We’re had a listener inquiry regarding Butterfish. The name alone suggests deliciousness. What other names is it known by? What is the best way to cook it. Chef Andrew, a noted seafood authority, unhooks all the answers. Also some handy 4th of July cooking tips from Chef Andrew.
SoCal Restaurant Show
Co-Host Chef Andrew Gruel of Calico Fish House with “Ask the Chef”
Hi, I'm Chef Rudy Soremin, Mrs. Cruz's head of culinary arts, and the menu maker for a catch by Rudy that's me, come sell with us when I want the asking king crab for food news. I listen to some cold restaurant show on A.M. A.T.T. K.L.A. Radio. And, welcome back. Sadly, there's the concluding segment of the SoCal restaurant show, but the better news is, is we're going to be right back here with you in two weeks. Next Saturday the halos have an early game with the cubbies in Chicago and we gladly step aside but we will be back July 13th from 10 a.m. until 12 noon right here on AM 830 KLA the home of Angels Baseball 2024. Aiken also catches on the AM 830 Angels app. I'm Andy Harris the executive producer and co-host of the show and I have the pleasure of welcoming back my wandering co-host Chef Andrew Grull do his show and you know him from the Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach. Chef Andrew good morning and welcome back. Good morning it's great to be back thank you. Thank you and we're enthusiastically presented as we have been for the last 12 years by Melissa's World Variety produce and West Coast Prime Meats. Chef Andrew it is the summer season at the beach you are like two blocks away from the beach has the onslaught started and it's gonna be another beautiful weekend. It has it started really between Mother's Day and Father's Day which this year was a little bit earlier we didn't really get hit with those summer numbers last year until like the second or third week of June but it started early and I'm not gonna complain. Chef Andrew I didn't think you would. Now Chef Andrew in addition to everything else your fine dining background plus you know you are a seafood expert and happen to be on the West Coast which is a good thing for us. We had a listener inquiry that she has seen Butterfish on a restaurant menu and wonders what Butterfish is and what other names that it might go by and then of course the flavor profile because she's curious. Excellent well you know I kind of break down new fish for people in three different categories sustainability case and then you know the the culinary function right how you need is to cook how easy it is to get so from a sustainability perspective let's start Butterfish is the Atlantic Butterfish so it is caught in the mid-Atlantic it is an incredibly sustainable species so that's a good thing the the stocks are at their maximum sustainable yield they're not at risk of being over fish the fishing method doesn't harm the surrounding ecosystem and not always said right when you're looking for fish and you want to have kind of a hands down the hands down knowledge that it is a sustainable species by US wild and this is a best wild fish but the question is why don't we see Butterfish on more menus if it's so sustainable and abundant well Butterfish is a small fish that is pretty well I wouldn't say it's boning right but it's got small fillets so typically the Butterfish is even whole you can kind of butterfly it and fillet it open brilliant seared cook it but if we take away just the diminutive effect you know cooking the fish it is absolutely delicious it says its name it tastes like butter that's why it's called Butterfish right a lot better than patagonia toothfish well it was no wonder there chef Andrew why there wasn't some marketing that was involved in that but you know as you say you know Butterfish can note something that is rich and outrageously delicious I agree there's some good marketing there there is and what so there's kind of three or four fish in this category of rich buttery meltingly tender fish right the most well-known we just mentioned the Chilean sea bath that's kind of at the upper echelon of let me melt in your mouth but then you also have the sable fish of the black cod which you'll see a lot in Japanese cooking like a miso glazed black cod that's also very rich the fish would have had such a deep depth of the ocean that they almost have to develop this fatty profile to protect themselves from the cold water that's another fish that's really rich that we've seen a lot more of is that that black cotter that sable fish Escalar is another one that gained some popularity over the past couple decades however as you and I have thought that I'm pretty sure is the problem with Escalar which is also sold many times as white tuna in sushi preparations there are some negative effects some people get up from a gasket perspective because of the oils in the fish and then that leaves us with the butterfish which has a similar profile of that rich meltingly tender fillet so you know kind of my conclusion on all of this if you can get your hands on some Atlantic butter fish which they'll sell on the left coast as well as you'll find it in a lot of the kind of local Korean or Japanese grocery stores here in so-called because they sell the whole fish they like to cook them they'll kind of just play them open and throw them on the grill or roast them or pan fry them so you'll be able to get it on the left coast as well uh definitely put your hands on it get to a shot give it a try it's not bony either so you're not going to be pulling out a lot of bones like you're eating a sardina you know and like mackerel it's it's a pretty clean fish so the the bones that are actually in it uh chef Andrew they're small bones they're bones that can easily fillet off the spine so you're not going to find a ton of pin bones you can kind of just pull off that the the rib bones very easily and um in terms of the the cooking method um you know you mentioned really the simpler the the better so pan frying or grilling uh is probably the easier way to go yeah and if i was grilling i would probably um put a barrier there right i've talked in the past about when you're cooking fish on the grill and if it's a flaky or a milder fish it doesn't have that firm protein like a moth knee or non-tuna bluefin tuna but you can lay down some citrus slices on the grill and grill it directly on the citrus slices a little bit of oil so that it doesn't stick but you still get the smokiness of the grill because the butterfish it's a smaller fish it's going to have a lot more of a delicate nature to the flavor i like it um chef andrew and literally our remaining minute one little tip for fourth of july cooking if you will well uh you know heat right when we grill i think that in america we have tendency to use high heat and high heat only so always that uh you know create two sections on your grill one low heat one high heat and move them move your meat or whatever you're grilling back and forth between the high heat and the low heat and if anything start on the low heat and finish on the really high heat which is kind of a backwards approach but it'll give you a much better sear and a moisture piece of meat chef andrew great tip have a very busy fourth and uh we will pick up the conversation in two weeks because we take a little sabbatical next week for the angels playing chicago that the cubs an early game food fans that's our show the tip of the toke to my co-host chef andrew gruel my thanks to tony here at angel stadium and technical excellence kudos also to adam bell on social media behind the scenes but definitely always appreciate it again keep in mind next saturday uh we're taking a little holiday is the angels play the cubs in chicago an early game but we're going to be right back here with you on the thirteenth with a fresh show and a full show is always we're probably presented to you by melissa's world variety produce and west coast prime meets doctor in the dugout with alan buyer md takes the field next and is we like to say good eating dine well be safe and we will be back with you on saturday morning july thirteenth