Cozumel Culinary Scavenger Hunt

[DjDiverDan]

I should be able to fit in nicely then. I like the stuff.

I've been told that if I hated lutefisk, it's probably that I didn't have it prepared well. I understand that; most people that hate vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, or brussels sprouts have just never had them prepared correctly; too many mothers just boil all the flavor and texture out of vegetables and make them inedible, creating kids that hate vegetables. To me, lutefisk was a slimy, smelly, gelatinous mess. Maybe there is good lutefisk out there, but given my first experience, I'm not going to go looking for it.

 

[El Graduado]

My teenager desperately wants to try iguana.

Right now, iguana is a protected species in Cozumel, but it never was very high on the locals' choice of meats here. In the old days, people often used it as dog food. If I find somebody who is already cooking it, I guess it wouldn't be a crime to try their version of it and report on it in the blog. I suppose it wouldn't be anymore outside of the law than eating conch, another animal now on the "forbidden list" on Cozumel, but served everywhere anyway. Things sure have changed. I remember when you could order salpicon de jabali, estofado de venado, or "bistek" de tortuga at Las Palmeras.

 

[Mossman]

You used to be able to get manta ray on the menu in Baja. Not sure if it's still available there.

 

[ggunn]

I remember when you could order ..."bistek" de tortuga at Las Palmeras.

So do I and it was yummy. Seriously.

 

[El Graduado]

You used to be able to get manta ray on the menu in Baja.

Never had manta ray, but I have eaten gulf stingray in Texas. Always threw them back in the beginning, but one day my brother and I were fishing in a canal on Sargent Island and my wife was upstairs in the beach house watching. When she saw me throw one back she screamed "What on Earth are you doing!?" and came running down to the canal. She said she used to buy them at the fish monger's in Montreal and we didn't know what we were throwing away. The next ones we caught, she cut off and skinned the wings and marinated them in milk. Pan fried the next day, they were like big scallops. Very good.

---------- Post added August 3rd, 2014 at 07:06 PM ----------

So do I and it was yummy. Seriously.

Did you know we used to have a turtle cannery here in Cozumel? It was located in front of what is now the main entrance to the airbase. They shipped canned turtle to the US.

 

[Mossman]

Never had manta ray, but I have eaten gulf stingray in Texas. Always threw them back in the beginning, but one day my brother and I were fishing in a canal on Sargent Island and my wife was upstairs in the beach house watching. When she saw me throw one back she screamed "What on Earth are you doing!?" and came running down to the canal. She said she used to buy them at the fish monger's in Montreal and we didn't know what we were throwing away. The next ones we caught, she cut off and skinned the wings and marinated them in milk. Pan fried the next day, they were like big scallops. Very good.

Manta is supposed to be fishy, so I probably wouldn't care for it too much. Southern stingray is described as stringy. And spotted eagle rays have a dark red flesh so they may be kind of fishy too, but they are edible as well.

I've had skate and that was excellent very mild flavor.

Speaking of local favorites, I had heard before that morays were not edible eels. However, "Seashore Life of Southern California" (UC Berkeley Press, 1969) states: "Properly prepared, morays are quite edible."

 

[morecowbells]

There is also a fruit in Southeast Asia that is supposed to be very tasty, with the consistency of custard, but it has such a rotten stench that many places make it illegal to eat in public; not sure I could get it past my nose.

What you are referring to is Durian Fruit. So wretched it that it makes Linberger cheese smell like Honeysuckle.

Excited to read about his culinary adventure. Signed up as well

 

[El Graduado]

Southern stingray is described as stringy. "Properly prepared, morays are quite edible."

I don't understand the "stringy" description; I thought more like scallop, not too chewy. I had moray once before, but I grilled it on the beach and that most obviously was not the way to "properly prepare" it.

---------- Post added August 3rd, 2014 at 07:59 PM ----------

. Signed up as well

Thanks, and welcome aboard!!!

 

[Mossman]

I don't understand the "stringy" description; I thought more like scallop, not too chewy. I had moray once before, but I grilled it on the beach and that most obviously was not the way to "properly prepare" it.

The stringy quotes were from corpusfishing.com:

"That stringiness in the southern stingray I've eaten only reinforces its clam flavor."

"The wings do get what I guess some are calling "stringy"

It's probably dependent on preparation, age of the ray, cutting technique, who knows? These people were Texans so for all we know it was fishing line they were chewing on.

Apparently you need to brine the moray eel. Jamie Oliver has a recipe culled from southern Portugal:

Jamie Oliver | Member Recipes | Fried Moray Eel/Moreia Frita

I urge someone from Cozumel to grab an eel when no one else is looking, cook it up as described, and post your results here.

 

[DjDiverDan]

What you are referring to is Durian Fruit. So wretched it that it makes Linberger cheese smell like Honeysuckle.

Excited to read about his culinary adventure. Signed up as well

Thank for the info. And, if it smells like Limberger Cheese, then maybe it wouldn't bother me. I Still remember fondly my Father being home on weekends when I was very young (he traveled Monday through Friday as a traveling salesman when I was very young), and making himself a Limberger Cheese and Onion Sandwich on dark german pumpernickel. I was the only one of the four kids willing to try it, and he would share the sandwich with me. Limberger really stinks, but it is delicious (or at least I and a lot of other Wisconsin born German descendants think so). BTW, if you can't stand the thought of eating Limberger, it is still useful. If there is someone you really want to prank, bring some Limberger Cheese to their house or apartment (or dorm room or office) when they are away. Take out the lightbulbs from three or four lamps, and rub the limberger on the lightbulbs, then screw them back in and light them until the cheese stops smoking. Once the dried cheese is cool, you'll never notice it, but when your friend (enemy?) turns on the light, and the cheese warms up, the smell will start to permeate the whole room. He won't be able to figure out where the smell is coming from, and it will return every time he turns on the light with the Limberger treated bulbs.

---------- Post added August 4th, 2014 at 12:35 AM ----------

BTW, for those who claim never to have eaten Stingray, don't be too certain. In a lot of less than honest fishmongers, the Bay Scallops that you buy might not be Bay Scallops at all. It is common (or was, not certain if it still goes on) for Stingrays which are caught as by-catch to be killed and their wings are punched out with small circular dies - like cookie cutters. The skin is removed from the circular cutouts, and the flesh is sold as Bay Scallops. If you are really familiar with Bay Scallops, you'll notice the difference in flavor and texture, but most people will never guess that they are eating Stingray.