# Sheepshead cooking suggestions



## rockyraider (Feb 1, 2006)

How do you guys cook Sheepshead? Deep fried, pan fried, blackened, baked, bbq, etc... Thanks, also have some trout fillets to throw in.


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## Leemo (Nov 16, 2006)

rockyraider said:


> How do you guys cook Sheepshead? Deep fried, pan fried, blackened, baked, bbq, etc... Thanks, also have some trout fillets to throw in.


All of the above, the problem with goatheads, well they get no respect, little yield on the meat, poke ya' with the fins, and for some just hard to clean, I like em', the meats good.........


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## yakfishin (Dec 8, 2005)

They make excellent fish cakes.


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## tail-chaser (May 5, 2007)

I cooked some on the half shell like I do redfish I was very impressed, nice flakey white meat. They are harder to clean than most fish but the meat is very good. A little butter and seasoning and you are good to go.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

They are excellent cooked any way. Their meat can also be substituted for crab in some recipes.


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## Zork (Jan 11, 2006)

I cook 'em on a halfshell in the pit and i have a pan with holes all in it that i would throw the trout in and season 'em up with your favorite seasonings and baste with garlic butter while the sheephead is cooking. Excellent dinner...


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## activescrape (Jan 8, 2006)

I was taught in Florida to fillet them, salt and pepper them, coat with melted butter and coat with crumbled ritz crackers. Then bake them in the oven. They are pretty good that way.


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

My way is as follows:

Gut, gill and scale fish. I leave the head on. Cut off fins to make it safer to handle. Make cuts along flanks of fish into meat. Coat inside and out with lemon garlic oil with some Tony's. (I use a good light olive oil with lemon, garlic and Tony's spices mixed in blender). Make a fresh Pico de Gallo and get some tortillas. Heat up your oven to 400 F and bake fish for till meat is flaky (depends on thinkness) 15 to 25 minutes. Flake away skin and flake off meat away from coarse bones for fish tacos. Once you finish one side lift off bones to expose boneless filet on bottom. Most folks I have fed this to now think think sheepes are some of the best eating fish.


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## SpeckReds (Sep 10, 2005)

They are good deep fried and also Blackened.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

Prepare them like you would a big Bluegill or bream. Head and gut them, then scale them. After that, dredge in flour and fry on both sides for about 4-5 minutes per side. They're delicious, sweet white meat like crappie, but firmer like Ling.


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## tec (Jul 20, 2007)

I've heard they are good boiled in a bag with crawfish.


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## chicapesca (Jun 7, 2004)

FlakMan said:


> My way is as follows:
> 
> Gut, gill and scale fish. I leave the head on. Cut off fins to make it safer to handle. Make cuts along flanks of fish into meat. Coat inside and out with lemon garlic oil with some Tony's. (I use a good light olive oil with lemon, garlic and Tony's spices mixed in blender). Make a fresh Pico de Gallo and get some tortillas. Heat up your oven to 400 F and bake fish for till meat is flaky (depends on thinkness) 15 to 25 minutes. Flake away skin and flake off meat away from coarse bones for fish tacos. Once you finish one side lift off bones to expose boneless filet on bottom. Most folks I have fed this to now think think sheepes are some of the best eating fish.


I agree, then you can eat the meat around the head, which is really good. We go to a Japanese rest. here in San Antonio called Nikki's and they cook a whole sheepshead there that is so good. You should see the look on people's faces when I order the whole cooked sheepshead.


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## MEGABITE (May 21, 2004)

Gut, dehead, scale and bake whole with lemon, butter and seasonings


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## expressfish (Jun 8, 2004)

dehead, scale, remove all deadly fins that stick you to death.........cut slits on stripes and deep fry whole. takes some time on the ol bass pro deep fryer but they come out delicious.


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## rockyraider (Feb 1, 2006)

Sorry, I forgot to mention that they have already been fillet. Thanks for the suggestions though, I'm sure they will come out good.


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## Sea Aggie (Jul 18, 2005)

Note - it is easier to cut around the ribs than to break thru them, unless you use an electric knife.


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## boashna (May 28, 2004)

I gut the fish and bake them, and then pick the meat . the shell comes off very easy and then I put the spices. the catch is not to let the fish oil to evaporate or your house will be stinky for days. put some water in the pan and that will stop the oil from evaporating . the oil will float on the water and you have a excelent meat that can be served with rice .


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## jrw (May 22, 2004)

*Cooked Sheepshead*

*Oh Randy, you're making me hungry .*

*I loved Sheepshead in my Gumbo .*

*I loved Sheepshead with anything.*

*Nothing compares or we could start up something . nevermind.*


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## BS (May 24, 2004)

don't like em, don't like anybody that does like em, ever since I got one of their big ole fins stuck in my big toe!

Byron


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## birdnester (May 21, 2004)

Seein how's the sheepie is the mascot around here.....thought we'd see a lot more recipe's

Here's an easy one: just gut it....fill up cavity with onions peppers celery lemon butter and your favorite spices....wrap in aluminum foil....grill.....meat falls off the bones

Here's another......put whole fish in microwave for 5 minutes......run!


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## baldhunter (Oct 8, 2004)

One of my favorite fish.I like them filet and fried.Never had a problem cleaning them either.Whats so hard about it?


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## gater (May 25, 2004)

*Boiled Sheeps*

Filet them, cut'em up in big chunks and boil with a bag of crab boil. It has the flavor and texture just like crab meat. I've heard some Cajuns call dis "fish on the half fin" Gater


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## Walkin' Jack (May 20, 2004)

I can't beleve no one seems to know how to clean a sheepshead. I learned it from and old man on the Galveston Pier one bluster march day about 35 years ago, when I caught 3 of them. They were HUGE. I put them on a rope stringer and took 'em up to the tackle shop and weighed them on the outside scales. Just a hair over 21 pounds.....for just 3 fish!

I took 'em back to where I was fishing, not looking forward to having to cut through those halfdollar size scales and thick rib bones. I asked an old man next to me if he wanted them. He was kind enough not to prey on my ignorance. 

"Son, How you gonna clean dem fish?" I told him and before I got half way through he started laughing. "You bring dem t'ree lovlies over here and let me edumacate you." I picked up the rope and followed him to the nearest cleaning table.

He showed me something that really blew my mind. On either side of the dorsal fin there is a natural opening. You can actually pull it flesh away from the fin. You NEED a really good, flexible bladed and SHARP fillet knife. Making small light strokes slide the point of the knive in the opening between the dorsal fin and the flesh. Holding the knife blade slightly angled in to the backbone, begin making short strokes and pushing the blade downward. Before too many strokes like that you will have a nice cut going along and just next to the rib bones. Keep on slicing in this fashion and when you get to the belly area just push the point of the knife through and lay the blade flat against the spine and run it all the way down the body to the tail as you would for normal filleting. Cut the skin FROM THE INSIDE near the gills and you are done. You don't have to cut through any bone or scales at all. 

You can half-shell 'em of seperate the meat from the skin and fry or bake them as you will. The flesh of the sheepshead falls second only to flounder for taste and quality of inshore fish. The meat it white and sweet and flaky.

I would strongly suggest, though that you wait until the dang thing is dead before you try to do this. I got a scar that taught me that lesson well. Good luck.


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## Shallow_Minded (Sep 21, 2004)

gater said:


> Filet them, cut'em up in big chunks and boil with a bag of crab boil. It has the flavor and texture just like crab meat. I've heard some Cajuns call dis "fish on the half fin" Gater


My dad showed me this when I was a young one with one exception. Take the fillets and wrap them in cheese cloth, then throw them into crab boil.

I swear you can't tell the difference between the crab and the sheepshead. It's wonderful!

S.M.


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