are ambitious like me and make a stock from the racks. Just wrap in cheesecloth and boil,throw in some herbs wrapped up too.

Tonight;homemade tagliatelli with an orange-fennel cream sauce. Finished with a crispy imported prosciutto.

I'm with SD- Tog freezes well and makes an excellent chowder. I posted this recipe on the SWE website a few years ago.

‘Tog Seafood Chowder

This recipe is modified from one I found online. While I can’t take full credit for it, the nice thing about chowder is it lends itself to improvisation! Feel free to switch out any of the seafood, herbs, etc. listed. Just make sure not to over-cook it and you’ll be all set.

Ingredients

½ pound salt pork, diced

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups water (Ideally use a fish stock made from boiling/simmering the racks of the fish with celery, garlic, whole onions, and herbs, then straining the liquid. Chicken stock can be used as well- the low-sodium variety. I didn’t have either of those things so water it was.)

1 cup Snow’s bottled clam juice

Two potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 rib celery, chopped

Dried red-pepper flakes to taste (I like it spicy)

Dried or fresh thyme, to taste

Salt, to taste

2 cups fresh (cut from about three to four ears) or one bag frozen corn kernels

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

Flour

2 cans Snow’s chopped clams, drained. Reserve juice from one can

~1 ½ pounds tautog fillets, cut into 1-½ inch chunks

~½ pound raw shrimp (any size), shelled and deveined, tails removed

~½ pound fresh scallops (I used sea scallops, but I bet bay scallops would be great!)

Fresh-ground black pepper, you guessed it… to taste

Directions

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the diced salt pork, and render until three or four tablespoons of fat have come out of it. Increase the heat to medium, and remove once the salt pork cracklings have browned with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the onions soften and turn translucent, about five to eight minutes.

Add the water, clam juice (from bottle and one can), potatoes, celery, red-pepper flakes, and salt and bring to a boil. You want just enough liquid to cover the potatoes and onions. If using dried herbs, add them at this point as well. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about five-eight minutes. This is an important step- Keep checking the potatoes! You DON’T want them to overcook. As soon as they lose their “crunch” in the middle, proceed onto the next step. Overcooked, starchy potatoes are gross in chowder.

Return the cracklings to the pot. Add the corn, milk, fresh herbs (if using) and cream, stir, and simmer for ten minutes. Check the thickness of the chowder- if it appears too thin, gradually sift in flour or a cornstarch slurry until it thickens to your liking. A few tablespoons should be enough- you want it to be thicker than soup, but not paste. Don’t forget that it will thicken overnight!

Stir in the clams, ‘tog, scallops, shrimp, and pepper. Bring back to a simmer and cook until just done (Once the fish flakes easily with a fork and the scallops are just opaque in the center), about three to five minutes longer. Remove from heat and serve in hot bowls with crusty bread or oyster crackers.


A great alternative to making your own fish stock is this:

Superior Touch

You can find it at pretty much any supermarket in the soup section. Much quicker than making your own stock, tastes amazing, and lower in sodium than most canned stocks.

It's Crafty Angler
From 1 year ago

Kev im gunna make up a pot of that this weekend i think. SOunds good.

All I can say is talk to Uncle Crafty!

Yes! I want his chowda recipe
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Yup Crafty makes that tog chowder for some of the club meetings. Its killer.

Thanks Lep - that's the one I was thinking of.

And Thanks Uncle Crafty ! :jump1:

De nada, amigo...:kewl:

There really is only two things you can do wrong with Tog filet's, burn them or give them away. But my favorite is to coat them in an egg wash then dip in a seasoned flour and pan fry. but does make a great chowder fish for sure

Had to bump this thread in honor of Crafty Angler. Drunkin Blackfish Chowder recipie may be disclosed in the near future once we figure out how to incorporate it into some sort of way to honor his memory.

DZ

Did he share it with anyone?? I know he put vermouth in it.. But damn!! His chowder was excellent!
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Drunken Blackfish Stew - yes, Dennis, perfectly apt