Sablefish

Sablefish

[Black Cod, Anoplopoma fimbria]
This ugly fish is currently the darling of the fancy restaurant chefs under the name "black cod". Sablefish are found off the North Pacific coast in deep sandy water, ranging from mid Baja California all the way around to mid China though it's scarce south of Los Angeles and Korea. The one in the photo is 23 inches and weighed a couple ounces under 3 pounds.

Sablefish farming is now being developed in Canada to the intense distress of the wild catch industry. The Sablefish fishery is highly regulated in both the U.S. and Canada to assure a sustainable harvest.

The scales are tiny, soft and thin, scraping off as a grey slush, but the first thing you'll notice about this fish is its limpness. Filleting it will sorely test your carefully honed technique because you're going to be at a loss to find bones to follow in most of the fish. Bones there are, but they're thin, short and soft. The skirt of the filet will be so thin you might as well just cut it off. If you fillet carefully a 3 pound fish will yield about 1-1/4 pound of bone-free skin-on fillets. It is fairly easy to skin for while the skin is thin and delicate it's a whole lot tougher than the soft mushy flesh. The head and bones make a very oily stock with practically no flavor - toss them.

The flesh is white, buttery soft, mild in flavor and it's oiliness makes it amenable to quick high temperature cooking like grilling and broiling. These are the characteristics that have excited the chefs and caused the price to rise.