Taste What You’re Missing

Humanity’s culinary relationship with fish species is often bipolar. George Washington famously ran a commercial fishery for American shad in the Potomac River to help fund his Mount Vernon estate. Gizzard shad, many catfish anglers’ preferred bait, has a long history of being eaten as a vinegar and salt brined type of sushi referred to as kohada or shinko. Today, if you were to show up to dinner with a plate of American or gizzard shad, you’d be hard pressed to find a group of Americans who’d be willing to give it a try. One generation’s preferred species often becomes the next generation’s most hated dinner item. 

As is such, Missouri is home to a variety of fish that will surprise you with their excellent culinary value, despite their bad reputation amongst anglers. Targeting nongame fish will also sharpen your fishing skills and make you a more knowledgeable angler.

Fish Handling

Before you go out and catch your fish, it’s important to know the basics of proper fish handling so that you come home with the best quality meat that you can get your hands on. This is especially true for many of the species classified as nongame fish, which tend to be fatty and, by some accounts, more prone to spoilage. 

The most important consideration is keeping your fish cold. During those blazing summer days, your catch can die quickly, and the quality of meat will deteriorate if left exposed to high temperatures for very long. It’s best to dispatch your fish immediately after catching them, then make a cut into the throat right behind the gills to bleed them. Bleeding your fish will significantly improve the longevity and flavor of your fish. Also bring a cooler with ice or a cooler bag with ice to keep your fish cold. 

Removing red meat can also help you avoid any strong flavors. With larger carp and catfish, this, in my experience, makes a difference in the flavor. With younger fish and species such as white bass or freshwater drum, I don’t typically notice a difference in fish that have the red meat removed versus those that do not. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics of fish handling, let’s dive into some species specific information on preparing nongame fish.   

Buffalo Fish

Buffalo fish are amongst my favorite nongame fish to catch and eat. They are fascinating, beautiful fish that also make fantastic table fare. There are still communities in Missouri who recognize the value of buffalo fish, and they have historically been one of the most targeted species for commercial fishing on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It’s also very important to note that buffalo fish are native fish and are not carp. People who don’t know how to tell the difference between the common carp and our native buffalo fish waste an unfortunate amount of buffalo fish every year. 

The main giveaways will be color and the lack of barbels. Buffalo fish do not have barbels around their mouth like common carp. Buffalo fish also tend to be a striking blue-gray but will turn to a splotchy pink when they are kept out of the water. Since buffalo fish are a slow growing, slow producing fish, make sure you know the difference and can harvest these native species responsibly. 

They do have a well-deserved reputation for being bony, as the main section of the fillets have a series of large Y-bones that either need to be cooked out or removed in a grinder. If you aren’t shy about bones, buffalo fish are excellent when smoked, and the meat can be deboned to eat plain or put into a smoked fish dip. Don’t neglect the collars of the fish for smoking as well. This ground meat can be used to make fish cakes, fish balls, and boudin. One of my favorites is to brine the fillets before grinding them and make a smoked boudin that is spiced as German sausage. 

The meat along with ribs is often prepared as fried buffalo ribs. Larger buffalo fish will yield a large boneless fillet from the top of the ribs that is excellent seared, fried, or smoked. When filleting the fish, simply fold back the main section of the fillet and use the tough rib bones as a guide to make sure you get the highest yield possible.

Carp

Carp have become a catch-all for a variety of species, from common carp to bighead carp, but we’ll focus on two — grass carp and common carp. Common carp were introduced as a food source in the states when stocks of native fish in our big rivers began to decline due to overharvest. They never caught on with Americans despite still ranking amongst the most farmed and eaten species of fish worldwide. 

Grass carp are more aggressive when feeding, grow to incredible sizes, and offer a mild, fatty meat that is hard to beat in a smoker. When handled correctly, common carp can yield surprisingly delicious table fare. 

The preparation of both these species of carp is almost identical to buffalo fish. The main sections of the fillets have an abundance of Y-bones, so they lend themselves to smoking or being ground. Both common and grass carp can yield generous fillets from the ribs. They can be prepared in the same way as buffalo ribs.

Masgouf, a popular Iraqi dish, is a carp specialty. It consists of a carp that has been split, the meat rubbed with curry and salt, and roasted over an open fire. A tamarind and tomato-based sauce is then brushed over the meat, and it is served with rice. It’s a knockout preparation that can be used on any variety of fish and will impress guests with its rustic, yet flavorful, profile. 

Carp have become invasive, and harvesting will help slow their spread.  More information on invasive carp control can be found at short.mdc.mo.gov/4Tr.

Softshell Turtle

Yes, a reptile has snuck its way onto this list. Most catfish anglers have had their bait stolen by soft-shell turtles, but do not throw these turtles back if you’re fishing during their season. Turtle soup is a dish largely lost to the modern American palate and one that deserves broader recognition for its value. Softshell turtles are also much easier to clean than their hard-shelled relatives.

Softshell turtle meat can be braised, deboned, and used as a clam substitute for cream-based chowders as well as used in any classic turtle soup recipe. It is also excellent deboned and fried. 

To prepare a softshell turtle, you’ll need to cut the front and hind legs from the carapace. Their skin is tough and leathery, so you’ll need a sharp knife. You can use the plastron or bottom part of their shell as a guide for where to cut and then use kitchen shears or tin snips to sever the spine. Once the back legs are removed, skin them and either debone the meat to fry or you can keep them whole to slow cook. Make sure to skin and save the neck for your broth if making a fish or clam chowder. 

Freshwater Drum

Freshwater drum is a species that suffers an undeserved reputation for a number of things. Likely due to their suckerlike mouth, some think they are “bony,” like carp and buffalo fish. They do not, however, have Y-bones. They do have a few pin bones between the upper and lower parts of the fillets, much like walleye or white bass, which can easily be filleted out. Drum do tend to have a smaller weight to fillet ratio than other fish of similar size thanks to their big heads. 

I’ve found that small- to medium-size drum are almost indistinguishable from other whitefish, such as catfish or white bass. As with all the fish on this list, bleeding drum will yield a milder fillet that lends itself better to frying. They can also be seared with Cajun spices and added to your favorite po’ boy recipe. Blackened drum with homemade coleslaw on a toasted bun will change your mind about these fish.

Freshwater drum can grow to prodigious sizes, the largest being a 54-pound, 8-ounce specimen caught in Tennessee. It is the larger fish of these species that likely caused its culinary notoriety. Larger drum tend to have tougher meat, which some have described as “chickeny.” While these larger fish can also be ground and turned into fish cakes or smoked, I prefer to release larger drum to fight another day and produce more of the smaller drum that I prefer to eat.

Gar

Missouri is home to longnose, shortnose, spotted, and alligator gar. As a protected species in Missouri, the alligator gar cannot be harvested, but the other three species are abundant throughout the state. Gar is a long-standing part of Cajun culinary history, even if they aren’t top of the list for Missouri anglers. 

Cleaning a gar is no easy task as they have ganoid scales, which are too tough to cut through with a fillet knife. Tin snips or heavy kitchen shears are needed for this job. The easiest way to clean a gar is to make cuts down the spine so the rough scales can then be separated from the meat. Younger gar are suitable fried, but larger specimens can have tough connective tissue, much like the kind found in tuna. Flaking the meat or grinding it is the best way to remove it. 

As mentioned, gar balls, which are essentially a deep-fried fish cake, are a popular way to prepare these fish. Gar can also be brined and smoked, turned into fish sausage, blackened for fish tacos, and more. 

As a protected species in Missouri, the alligator gar cannot be harvested, but the other three species are abundant throughout the state.

Whether you are chasing buffalo fish, gar, or softshell turtles, adding nongame fish to your recipe book will open new angling opportunities and grow your appreciation for the species that inhabit our waters.

Gilbert Randolph is a writer and an avid outdoorsman. When he’s not creating stories in the digital space, he’s exploring nature and sharing it with people.

Additional recipes can be found online at short.mdc.mo.gov/4mN or in Cooking Wild in Missouri by Bernadette Dryden, available for $16 at most MDC nature centers and online at mdcnatureshop.com. MDC also hosts field to fork cooking events across the state. Visit the online events page at mdc.mo.gov/events for more information.