Dipturus Skate

Dipturus Skate
Skate

[genus Dipturus var.species]
Fishbase has a number of skates that look "almost exactly like" this one and they're all so similar but just a touch different that I'm going to chicken out and just call this one a "Dipturus Skate". This species is white on the underside but some are dark on both sides. The photo specimen, obtained from an Asian market serving a primarily Vietnamese community, was quite small at 14-1/2 inches across, 18 inches total length and 1.6 pounds. Some Dipturus species can get as large as 100 inches long and 200 pounds but 48 inches and 24 pounds is more typical.

Skate is normally sold just as wing quarters but the small one in the photo was sold whole. Basic preparation of a skate is to cut the wings off at the body, then cut from the center of the thick side through the tip of the wing. This gives a nice sharp corner to start peeling the skin from.

The skin needs to be peeled off because it's basically shark skin and shark skin is gritty. Shark scales are built more like teeth than like regular fish scales and don't scrape off.

For a small skate like this it would be futile to try to fillet the wings, but they can be pan fried, grilled, broiled or cut into squares or diamonds for use in soups. More on dealing with skate wings is at my page Buying & Preparing Skate Wings.