Yesterday, my dad and I caught a few nice sized bonito, and decided to take a few home. He caught a pretty big bonito, so we kept it, as well as a medium sized one. Cooking fish is something a lot of people are intimidated by, but it is really easy if you have the right tools, ingredients, and skills. Bonito tastes like tender version of tuna, and is very delicious.
Here are the two fish we kept for dinner...
So here is the instructional part, or transitions of preparing this fish.
Step 1: Fillet the fish.
I don't have a photo of the full fillet, but I have a photo of the fillet after it was cut into portions. The fillet was too big to cook without cutting it into portions.
Step 2: Wash the fillets and remove the pin bones and blood line.
The blood line and the pin bones run all the way through the center of the fillet, and can be an unpleasant experience if eaten. The pin bones are thick, and the blood line is fishy. So since they are in the same spot, just make a small cut along the center to remove them. It is pretty easy. This time, I won't be removing the skin on this fish, so don't worry about the skin, just the pin bones and blood line.
Step 3: Get you seasonings.
For this recipe, Today we are going to be seasoning the fish very basically. The only things I'm going to be using is himalayan pink salt, black pepper, old bay seafood seasoning, and butter. I've noticed the combination of these seasonings really take away any fishiness or bad smells. So if you aren't a big fish eater, this combination of ingredients is perfect. You can eat the fish and really taste it as well, but you don't get any unpleasant residual fishiness from the meat.
Step 4: Pat dry your fish with a paper towel and add seasonings.
When it comes to this step, it's where many get confused about how much seasoning to put on the fish. It is very easy. First, you're going to want to pat dry the fish so theres no blood or fishy water on the meat, then you coat each fillet with a good amount of seasoning. Don't over do it, put just enough to cover the surface, and by the time you are done using all of the seasonings, the fish will be coated with the right amount of seasoning. Don't season the skin side, just the meat side because when you blacken fish, you want to have one side with all of the seasonings, and don't worry, the skin will be flavored too... ;)
Step 5: Butter your hot pan.
This step is self explanatory, just put enough butter to cover the surface of the pan with a little extra to add flavoring.
Step 6: Put in the goodness skin side down.
Once your butter has melted all the way and is runny, put in your fish skin side down. Let it cook 3-4 minutes until the whiteness of the cooked meat cooks halfway through the fillet.
Step 7: Flip only once and let cook.
After the skin side has been cooked through halfway, flip the meat side down only once. It is crucial you only flip the fish once, because you don't want to mess up the fish and you want to get the seasoned side of the fish nice and blackened. You want to let it cook meat side down until the seasoned side turns black on the surface. Then, take it out.
Step 8: Take out when ready and plate.
The blackened bonito came out really nice. A nice black and crispy surface with a juicy and meaty inside.
Step 9: Eat as is, or squeeze lime or lemon then eat.
I would suggest squeezing lime or lemon on the fish after you blacken it so it adds a little moisture to the seasoned side. It mades it way better. You can serve these fillets in a sandwich or with sides like rice, mashed potatoes, and vegetables...Or whatever you prefer. Here, I squeezed the lime on it.
