Remember ragondin? I didn’t think so.
Several years ago, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in an effort to find a market for an exotic wildlife species threatening our coastal marsh, introduced a wild game food source that was readily available and virtually free for the taking. Add to that the fact that ragondin is delicious and nutritious and Louisiana residents should’ve jumped all over it and added it to their list of favorite wild game to eat.
It didn’t work; Louisiana folks, well-known for being willing to eat just about anything, turned their noses up at eating ragondin, which is actually a nice name for nutria, or nutria-rats. I have eaten nutria and to tell the truth, it’s good.
I admit, however, it wasn’t easy getting the image of those ugly creatures with big yellow buck teeth out of my mind. Thus, nutria continue to munch away at our coastline largely because Louisiana residents weren’t willing to munch on ragondin.
Today there is another creature threatening to do harm to Louisiana’s fisheries and the LDWF is once again attempting to get residents to give this new delicacy, “silver fin,” a try.
Silver fin, like ragondin, is the bow on the big. It’s a nice way of saying “carp” — not just any carp but two species of Asian carp, exotic species that are competing with our native fish.
These two, the bighead carp and the silver carp, are already in plentiful supply in the Mississippi River and all tributaries and distributaries of the river. Both species are filter feeders, competing with such species as paddlefish and shad and the young of all species of recreational and commercial fish.
The more popular of the two, the silver carp, is the fish you’ve seen on outdoor fishing shows jumping out of the water at the approach of an outboard engine and slamming into boats and boaters, sometimes inflicting injuries and damage to boat windshields and electronic equipment. They can weigh up to 60 pounds and a flying carp smashing into a boater going 50 mph can deliver a blow like a Mike Tyson haymaker.
On a writers’ trip to south Louisiana several years ago, I had a 30-pounder smash into the windshield of the boat I was riding in, just inches from my face. After recovering from the shock of nearly having to replace my dentures, I thanked the Lord for strong plexiglass.
In an effort to slow the spread of these fish – they can’t be eradicated – the LDWF called on renowned Chef Philippe Parola to find ways these fish can be prepared so our residents will fill their freezers and frying pans with “silver fin.” Hopefully this experiment will work better than trying to get nutria into our crock pots.
I haven’t had the opportunity to taste silver fin but from the video clip I saw, the flesh is white and tender and can be prepared into tasty looking dishes. The only problem is that both the bighead and silver carp have “floating” bones that are not easily separated from the flesh.
This calls to mind a fish I used to catch and try to eat, the chain pickerel or better known to north Louisiana anglers as the jackfish. Jacks are delicious but the flesh is filled with small bones which meant we usually released them rather than have to wrestle with all the bones.
I recall watching Ruston’s super-chef, the late Mrs. Ethel Stone, taking jackfish filets, bones intact, and using her pressure cooker to virtually dissolve the bones and making some croquettes or fish cakes, much like those made with salmon or crab meat. They were delicious.
Chef Parola uses two methods of dealing with silver fin bones. One method, steaming the filets, leaves the bones in the flesh but makes them easier to remove. The other method, deboning, is more complicated but can be done.
So Louisiana, are you ready to do your part in creating a new market for a troublesome fish? If so, give silver fin, the ragondin of the river, a try.
You go first; I’ll wait.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com
