Now, you’re probably wondering, can you eat dogfish? The answer is yes! Dogfish is edible, and surprisingly, it’s even considered a delicious staple for some regions. If you ask those who have enjoyed a dogfish fillet, they would indeed confirm it as an item from their favorite meals. Besides that, the dogfish comes with high nutritional value as well.
And we should warn you if you ever try some raw dogfish, be sure that you would never want to try dogfish ever again. If you need to have some sushi, there are hundreds of other types of fish that you can roll as sushi and relish on, but certainly, not dogfish.
Dogfish is an eel-like-looking fish that almost resembles a prehistoric aquatic vertebra. If you have ever caught a glimpse of the fish, let me tell you the long tail and slender body is a member of the shark family.
Fortunately and it’s quite a surprise to those who have never tried it that it has a sweet and subtle taste if you compare it to similar marine fishes.
Hence, to help you get rid of your concerns and skepticisms, in this article, we’re going to talk about whether you can eat different types of dogfish, eating dogfish is safe or not, and what freshwater dogfish eat.
Dogfish Is Safe to Eat?
Although it looks like a prehistoric vertebra, dogfish are members of the shark family. And while many people fear eating sharks, they are perfectly safe to eat. And if you do eat them, you won’t smell them or notice anything wrong. Luckily, the meat of this fish is surprisingly delicious, especially in fillet form. The fish has a mild flavor and is a good source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
While they may be slimy and sluggish, dog shark are entirely edible. They are also highly nutritious and contain a lot of protein. Despite the name, they’re not poisonous and can even be used in cooking. Among the many uses for the meat of these fish, several popular recipes involve their heart. For example, if you want to cook them like steak, you can fillet and skin them yourself.
You can read more: Can You Eat Permit Fish?
I have read that dogfish is a versatile fish which can be grilled, fried, sauted, pan-seared or broiled. I have also read about people cooking dogfish by baking or roasting the dogfish in the oven. Dogfish recipes all over the map!
Dogfish will probably continue to be resented by most recreational anglers. Nevertheless, some people find them to be one of the most incredible, interesting, and delicious sharks in the ocean.
The smooth dogfish is a houndshark species, and it’s either brown or olive grey in color. It can also have shades of grayish white and yellow.
Do you plan on eating dogfish after reading this article? Please let me know by commenting below!
Aside from being a knowledgeable fluke angler, Bruno is also the owner of Cape & Islands Mitsubishi, if you ever need a new or pre-owned vehicle (especially trucks) then Bruno is your man!
Dogs Feeling Different After Stealing Edible || ViralHog
Dogfish doesn’t have an appetizing ring to it. The name for this member of the shark family has kept it off dinner plates, at least in the United States. In Britain, dogfish is often the key ingredient in fish and chips.
A few years ago, in an attempt to make the fish sound more appealing, the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, New England fishermen, and conservationists tried to rebrand it as “Cape shark.” The effort to create local demand for this plentiful regional species, which grew in number with the collapse of the cod fishery, hasn’t yet taken hold.
With its mild white boneless flesh, Kate Masury, program director for Eating with the Ecosystem, said dogfish is less flaky than cod but just as delicious.
Eating with the Ecosystem, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit that promotes a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood, is working with consumers, chefs, suppliers, processors, and fishermen to build a market for dogfish and the many other lower-valued species swimming off New England’s coast.
“It’s about increasing consumer awareness about what is out there and creating a demand,” Masury said.
More than 100 edible wild seafood species thrive in the region’s salty waters. But finding most of them, such as dogfish, ocean perch, scup, periwinkles, sea robin, or sea urchin, at a local market or on a restaurant menu is a challenge.
A new Eating with the Ecosystem study that used citizen scientists to track the availability of these underappreciated species documented some interesting observations about local fish and shellfish in the New England marketplace.
Unsurprisingly, the region’s seafood counters are heavily dominated by five classic New England species: lobster, sea scallops, soft-shell clams, cod, and haddock.
At the other end of the market spectrum, however, half of the 52 local species included in the recent study were found less than 10 percent of the time. Many of these species, including dogfish, whiting, skate, and Atlantic butterfish, which is often caught as bycatch in the squid fishery and shouldn’t be confused with its West Coast version, are among the most abundant species in the ocean ecosystem off the New England coast.
But despite their prevalence in local waters, these four species were found even less often, only 3 percent of the time. Dogfish was only found twice out of 198 searches, and skate 14 times (252). Both butterfish (268) and whiting (198) were found eight times.
The report’s findings are based on a research effort called the Eat Like a Fish citizen science project. The project’s 86 participants hailed from all walks of life and resided in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire.
For 26 weeks, from May to October of last year, the 86 volunteers, including 19 from Rhode Island, visited seafood markets, grocery stores, farmers markets, and seaside fishing piers in search of the 52 New England seafood species. Each participant received a weekly list of four randomly chosen local species and searched for them in up to three local markets. Upon encountering one of their species, they took it home and made a meal out of it.
“Citizen scientists found a stark mismatch between what’s swimming in local waters and what’s available on local seafood counters,” said Masury, who coordinated the research project. “This imbalance can strain the resilience of New England’s underwater ecosystems and undermine the well-being of the people who depend on them. Moving forward, we hope to see the New England marketplace do a better job of reflecting the full diversity of what our waters have to offer.”
The study’s goals were to understand how well New England’s retail marketplace reflects the diversity of local seafood and to draw on the volunteers’ lived experiences to help explain why these mismatches exist and what can be done to correct them.
As ecosystems change more rapidly because of climate change, Masury said diversity must become a cornerstone of the way we eat and market seafood. She also noted that understanding the assimilation of local species by the regional seafood supply chains is an important first step in achieving greater symmetry between ecosystems and markets, reducing impacts on ocean food webs, and positioning local fishing economies to be resilient in the face of change.
“At the inception of the project, I had no doubt that I would find, prepare, and marvel at my brilliance with new, exotic, local species of seafood each week,” said Sherri Darocha, a participating citizen scientist from Rhode Island. “I never dreamed that most weeks it would be so challenging to find even one fish on my list. After twenty-six weeks, I have plenty of pent-up fish envy that will only be soothed by finding species that have eluded me, like cunner and red hake.”
To assist consumers in finding these largely ignored species and help reduce the strain on the region’s ocean ecosystem, Eating with the Ecosystem offers several tips for consumers interested in expanding their local seafood options:
Seek out local species you haven’t tried before. Many citizen scientists discovered new favorite seafood species by going outside their comfort zone.
Don’t shy away from whole fish. Using every part of the fish reduces waste. The more mess you make in the kitchen, the more you will enjoy the meal that follows.
If you don’t see a particular local species available at the seafood counter, ask for it. Letting your fishmonger know you would like to buy it will help build demand.
Many fishmongers can locate hard-to-find local seafood species if you notify them in advance. Special ordering these species helps show fishmongers that there is interest in purchasing them, without requiring them to assume any risk.
When experimenting with new species, make it a social event. Team up with friends and family members who share your commitment. Citizen scientists relished the long-distance camaraderie that developed through the Eat Like a Fish project.
To help seafood lovers diversify their diets, Eating with the Ecosystem recently produced a cookbook called Simmering the Sea: Diversifying Cookery to Sustain Our Fisheries. Populated with whimsical ecological tales, imaginative artwork, and simple yet elegant recipes, the 100-page book celebrates 40 underappreciated fish and shellfish that populate the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.