ling.... poor mans lobster???

Baydoe · Feb 25, 2016

I have heard this over and over, well on Monday night we caught the first ling I have ever had. So immediately i remember hearing how good they are to eat and decide to keep it and give it a try..My opinion.. whoever thinks it tastes like lobster has to be a few beers in and there is no real lobster in sight.. It wasn't horrible, but by no means a delicacy. The other 2 people who ate it with me agreed.

MSA · Feb 25, 2016

Cleaning them properly makes a huge difference, if you leave any of that tan colored meat on the fillets it ruins the flavor...but I agree, they don't taste like lobster.

KDM · Feb 25, 2016

Nope, NOT lobster, but when cleaned as MSA describes, boiled in water with equal amounts of sugar and salt, and served with melted butter. Them slimy snake lookin' ugly fish serve up pretty good with a green vegetable, wild rice, and garlic toast.

Baydoe · Feb 25, 2016

KDM said:
Nope, NOT lobster, but when cleaned as MSA describes, boiled in water with equal amounts of sugar and salt, and served with melted butter. Them slimy snake lookin' ugly fish serve up pretty good with a green vegetable, wild rice, and garlic toast.

I was thinking about that.. a buddy of mine cooked it up, when looking for a recipe he found the boil it in sprite one. so thats how we did it, and dipped it in garlic butter... i was thinking about water with salt and sugar to see if it would turn out better... i know it would be less sticky!

KDM · Feb 25, 2016

I know when we did it, we didn't keep ANY belly meat and only used the back and tail sections of the fillet. We cut the fillet in two pieces down the lateral line which made getting the majority of that glandular tissue off the meat a bit easier. Then it was simply a matter of chunking it into 1 inch squares and dropping them into the pot. Very Not Bad on the table!!!

OH....UM.....forget what I just said. They are icky and you should release them all so I can save you the torture of trying to eat them by eating them for you. (Grin)

martinslanding · Feb 25, 2016

honestly any fish dipped in melted butter is fairly edible...the key as in lobster is to not over cook it...

Callem'In · Feb 25, 2016

I question keeping them when I do catch them, but I always release them. What size are best for table fare? or does it not really matter?

Baydoe · Feb 25, 2016

Callem'In said:
I question keeping them when I do catch them, but I always release them. What size are best for table fare? or does it not really matter?

The one we had was 25" .. I think mine might be going back from now on... depends on if i want to eat fish that day and if the walleye are biting!

snow · Feb 25, 2016

Agree with KDM,we fillet out the back straps and tail section only,boiled or pan fried they eat well,havin a few cold ones helps as well."Lobster?" hardly but very tasty,I think halibut comes close to lobster grilled.

wildeyes · Feb 25, 2016

no not lobster, boiled and ate ONE no, even drank over a 6 pack still not lobster. didn't look like one either.

CWS · Feb 25, 2016

well its called poor mans lobster for a reason....i had my first last year with one i caught out of LOW. I didnt clean it, the guide did. But boiled in salt dipped in butter was amazing!

remm · Feb 25, 2016

Yep, as stated above, has to be cleaned right. I've never eating one of them ugly bastards, but have heard from quite a few people that if you cut the right parts of the meat out, and boil it up, it's not too bad. I'd bet far cry from lobster though. As far as "poor man's lobster", you could probably fly in live lobster from the coast for cheaper than it cost you to go catch that goddam snake fish.

deleted · Feb 25, 2016

snow said:
Agree with KDM,we fillet out the back straps and tail section only,boiled or pan fried they eat well,havin a few cold ones helps as well."Lobster?" hardly but very tasty,I think halibut comes close to lobster grilled.

Agree 100%.......fried or boiled that "backstrap" is very good!

MuskyManiac · Feb 25, 2016

They are a member of the cod family, and taste like cod as well....which I don't think is a bad thing.

Fly Carpin · Feb 25, 2016

MuskyManiac said:
They are a member of the cod family, and taste like cod as well....which I don't think is a bad thing.

Agreed. Never saw the point in boiling. Backstrap and tail meat only, cut into chunks, beer batter like you would cod, and fry. Firm and tasty

dwos03 · Feb 25, 2016

A buddy and I caught one last year. We just used the backstraps and breaded and deep fried it like catfish. I thought it was alright but nothing too special. I would like to try boiling and trying it that way. Cleaning it was definitely the worst part. It was like trying to hold onto a jellyfish! Slimy and soft body, couldn't hardly get a decent grip on the damn thing!

Captain Ahab · Feb 25, 2016

The thick/white backstrap is by far the best part. The tail section is ok. Like mentioned above, remove any non-white meat. You can just peel the skin off the filet then trim away the discolored meat. I also recommend cutting down from the back over the ribs so you don't have to cut through their rib cage and open up the nasty gut pocket.

Baydoe · Feb 25, 2016

wildeyes said:
no not lobster, boiled and ate ONE no, even drank over a 6 pack still not lobster. didn't look like one either.

they are ugly bastards!

- - - Updated - - -

remm said:
you could probably fly in live lobster from the coast for cheaper than it cost you to go catch that goddam snake fish.

isn't that the truth!

257Bob · Feb 25, 2016

Once upon a time, a guy showed us how to unhook a gut hooked 'pout. With the 'pout laying on the ice, the instructor firmly placed his left foot on the fish's tail he then held the line in his right hand and pulled while stomping on the fish's belly with his right foot. The results were spectacularly unsuccessful in removing the hook. Did you know that a 2 lb. 'pout has 3 lbs of liver?

Kurtr · Feb 25, 2016

Ling cost alot to catch. A hook and a minnow is all it takes here.

ling.... poor mans lobster???

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