Delicious Australia – (05)May 2019

Searchdelicious.com.aufor‘pan-seared

leatherjacket with sauteed zucchini’.

ILLUSTRATION

ALICE CLEARY

BUYINGBuywholeif possible,or

onthecage(notfilleted), head and

gutremoved.

STORINGIf buyingwhole,

immediatelyremovegutandgills.

Wrapinmuslinorfreezerfilmand

placeina plasticcontainerwitha

layeroficeonthebottomandthefish

restingona driptray.Seallidand

placeatthebottomofthefridge.

Filletjustbeforecooking.

COOKINGBaked,pan-fried,

curried,smoked,barbecued.

CATCHINGMETHOD

Trawl,trap.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Mahimahi,swordfish.

ACCOMPANIMENTSLemon,

capers,potato,fennel, olives; loves

Thai curry flavours.

Fas owing

anda undant,

leatherjacket

areanideagreen

choice,says

John Susman.

LE ATH E RJACK ET

ALONGWITHRICKfrom
TheYoungOnes, Monkey
fromMonkeyMagicand
BillOddiefromThe
Goodies, oneArthur
Fonzarelli(TheFonz!)from
HappyDayswasa majorinfluenceonmy
earlychildhood.MiniHuckwouldstrut
around,proclaiming“ayyyy!” every time
hewalkedintoa room.
Inhisleatherjacket,whiteteeandLevis,
TheFonzwasthecoolest,andalthough
I’dtrytomimichisswagger,in reality,
I wasprobablymuchmorelikeRalph
Malph.Anyway,eversince,I’vewanted
a leatherjacket...and,despitea wardrobe
fullofblack,I’veneverachievedit.
Unless,ofcourse,it wasfordinner–
somethingall-roundfishfiendandowner
ofFishtalesJohnSusmanrecommends.
“Ireckonthegreatestopportunitywith
leatherjacketis withtheskin...tanned,it
wouldbeperfectasa bikini,orfora pair
ofcowboybootswithchiselled toes and
Cubanheels!”helaughs.
Indeed,if youbuythefishwhole,be
suretoremovetheskinbeforecooking–
it’searneditsnameforgoodreason.In
fact,thewholefishis prettydistinctive,
witha smallmouth,sharpfusedteeth
thatlookmuchlikea beak,smallgills
anda serratedspineontopofitshead
that can deliver a painful sting.

AnthonyHuckstepfinallyrealisesa childhooddream,evenif

it comes in the form of a fish that’sfarbetterenjoyed‘naked’.

But,saysSusman,don’tletitstough

exteriorstopyouexperiencingits

versatilityandenjoyableeatingqualities.

“Theleatherjacket,likeMexicancuisine,

hasbeenthe‘nextnewthing’in foodfor

years,”hesays,“butthis‘rabbitofthe

sea’is trulya recessionbuster– plentiful,

inexpensive,consistent,firm-grained and

witha greatshelflife.”

Theydietonalgae,crustaceans,

molluscs,fishandevenworms,andare

currentlyin near-plagueproportions on

theeastcoastofAustralia.

You’llcommonlyfindthemskinnedand

headless,butstillonthebone.“Easyto

fillet,thefleshis mildflavouredandhas

analmost‘chickenability’in regardsto

howit canbecooked,”saysSusman.

Superbin curries,theleatherjacket

alsoexcelswhenbaked,grilledandeven

poached.Susmanprefersthem“cooked

onthebone,wheretheyremainsoftand

juicy,andabsorbthe rich flavour of the

bonestructure”.

Whydon’tyoutryoneonforsize?

Whoknows,maybeyou’ll enjoy some

happydays,ayyyy!

delicious.com.au/food-files

Formoretipsonbuyingand

storing fresh seafood.

@huckstergram @anthuckstep

CATCHOFTHED

42 delicious.com.au