Delicious Australia – (03)March 2019

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‘baby snapper curry’ for recipe.

ILLUSTRATION

ALICE CLEARY

BUYINGBuy them fresh and

preferably whole, as tropical

snappers generally love being

cooked on the bone; equally though

either fillet the fish yourself, or ask

your fishmonger to fillet it from a

healthy fish with clear eyes and

glistening skin.

STORINGWrap in muslin or freezer

filmandplaceinaplasticcontainer

withalayeroficeonthebottomand

thefishrestingonadriptray.Seallid

andplaceatthebottomofthefridge.

COOKINGGrilled, pan-fried,

baked, steamed, salt-crusted whole.

CATCHING METHOD

Trap, balloon trawl.

SUBSTITUTIONSBlue-eye

trevalla,big-eyeoceanperch, pink

snapper, red rock cod.

ACCOMPANIMENTSFennel,

onion, lemon, olives, pumpkin,

carrot, soft herbs.

Tropicalsnapper pairs

well with sweeter

accompaniments,says

John Susman.

TROPICAL SNAPPER

IT MIGHT COMEas a
surprise, but I don’t really
havethelegstobea
burlesque dancer. But if
Iweretomakeasudden
career change, I’d most
certainlywantanexoticname;tropical
even. Honeysuckle Huck perhaps.
Tropic alsnappers, of which there are
many,boastanarrayofnamesthatcould
passasthemostbountifulofburlesque
boppers.Flame,Rose,Ruby,Tangs,
Saddletail, Stripy, Moses, Longnose – all
fall under the tropical snapper moniker.
“Mostofusrecognisethepink-redskin
andwhitefleshofthesouthern-caught
pagrus auratusas snapper,” says John
Susman of seafood consultancy Fishtales.
“Butthearrayoftropicalsnappers,some
60species,comeinaveritabletreasure
troveofshapes,sizes,coloursandforms.”
Thespeciesgenerallyfallsintotwomain
categories:jobfish(goldband,king,ruby)
–elongatedwithaforktailandbright-red/
ochreflesh;andsaddletail(crimson,
one-spot)–short,stocky,with a larger
belly.Abitlikeyourstruly.
“Themajority of fishing is undertaken
usingtrapandballoontrawlmethods,”
saysSusman.Bothmethodsaregearedto
preserving the quality of the caught fish.
According to Susman, most residents in
the north of Australia are very at home
cooking tropical snapper, and they’ve only

An exotic northerner temptsAnthony Huckstep,andtheresult

is a fabulous eating experience to leave the tastebuds dancing.

recently become more widely available

in the south thanks to supreme handling.

“Theymakegreatmealsbecause,

typically, tropical snappers have moist

flesh with a mild-to-medium flavour,

modest fat content and broad scalloping

flesh.They’reasversatileasthecommon

pink snapper, but tropical snappers offer

different eating experiences. For a start,

they’realottougherandearthier,andthat

savourinesscanworkbeautifullywith

sweeter ingredients like pumpkin, roasted

carrotandevencaramelisedonion.”

Thesmallerthefish,thesweeteritwill

be,makingitidealraw,butthebigger

fish really love to be cooked.

“I love them baked, steamed or

salt-crusted as a whole fish with subtle

ingredientslikelemon,fennel,softherbs

andevenolives,”Susmansays.“Theframe

ofthefishisawonderfulheatconductor.It

keepsthefleshmoistanditmeans you get

to enjoy the gelatinous meat.”

Soif, like me, it’s best to let your

tastebuds do the dancing, explore some

of Australia’s exotic tropical snappers in all

their glory.

delicious.com.au/food-files

For more tips on buying and

storing fresh seafood.

@huckstergram @anthuckstep

CATCHOFTHED

38 delicious.com.au