Bottle Fish,blowfish or puffers ? What did you call them ? Something else maybe. I called them bottle fish most of the time. I went to Wikipedia to see what they called them and the variety is amazing. What surprised me even more was that one variety is the second most venomous creature around, second only to the golden toad ! Those things can kill you. Well, not in three mile harbor they don't ! I couldn't begin to count the number I personally removed from Gardiniers Bay. I remember catching them right off the dock down to the harbor. And there is only one harbor where I grew up. Now if I was going to another spot I would have to specify, like the commercial dock. That was a dock, not a harbor, although you could dock your boat at the harbor. But all of that is not the point. I was talking about bottle fish.
The only way I remember having eaten them was in a salad. Dad said those bottlefish where a poor man's lobster. After Mom boiled them and made them into a salad, I was a believer. Freshly made and chilled it is delicious ! They had several other advantages as far as I was concerned. First they were easy to catch. Handline, cane pole or fishing pole made no difference. Bait could be just about anything, shoot I've had them bite an empty hook. They were plentiful, at least in the 1960's they were. I know for a fact that between my Dad, brothers and I we caught over a hundred in a few hours. Throwing them into the buckets in the boat. Sometimes they would puff up and we would pop them them. Sounds cruel I know, but we would just poke them with a knife to deflate them. Get a lot more in the bucket that way. Cleaning those fish was a simple matter as well. Drive a nail in a tree and leave it sticking out some. Cut that fish behind the gill, slam it's head on the nail to hold it, then just peel that skin right off him ! That skin was like sandpaper though and would make your hands sore. It always did but I never could get much done with gloves on, still can't. After removing the skin gutting and chopping the head off was easy enough. Now you are good to go.
It has been at least forty years since I had Mom's bottle fish salad. It sure was a fine meal. We always used that salad to make sandwiches. Toasted bread and a little lettuce, now that was, as the sayin' went " fittin' " Some fittin' Bub ! I did buy some frozen bottle fish some years back but it just wasn't the same. Mom told me how to make it but it just wasn't right. I expect that salad will remain forever as a part of lore for me. It will be nothing more than a memory. That's alright, I enjoy just the thought of it. Sometimes the memory is all that is needed. Sometimes the memory is enough.
The only way I remember having eaten them was in a salad. Dad said those bottlefish where a poor man's lobster. After Mom boiled them and made them into a salad, I was a believer. Freshly made and chilled it is delicious ! They had several other advantages as far as I was concerned. First they were easy to catch. Handline, cane pole or fishing pole made no difference. Bait could be just about anything, shoot I've had them bite an empty hook. They were plentiful, at least in the 1960's they were. I know for a fact that between my Dad, brothers and I we caught over a hundred in a few hours. Throwing them into the buckets in the boat. Sometimes they would puff up and we would pop them them. Sounds cruel I know, but we would just poke them with a knife to deflate them. Get a lot more in the bucket that way. Cleaning those fish was a simple matter as well. Drive a nail in a tree and leave it sticking out some. Cut that fish behind the gill, slam it's head on the nail to hold it, then just peel that skin right off him ! That skin was like sandpaper though and would make your hands sore. It always did but I never could get much done with gloves on, still can't. After removing the skin gutting and chopping the head off was easy enough. Now you are good to go.
It has been at least forty years since I had Mom's bottle fish salad. It sure was a fine meal. We always used that salad to make sandwiches. Toasted bread and a little lettuce, now that was, as the sayin' went " fittin' " Some fittin' Bub ! I did buy some frozen bottle fish some years back but it just wasn't the same. Mom told me how to make it but it just wasn't right. I expect that salad will remain forever as a part of lore for me. It will be nothing more than a memory. That's alright, I enjoy just the thought of it. Sometimes the memory is all that is needed. Sometimes the memory is enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment