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blackfin tuna

25K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  Edward FROM JM TW 
#1 ·
Are blackfin tuna good eating? No one seems to be happy about catching them on the Gulf trips. Are they like skipjacks or bonita, or is it that they are just so much smaller than yellowfin?
 
#2 ·
They are fine eating. GRilled, smoked, raw. I don't mind them at all. Everyone would rather spend the expensive hours offshore on larger more challenging game. IMO Blackfin are fine tablefare and can keep an other wise unproductive trip , productive.

The fight hard....real hard. good fun if your muscles can take the abuse everytime you drop your jig.
 
#4 ·
They are fine eating. GRilled, smoked, raw. I don't mind them at all. Everyone would rather spend the expensive hours offshore on larger more challenging game. IMO Blackfin are fine tablefare and can keep an other wise unproductive trip , productive.

The fight hard....real hard. good fun if your muscles can take the abuse everytime you drop your jig.
You nailed it Chris! It's a good thing blackfin do not get a big as YFT or you would never be able to land one! Pound for pound the hardest fighter in the GOM!
 
#5 ·
I really like blackfin. (if they're taken care of like you'd take care of a YFT) But my wife is quick to point out the difference when I go to the freezer to take out dinner. She says that it's gamey compared to yft and doesn't really care for it...

So to solve any debates I now marinate and smoke the BFT. This is definitely worth the effort and something we can all agree on! :)
 
#6 ·
I really like blackfin. (if they're taken care of like you'd take care of a YFT) But my wife is quick to point out the difference when I go to the freezer to take out dinner. She says that it's gamey compared to yft and doesn't really care for it...

So to solve any debates I now marinate and smoke the BFT. This is definitely worth the effort and something we can all agree on! :)
Jason how are you prepping for the freezer?
 
#7 ·
I tried to research about coating in brine to protect the meat. But I never really found anything...

So I'm low-tech... just normal cleaning, cut thick filets, vacuum seal, and a quick freeze in a very cold chest freezer... You could argue that less surface area is better so keeping whole loin pieces would prob be better. But we keep it quick and easy with a 2yo and 4yo in the house. :)

I've had some come out a little brown and the surface might need to be trimmed to look pretty. But the yft usually thaws and looks perfect... I'd love to eat it all as fresh sashimi, but I really can't tell the difference after cooking.

On the BFT, I smoke as much as I can at one time then just vacuum seal the smoked loin pieces (~6" chunks) individually. They seem to last forever like this. (at least several months which is long enough in my house! ;))
 
#8 ·
I have not had that issue with mine. I will normally clean and trim the loins, cut out all bloodlines ect. Then wipe clean with paper towel then vacume bag and freeze. Couple of months in the freezer is as long as I will allow, always comes out fine, always very careful not to let the meat come in contact with water as that has an adverse effect on the meat. I can't argue with smokin it though, that goes faster than candy around our house!
 
#12 ·
I have a foodsaver - go for a basic model as I got a delux model for Christmas and prefer the basic because it is easier to run the way I want to. The deluxe model stops vac and seals by itself, but I prefer to control this myself.
I like to eat fish, but never had blackfin. YFT and albecore freeze well for me and I leve them in larger chunks and then trim them after defrost. I have not had good luck with BFT as I would agree it gets a very strong taste after freezing. I prefer it raw or cooked fresh.
I hear the blackfin are hitting the jigs good off Hateras now, so catch em up.
 
#14 ·
I always make a cut at the base of the tail and under the chin to let them bleed out. Makes one hell of a mess cleaning up/washing down the boat after every couple of fish. One time I neglected to do a thorough washing before the sun came out and baked the blood onto the boat. I took a day off from work to clean the deck with a scrub brush and bleach. If only I had taken 5 minutes with the washdown hose!
 
#16 ·
Are blackfin tuna good eating? No one seems to be happy about catching them on the Gulf trips. Are they like skipjacks or bonita, or is it that they are just so much smaller than yellowfin?

they are good eating, they are better eating when caught
during winter months, more oily flesh

I actually eat them as sashimi
 
#17 ·
I agree San. When we caught a ton on the the TFF Tuna Ocho trip, I brought some straight into work the next day as sashimi. People could not believe how good it tasted. I defrosted some about 1 1/2 month after catch, trimmed them good and also did sashimi and people still loved it.

I also asked this before but never got feedback from anyone. Does anyone take the time to trim the toro from blackfin? I know its small and thin and after trimming, not much is left but what I got was worth it. Best tasting part of blackfin IMO, just a pain to prepare.
 
#18 ·
I also asked this before but never got feedback from anyone. Does anyone take the time to trim the toro from blackfin? I know its small and thin and after trimming, not much is left but what I got was worth it. Best tasting part of blackfin IMO, just a pain to prepare.

I have done this on 10lb + blackfins caught in Dec.,
that's when I noticed the extra fat/oil not usually
present when caught in wamer months
 
#21 ·
You may think I'm crazy, but........
If any of you have ever had the pleasure of eating
well prepared Bonito, I find blackfin almost the same.
gill 'em, & stick 'em in the heart, put 'em in the slurry.
this past year's trip on the Scat Cat was the first time I'd EVER
seen the deckhands take the time to bleed/slurry blackfin,
and it really paid off in the quality back home on the cleaning table.
It really depends on each person' taste. I like fish to taste like fish, not chicken:D
 
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