Elecmuso 77 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Just wondering how long I can store gutted and scaled gar in the fridge and what is the easiest way to cook them (assuming I may need to tonight - caught them Sunday). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Well if you didn't cook them tonight, then definitely by tomorrow at the latest. A simple coating of seasoned (S&P) flour is the simplest. But can add small amount of tumeric to the seasoned flour for a yellowish look. Medium heat, skin side down first. You'll see the flesh cooking through. Then turn off heat and turn the fillets over and let the remaining heat in the pan cook the remaining flesh. Or ..... Dry fry some herbs and breadcrumbs. Lay a slither of pancetta, place gar fillet on top, then add the herb/breadcrumb mixture. Rollup and put toothpick through to hold together. Cook on medium, turning regularly or put in oven. Squid Inc., Wert, Hunter69 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 9, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Thanks Doobie. I had a few tonight and tried a couple of ways of filleting. Seems the best way is a the butterfly fillet which you can't do once you've gutted them. Must try that next time. Squid Inc. and doobie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 No worries mate. Not sure if I'm reading it right - are you saying Gar can't be butterflied once they have been gutted? If so, nope, gut them first. This is how I butterfly them (not my video). Soobz 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mrfish 327 Posted March 9, 2021 Report Share Posted March 9, 2021 Gar are easiest to fillet once gutted. If you keep your catch cold from when you catch them there is no reason that they cant stay in the fridge up to five days no problem. Obviously the fresher you eat them the better the flavour but you definitely wont get sick if you've treated them correctly and kept them cool. Particularly with mild fish like gar a few days in the fridge they'll still be great but salmon/tommies etc will get a bit stronger but still be fine. If i know i wont be eating within a day or two i will just gut and gill and do the filleting on the day they will be cooked. This will help keep the flesh in good condition How old do you think anything you buy from a fish shop is?? You might be surprised Soobz, doobie, Kelvin and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,821 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Easiest way to cook, is whole in my opinion - scale, gut, cut the head off - and chuck em in the pan Only thing you need to watch, is cooking them all the way through so the meat separates from the bone - then you pick them up like a piece of corn and train your mouth to gently pull the flesh off. The bones should stay on the back bones if you are gentle Once you get your cooking times right and your mouth tuned, you can churn through a pile of gars pretty quick Squid Inc., Hunter69, Kelvin and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 They look very nice YD1 If wanted also, once filleted you can soak them in milk for a few hours which will dissolve the smaller bones - bigger Gar with bigger bones not so much. yellow door 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,821 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 7 minutes ago, doobie said: They look very nice YD1 If wanted also, once filleted you can soak them in milk for a few hours which will dissolve the smaller bones - bigger Gar with bigger bones not so much. Thanks Doobie - the red stuff is from the sweet chilli drizzle near the end of cooking - the brown bits are slightly over done bit of garlic - other than that just flour, salt, pepper and shallow fry doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmck 627 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Fillets, not whole... Dust with Tandaco fish seasoning (or salt n pepper seasoning, lightly spray with canola oil and cook in a sandwich press. I'm drooling just writing it!! Softy and doobie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 I'm too dmck lol I need to get out and catch some Gar, but few and far between on my jetty Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Soobz 557 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Fine, so I'm going garfishing tomorrow it seems. yellow door 1 and doobie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Soobz 557 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 Actually, at the risk of a thread hijack I wonder what lures gar might take then I don't need to worry about bait. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 15 minutes ago, Soobz said: Actually, at the risk of a thread hijack I wonder what lures gar might take then I don't need to worry about bait. Yeah ..... nah -- you'll go hungry They can take lures (rarely) , but not worth the effort. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wert 470 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 1 hour ago, Soobz said: Actually, at the risk of a thread hijack I wonder what lures gar might take then I don't need to worry about bait. Sometimes a squid jag under a float works as a teaser and gar will just congregate around it, I've jagged plenty on all sorts of lures but like doobie says, target them on lures and you'll go hungry. Back on topic like mrfish said if looked after right they're good for 5 days no worries but gar, like whiting also freeze well, I do normal fillets myself, gar are super easy, they even have built in lines to follow just make sure you dry well with paper towel then layer them on fresh paper towels and seal as air tight as possible. They last 6 months easy this way. I like my gar crumbed and fried or dusted in salt and pepper seasoned flour then shallow fried in butter with a squeeze of lemon on top but now i need to learn how to butterfly so I can do doobie's pancetta rolls, they look incredible! doobie, Squid Inc. and yellow door 1 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Meppstas 4,962 Posted March 10, 2021 Report Share Posted March 10, 2021 My grandfather used to roll a beer bottle over them (belly down once they were guttet, then nip each side of the tail turn the fish over and pull it towards the head, That removed the back bone and the rib cage all in in one.. I tried it a few times couldn't get the hang of hot.. doobie and keenfisho 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 Polished them off Tuesday night and just looked back to find all these posts! Interstate for work hence need to consume! Doobie I'll check your video but the reason I thought best to not gut first was due to another video I saw on another thread. By the looks of that video the butterfly fillet halves are joined at the belly rather than begind the backbone. In fact the filleting starts with a close cut along the backbone. I'll find that video and re post it. doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 So not a video but a series of photos. Made sense to me to have the join at the lower portion not the flesh behind the backbone and no need to gut. doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 Doobie the video you posted is how I would have done iit until I saw Brentons post. doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Elecmuso 77 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 Yellow door your methid is what I have being resorting to lately. One question for you and others is do you use a deep fryer or just a frypan and some olive oil? I do the latter but find the fish and crumbs use up a hell of a lot of oil! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 58 minutes ago, Elecmuso said: Polished them off Tuesday night and just looked back to find all these posts! Interstate for work hence need to consume! Doobie I'll check your video but the reason I thought best to not gut first was due to another video I saw on another thread. By the looks of that video the butterfly fillet halves are joined at the belly rather than begind the backbone. In fact the filleting starts with a close cut along the backbone. I'll find that video and re post it. Yeah have seen that - I can't get hang of butterflying with keeping the belly joined, in-fact, I can't butterfly any fish like that Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 25 minutes ago, Elecmuso said: Yellow door your methid is what I have being resorting to lately. One question for you and others is do you use a deep fryer or just a frypan and some olive oil? I do the latter but find the fish and crumbs use up a hell of a lot of oil! I'd say deep frying Gar might a little over the top being such a thin and delicate piece of flesh considering how long the batter/crumbs take to crisp up. Fry pan shouldn't really need too much oil, as long as the pan heated to at least medium - not too hot. Most of the oil will be soaked up in the crumbs (compared to just a coating of flour, herbs etc) but by the time you flip the fillets there should be enough on pan to allow the fillet to 'swirled' around the pan - I turn the heat off when I flip Gar as the remaining heat in pan will be enough to finish off the fillet. Also, put a little less oil in, but put some butter (oil will stop butter from burning) to give a little extra flavour. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rybak 622 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 On 10/03/2021 at 6:47 PM, Soobz said: Actually, at the risk of a thread hijack I wonder what lures gar might take then I don't need to worry about bait. Artificial maggots/gents work. I think Berkley was the brand I used. Basically plastic look alike gents. Either rub them with a pilchard or when you catch the first one, rub in their green poop or even dip into tuna oil or just use as they are. If no live gents onboard, then just as easy to use small slivers of cockle, pilchard, soften squid, fish flesh, worm etc. The key I find is to start with no float or weight & play with the rig until it works on the day with only a small amount of berley. Often the larger ones are further back. Also, when there are plenty of gar about, there is a good chance snook are snooping about, so always worth while casting a lure well out the back or sides & wind in. Soobz and doobie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rybak 622 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 ....Also with easy cooking, head & gut, then use a rolling pin to flatten, belly side down, a bit of salt & pepper, fry in frypan with a little oil & done. Peel back the backbone & eat. There will be a few pin bones but have bread handy as this helps if bones are hanging around in mouth/throat. Otherwise fillet or butterfly if you dont want any bones (like my kids). doobie and Soobz 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,821 Posted March 12, 2021 Report Share Posted March 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Elecmuso said: Yellow door your methid is what I have being resorting to lately. One question for you and others is do you use a deep fryer or just a frypan and some olive oil? I do the latter but find the fish and crumbs use up a hell of a lot of oil! Yeah I just give a light dusting with flour so it doesn’t soak up as much as bread crumbs just a thin layer of oil in the fry pan for me one other tip is to be careful not to break rib bones while cleaning gut cavity when you are cleaning a heap there can be a tendency to get a bit rough when gutting. Each bone you snap off the backbone while gutting becomes one you pick out of your mouth while eating. doobie and Soobz 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
malb 62 Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 I crumb mine in panko crumbs and shallow fry, but some good alternatives here that I'll give a go. As for bones, I find most gar bones tend to cook out anyway. In fact, I can't recall ever getting a bone in gar. doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,821 Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 1 hour ago, malb said: I crumb mine in panko crumbs and shallow fry, but some good alternatives here that I'll give a go. As for bones, I find most gar bones tend to cook out anyway. In fact, I can't recall ever getting a bone in gar. I’ve often heard people say the bones cook out or dissolve while cooking but I’m yet to experience it. The ones in Vic keep all their rib bones intact. (But I cook mine whole) Are the rib bones the ones that cook out during frying? doobie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doobie 5,802 Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 I always get bones if I don't fillet them - even the smaller ones, but could be I don't cook them too long to dissolve them. So I always fillet them and only cook for a few minutes. yellow door 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellow door 1 1,821 Posted March 15, 2021 Report Share Posted March 15, 2021 2 hours ago, doobie said: I always get bones if I don't fillet them - even the smaller ones, but could be I don't cook them too long to dissolve them. So I always fillet them and only cook for a few minutes. Yeah maybe real men who dont wear heated vests just don’t notice them Squid Inc. and doobie 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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