Cabezon Is So Delicious

[Chasin' Dreams]

Over the years whenever I've caught and kept Cabezon I've always added it to dishes I was making like chowder, curries, stews etc.
I had never till now just tried it on its own to know its natural flavour.
I just brought home a couple nice big Cabezon and was packaging them up and thought I have to try this fish right now on its own.

I took a bit of fillet (skin is quite slimy so no skin) and just sautéed it with butter, salt and a bit of lemon. OMG Ling was my favorite fish till now. Cabezon has taken the title now. Sweeter more almost crab/Ling kind of flavor if that makes sense.

This is one fish I will be targeting specifically from now on.

One was 16 and one was 19 lbs. They had everything in their stomachs from prawns to different types of crab to shell fish and small Ling Cod.

Highly recommend these fish to feast on.

 

[Haverodwilltravel]

Over the years whenever I've caught and kept Cabezon I've always added it to dishes I was making like chowder, curries, stews etc.
I had never till now just tried it on its own to know its natural flavour.
I just brought home a couple nice big Cabezon and was packaging them up and thought I have to try this fish right now on its own.

I took a bit of fillet (skin is quite slimy so no skin) and just sautéed it with butter, salt and a bit of lemon. OMG Ling was my favorite fish till now. Cabezon has taken the title now. Sweeter more almost crab/Ling kind of flavor if that makes sense.

This is one fish I will be targeting specifically from now on.

One was 16 and one was 19 lbs. They had everything in their stomachs from prawns to different types of crab to shell fish and small Ling Cod.

Highly recommend these fish to feast on.

Thanks for your post.
I have caught a few in the past but never tried them on the table.
I will definitely do it

 

[trophywife]

i have tried filleting these heads with ribs and the meat to carcass ratio is not great. a 6 lb cab offers 4 oz fillets.
i have now switched to scaling and gut/gill. poached and then pour ripping hot peanut or sesame oil over it. every piece of meat falls off the bones and makes the catch worth it. still looking for the elusive 15 lb cab.

 

[Srthomas75]

I caught one earlier this year ( first time)
Heard good things about them so we kept it and tried it a couple different ways.
I found it a bit rubbery like a lobster as far as texture goes. It was sweet tasting which I liked. But I don’t get the hype about lobster ( compared to Dungeness crab at least).
If I caught another I’d probably give it away??

 

[agentaqua]

Heard they load on Abalone. Also, often have blue flesh. Ate one once. Was good - only meat was on the tail.

 

[tinboatrobb]

Lol. We released 4 this morning that were at least 8 or 9 lbs. Oak bay is loaded with them. Ugly suckers.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

i have tried filleting these heads with ribs and the meat to carcass ratio is not great. a 6 lb cab offers 4 oz fillets.
i have now switched to scaling and gut/gill. poached and then pour ripping hot peanut or sesame oil over it. every piece of meat falls off the bones and makes the catch worth it. still looking for the elusive 15 lb cab.

Right on. Ya definitely helps the ones I got were big. Quite a bit of meat on the fillets but ya lots of bones.

These guys were on a tall pinnacle off a reef right at the top of it. 200ft bottom, 120 ft pinnacle with a pretty narrow flat top. I bounced over the top and got two on two rods. Maybe they mate up not sure.
Lings were at the bottom of the same pinnacle.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

I caught one earlier this year ( first time)
Heard good things about them so we kept it and tried it a couple different ways.
I found it a bit rubbery like a lobster as far as texture goes. It was sweet tasting which I liked. But I don’t get the hype about lobster ( compared to Dungeness crab at least).
If I caught another I’d probably give it away??

The one I cooked up wasn't rubbery at all. Flakey like Ling. You may have over cooked it. Cooked very fast like Ling.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

Lol. We released 4 this morning that were at least 8 or 9 lbs. Oak bay is loaded with them. Ugly suckers.

They are prehistoric looking Gargoyle type faces lol.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

Heard they load on Abalone. Also, often have blue flesh. Ate one once. Was good - only meat was on the tail.

Lots of meat on the fillets of the bigger ones I got. I've seen pics of them up to 30 lbs. Heavy squat tanks.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

i have tried filleting these heads with ribs and the meat to carcass ratio is not great. a 6 lb cab offers 4 oz fillets.
i have now switched to scaling and gut/gill. poached and then pour ripping hot peanut or sesame oil over it. every piece of meat falls off the bones and makes the catch worth it. still looking for the elusive 15 lb cab.

I'm gonna try that way on my next one after removing the main fillet meat. I bet you get a great flavor having all the meat tight to the bones fall off with the hot sauce you pour over it. Could do that with really hot broth of any kind to make a great fish soup as well.

 

[Adrenafin]

Fun to catch, very hard fighters for their size. I find them to be very tasty and yes they cook super fast. The eggs are toxic to humans so be aware of that, DO NOT EAT THE EGGS. But totally worth keeping for the table.