# Monk Fish?



## tedtheewen (Mar 16, 2011)

I grew up in Illinois so most seafood was rather pricey.  On special occasions, my parents used to get monk fish and grill it.  We joked that it was mock lobster.  

I can't find monk fish anywhere these days.  Is it expensive now?


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## CraigC (Mar 16, 2011)

I'm sure you can find a fish monger that will pack and ship. Just do a search. I will order a sack of live crawfish from a supplier in LA and have it shipped over night via air freight, for p/u at the airport. We've ordered fresh mushrooms from Oregon Mushrooms and had them FedExed overnight.

Craig


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## tedtheewen (Mar 16, 2011)

Wow, that seems pricey!  
I did a search for fishmongers who ship overnight and I could get a pound of fresh monk fish for about $18.00!


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## CraigC (Mar 16, 2011)

tedtheewen said:


> Wow, that seems pricey!
> I did a search for fishmongers who ship overnight and I could get a pound of fresh monk fish for about $18.00!


 
Yup, you are going to pay for seafood that is not local to your area. It is what it is. I only do crawfish about once a season. I've gotten them for $1.99 lb and with freight they end up about $2.99 lb. Way better than the $3.99 or $4.99 the fish market wants and they are buying at the same "local" price.

Craig


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## Skittle68 (Mar 16, 2011)

tedtheewen said:
			
		

> Wow, that seems pricey!
> I did a search for fishmongers who ship overnight and I could get a pound of fresh monk fish for about $18.00!



Monk fish is also expensive because they have to troll along the bottom of the sea floor to get it. They aren't as plentiful as they used to be due to overfishing, and destroying their habitat with all the trolling. It destroys everything. I've tried monk fish, just to see what the hype was about, and it was great, but the impact on the ocean is too great for me to want to eat it regularly, for any price.


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## jennyema (Mar 16, 2011)

Monkfish used to be considered "trash" fish that was tossed overboard or sold cheap for chowder.

These days, not so much, since it does have a firm texture and a bit of sweetness that mimics a lobster tail.

Since it's caught here you can find it fresh if you look for it.


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## Selkie (Mar 16, 2011)

Wisconsin - Bass, lake trout, catfish, perch of all kind including monster, melt in your mouth Walleye!  

I've never had monk fish, but I've had walleye from Wisconsin and it was great!

(I used to live beside Fox Lake, Illinois, just 7 miles south of the Wisconsin state line. I've done a lot of fishing up there.)


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## tedtheewen (Mar 16, 2011)

I didn't realize monk fish was now over-fished.  Looks like I'll have to stick with lutefisk.   Of course, in the grocery stores, I might find some specials on frozen cod.  Usually the fish around here is frozen at some point.  I can get fresh salmon but once again, the cost becomes a factor.


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## CharlieD (Mar 16, 2011)

Forget about price, it is one ugly creature, brrrrrrrrrrr


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## tedtheewen (Mar 16, 2011)

CharlieD said:


> Forget about price, it is one ugly creature, brrrrrrrrrrr



That's why they were called Monk Fish.  They were thought to be too ugly to taste good so fishermen threw them on the bank to die.  Monks would come by and collect them for supper.  But, like everything poor folks ate, somebody asked themselves, "what does that taste like?"  

I'll add monk fish to the long list of stuff I used to get cheap and ain't cheap no more.

oxtails, turkey wings, briskets, country ribs, etc.


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## buckytom (Mar 16, 2011)

monkfish has been overfished so badly that the only place you can get one is in a monastery...

bah dum dum crash


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## Bolas De Fraile (Mar 17, 2011)

buckytom said:


> monkfish has been overfished so badly that the only place you can get one is in a monastery...
> 
> bah dum dum crash


  that is why I eat Bolas De Fraile, I steamed a small whole one once with a lemon in its gullet to keep its mouth open for an ex mother in law, the irony was not lost on her husband.


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## Mudtimud (Mar 17, 2011)

gosh I wish I could have a go at monk fish. sounds like an ideal practice fish for cowder, before forking out a hefty sum for lobster tail. Fish varieties are limited here in singapore. I've haven't even seen one in real life.


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## jennyema (Mar 17, 2011)

tedtheewen said:


> I didn't realize monk fish was now over-fished. Looks like I'll have to stick with lutefisk. .


 
Dear God, don't resort to that!!


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## Katie H (Mar 17, 2011)

We really enjoy monk fish and have it occasionally.  I steam it lightly, then broil it like lobster tail.  Serve it with drawn butter and a small steak.  Poor man's surf and turf.


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## Skittle68 (Mar 17, 2011)

Selkie said:
			
		

> Wisconsin - Bass, lake trout, catfish, perch of all kind including monster, melt in your mouth Walleye!
> 
> I've never had monk fish, but I've had walleye from Wisconsin and it was great!
> 
> (I used to live beside Fox Lake, Illinois, just 7 miles south of the Wisconsin state line. I've done a lot of fishing up there.)



I live in MN and trout and walleye are very popular. Walleye can get mushy quickly, if overcooked, but otherwise it's a really good white fish. Northern pike has great flavor too, but people don't favor it because it has lots of bones. We really like to boil fish and dip it in butter. Any kind of fish- even bass. It shrinks a lot, but it gets very firm, and you can really taste the flavor of the fish.


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## spork (Mar 17, 2011)

Monkfish is okay.  Unique texture for a fish; holds up even to a fairly long braise.  Loin has a great shape.  A bit of a hassle to trim the bloodlines.  But I rarely see it even at local upscale markets, and it's insanely expensive when I do, so it's like a once in a decade novelty, which doesn't tip the point to its extinction.  Its not a seafood I think about much.


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## babetoo (Mar 17, 2011)

i love it and used to have on a regular basis. never ever see in the market anymore. sad


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## Kayelle (Mar 17, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> that is why I eat Bolas De Fraile, I steamed a small whole one once with a lemon in its gullet to keep its mouth open for an ex mother in law, the irony was not lost on her husband.



Bolas, you're such a bad, bad boy!!    I just had to find a picture of one.


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## spork (Mar 17, 2011)

a face only your mother-in-law could tolerate


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## Zhizara (Mar 17, 2011)

Her hubby must have had a hard time keeping a straight face!

Thanks for the great picture, Kayelle.  Good one!


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## Bolas De Fraile (Mar 18, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> Bolas, you're such a bad, bad boy!!  I just had to find a picture of one.


AHHHHH fond memories.It gets worse, my next M-I-L was worse, my next wife and I  went to a medieval banquet, I gave the waiter a few quid for the pigs head with the apple in its mouth, it was the time of the Godfather film, the rest is history


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## pmeheran (May 22, 2011)

tedtheewen said:


> I grew up in Illinois so most seafood was rather pricey.  On special occasions, my parents used to get monk fish and grill it.  We joked that it was mock lobster.
> 
> I can't find monk fish anywhere these days.  Is it expensive now?



Monkfish is a big angler fish.  Ugly as sin with a huge mouth and one of its dorsal spines is modified as a fishing lure.  It just sits on the bottom, wiggling the lure in front of its mouth and waits for a fish.  They are about 50 to 60 lbs. In truth they have nick named it poor man's lobster.  It used to be caught only as by catch and monks could buy it cheap because nobody else wanted it, hence the name monkfish.


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## CWS4322 (May 22, 2011)

> Looks like I'll have to stick with lutefisk


. 

I don't know where you are in Wisconsin, but the local locker plant should have fresh walleye, lake trout, and other local white fish. Although, I probably wouldn't use fresh walleye in chowder...that's my favorite part about going to MN during fishing season....I make sure my dad stops at the lockerplant before I arrive so I can have walleye my first night home...and last summer, when we went to the cabin at Lake of the Woods, we ate fresh, caught-that-day walleye 4 nights in a row. In a heartbeat, I'd make chowder out of the fresh fish at the locker plant before I'd resort to lutefisk. I can't imagine a chowder with lutefisk in it.


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## ranleemil (May 29, 2011)

*Roasted Monkfish w/ Warm Tomato Vinegarette*

I like to lardon a good sized piece of monkfish with anchovy fillets, rub it with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and lay it in a roasting pan on braches of rosemary. Lay a few rosemary branches on top also, and drizzle with more olive oil. While monkfish is roasting make a warm vinegarette and add diced, peeled and seeded tomato. Serve the vinegarette over the roasted monkfish. Absolutely delicious!


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## meatroast (Jun 18, 2011)

*Monk Fish*

The price of monk fish is reflected by the demand. People have caught up to this one. It was once considered the poor man's lobster as the meat was similar in texture and very flavorful. Is sold in most supermarkets along the Atlantic Coast. Price has gone up considerably since it was introduced some years ago as fish is not that plentiful and easy to catch.


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## BreezyCooking (Jun 18, 2011)

Monkfish around here isn't really expensive at all when compared to other more "gourmet" fish.  I can regularly get it for between $8.99-$10.99/lb. for the "filets" (each side of the tail bone as only the tail piece is eaten in Monkfish - the rest is all head & guts).  And at one market (Wegman's) the silverskin-like membrane is even removed for you beforehand.  That silverskin is one reason why I don't buy Monkfish as often as I like to.  It's VERY versatile, and when I do buy it, I usually cut it into medallions & saute it, or roast/braise it Catalan-style (a spicy orange-spiked tomato sauce).  It's also absolutely wonderful in any type of fish soup (chowder, Bouillabaise, Cioppino, etc.), since it doesn't disintegrate into nothingness like other white fish.


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## babetoo (Jun 18, 2011)

checked at von's market. they said they never get monk fish. bummer.


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