surely im about to get laughed at for this one but got surprised with trollin 10 miles out today and caught a ton of barracudas. i know every1 in sc says cudas are trash but the florida capt said theyre good and eats em regularly. any1 have any ideas on what to do with em? i did try a small piece grilled and thought it was fine (similar to redfish) but wonder if any1 else has other ideas.
People stay away from eating Barracudas due to Ciguatera poisoning and the stank when you bring them in the boat. The little ones are probably fine but I’d definitely stay away from the big boys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera
http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/redtide/illness/ciguatera_fish_poisoning.html
big 1s are def shark bait, only smaller ones are filleted. capt did advise us against eating big 1s but yup they did have a stench to em in the box!
They are great smoked.
No offense, but that capt screwed you. That was an easy way for the capt to make you happy and for him so save money on fuel. You caught fish and he put it in your head that you went home with good meat. Feed the rest of it to your cat.
Chad
Cobia 256 Express
Pulled by a Dodge Ram 3500
we also have plenty of blacktip steaks, a few just legal kingfish, and 1 cobia was caught too which are def good. a bonita also came along and i gladly took that for shark bait along with a kingfish a cuda chewed up on the way in. i did try a piece of barracuda and thought it was fine though…not exactly but tasted kinda similar to a redfish. even if i end up not liking them later i got a suprise call from my dads uncle that lives here the day before askin if i wanted to go fishin with him and his grandkids that i havent seen in 20 years and everyone got to reel in several fish…had a blast anyways! started playing with cudas, then kingfish (all barely legal), then followed shrimp boats for sharks.
They regularly eat cuda in mexico… If that tells you anything.
I’ve never had it, I personally can’t get over the stink when you bring them in the boat. I’d rather eat a 65lb AJ than to even take a bite of a barracuda.
It’s good.
They are good eats. Like they say, stay away from the larger ones (over 2’) due to the possibility of Ciguatera, although I don’t think it is as prevalent here as in more tropical waters but I may be wrong on that. Make sure you skin them because that is where the stink is. I’ve had them in the Bahamas and they regularly eat them there also.
Ken
fillets are all skinned and red meat will be cut out, but the bigger baitacudas are chunked up ready for beach sharks. i only got 1 piece of cobia which i ate that night, no shortage of blacktip steaks which i know what to do with those, and i plan on smoking my pieces of kingfish, but wondered if anyone else cooked barracuda before. cant argue about the smell once boated though!!!
I wonder if it has something to do with the location. I had cuda in the bahamas and it wasn’t bad at all. I can’t imagine even cleaning one here due to the stank.
Once you get past the smell you got it licked.
quote:
Originally posted by 7csOnce you get past the smell you got it licked.
I remember that being said many times in the service… I aint licking something if it stinks. That reminds me of the guys that said to go ugly early… nope. I always took my chance for something better.
I’ve eaten about any fish you could think of except a Cuda and a mother-in-law (dog fish). I’m not picky but I would have to be pretty hungry to get over the smell of a cuda.
well i made another batch of it tonight. made some homemade peach salsa, coated the fillets in my homemade taco seasoning, doused in lemon juice, deep fried, and im sure everyone can figure out the rest. cut out the red meat before cooking and honestly no different than any other fish and turned out great! doesnt taste anywhere near how they smelled in the box and firm, white, flaky meat with no strong fish taste. once filleted, skinned, and rinsed they lose the nasty smell to em. any other brave souls gonna try it? 
You should try fried river mullet. Another one of those fish that everyone claims is crap but is actually quite good. The freshwater river mullet aren’t nearly as mucky/black on the inside like the saltwater guys are.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
I read an article once about eating Cuda! It said that you should not eat the ones caught in the Gulf of Mexico. The article said that the fish the Cudas feed on in the Gulf eat Red Coral and that is where the toxins come from. Said you can eat them from the Atlantic side because there is no Red Coral in the Atlantic!
i tried a small piece along with cobia and kingfish the day of the trip with no adverse reaction, however this piece was a lot larger. ha i may have taken a triple dog dare and tried a SMALL piece of the bonita too. plain grilled it tasted like strong liver. doused in soy, sesame oil, wasabi powder, and ginger it was okish but ill stick to the yellowfins for eating. some of the others on the boat wanted the meat even though the capt insisted it was a trash fish and would be great shark bait. said if they REALLY wanted it they could boil til white then make tuna salad but after tryin it id be fairly hesitant lol. pretty sure the few chunks of bonita i have will be launched from the beach on a 10/0 circle hook! ill post more pics from the trip later but heres one of the "bait"acudas i caught.
did you say cuda or cooter? i know that one of them is safe to eat. don’t know about the smell though.
Nice Cuda. I just caught my first one yesterday about that same size and it’s in my freezer ready to be cooked.
25’ Sport-Craft
Suzuki 225
Fishin’ On Credit
Is it worth it? They are fun to catch - fight like hell… but they are not that tasty and the risk of getting sick for a few months?? Why bother?