Easier than a trip to Greece! IQF Sardines, caught by the F/V Sea Wave out of Monterey, CA. Taste the heritage! Bold, awesome, high in Omega 3s... enjoy these delicious and beautiful species.

Your sardines will come whole, approximately 2 lbs, so you can practice your skills, in the spirit of the Neptune's Delight. There will be some bones that are easy to eat around, but you need to gut them (the fish are healthy but the guts are not). Gut 'em and grill (or bake) them, then pull the meat off as you would with a whole trout. You can stuff them with herbs, lemons and bake, or salt them and toss it on the grill, you can't go wrong. And send us photos of your fish! You could win a Sea Forager oyster shucker!

INFO PAGE: click for more fishery info!

PREP TIPS: You got a whole fish! What to do:

• Scale your whole fish by holding it by the tail and then using the back of a knife or a spoon, scrape against the "grain" of the scales. I recommend laying out newspaper and doing it on top or scaling into a bag (place it in the sink for ease, but then toss the bag in the trash.) Rinse when you're done.

• Sharpen your paring knife. Like, really sharp.

• Place your fish on the cutting board and slice into the fish’s “vent” (poop hole) and up to the “neck.”

• Use your hands or a teaspoon to scrape out the innards and gills. Or you can cut the head off if you like too. Pause, and ponder the wheel of life.

• Rinse your gutted fish, and watch the video to see how to pull out the spine and bones.

• VIDEO: here’s a cleaning video, minus the scaling. You got this!

• Cook that beauty!

ORIGIN: F/V Sea Wave, Monterey, CA

SARDINE & Mackerel RECIPES: Roasted sardines with garlic and paprika, broiled sardines with lemon wedges, stuffed sardines, broiled sardines wrapped in bacon, roasted sardines stuffed with herbs.

​These beautiful cove mussels are very rarely sold retail anywhere except in Tomales Bay. They also happen to be the only mussels currently raised in Tomales. So this is the most local mussel you can get unless you pick yourself, which I can show you how to do.

Steam these beauties in beer or wine and inhale the intoxicating scent of the sea! Check out the Fishwife's mussel recipes and be sure to send us photos of your culinary creation.

BRING A BAG! Because mussels are brought to you alive, they will arrive in a net bag so bring some kind of drip-proof bag or container to carry your mussels in. Store in the back of your fridge covered with a damp towel but do not submerge in water. Discard any shells that don't close when you tap them, or remain closed after cooking.

Preparation (be sure to read this)

Most of you guys will be familiar with mussels but in case you are not, here are some things you need to be aware of:

1. Mussels open up when they die. If any of your mussels are open before you cook them, tap them a few times: if they close up, they are still alive. If they do not close up they are dead and should be discarded.

2. As far as cooking mussels goes, nature provided mussels with a built in timer for boiling or steaming. Pour about a cup of beer, wine, or water, in a nice big pot and add your mussels. Cover with a nice tight lid and steam, shaking occasionally. When the mussels open up (even a little bit) they're done. Those mussels that do not open up should be discarded. Or check the Fishwife's recipe for a more fun version, but the principle is the same.

3. Cove mussels are grown in the wild. They are a tad more rugged than the machine cleaned and sorted varieties. Rinse them well before cooking. And remove the beards! The mussels' beards are the bryssal fibers that connect them to the structure that they grow on. Pull these fibers off before you cook them.

ORIGIN: Tomales Bay, CA

METHOD: Aquaculture

INFO PAGE: click for more fishery info

RECIPES: Easy steamed mussels with wine, Drunken Mussels with Fennel & Lemon, Seafood chowder with leeks

Enjoy!

We are in for a treat - yellowtail jack! This is the same species as farmed hamachi from Japan, but this is WILD and caught by hook and line. The stocks are doing very well. Click the info page for more fishery details.

Your fish will come skin-on. Perfect for the grill, sushi, or any other recipe with bold flavors, this fatty, firm fish is sure to please. Note: it's best to trim away the red meat as it's particularly pungent and not good for sushi.

ORIGIN: F/V Noelle May, Captain Bruce Derksen, caught off of the Channel Islands, CA

METHOD: hook & line

RECIPES: Check out this member recipe for Tahitian Poisson Cru, or pick your favorite marinade and grill it quickly over high heat, or enjoy as sushi!

PREP TIP: (optional) how to skin your fish fillet VIDEO

Just a reminder, when eating "night fish," just batter and fry whole. No cleaning necessary, but keep in mind that sometimes there are sand grains in the gills, so grab them by the heads, dip in sauce and scarf everything but the head and gills. That's what I do anyway.

Oh man, I love these little guys. KQED filmed a video of me going after them and the Fishwife frying them up - see HERE. Before that I've written passionately about them on The Monkeyface News over the years and made my own weird night smelt VIDEOS highlighting the insanity and the thrill of fishing for these fish. Much milder than anchovies and perfect for the fry pan. They are classically served fried, but the Fishwife likes to bake and broil them too, the way she does with surf smelt.

PREP

Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Virtually every fisherman on the coast and most of the chefs who cook these fish fry them whole: heads, guts and all. They do not as a rule feed while spawning so there's nothing in their stomachs. The only problem in eating them whole is that they tend to swallow a little sand, and also there may be a few sand grains in their gills. It's no more grit than what you get in an average oyster, but I want to point it out before you guys chomp down on whole night smelt. Personally I prefer them headed and gutted and that’s what I suggest you do. It will take you 15 minutes to clean your bag of fish (bags are 2.25 to 2.5 pounds), and this is a good way to practice your fish butchery skills. And BTW: night smelt DO NOT have to be scaled—which is always the hardest part of cleaning a small fish! They also keep well frozen if need be.

INFO PAGE: click for more info

ORIGIN: Dude Gifford, Eureka, CA

METHOD: A-frame dip net, based on a Native American design that has been used on the California coast for many thousands of years.

RECIPE: Night smelt fish fry (or, fries with eyes!)​

More Night smelt madness HERE

VIDEO: Night smelt fishing in California, employing the use of traditional Native American A-frame dip net.

​A few lucky Neptune's Delight members will enjoy surf smelt, caught using a small purse seine off of Crescent City. This is the kind of delicious, nutritious and sustainably harvested species, I really want people to experience, (like sardine, mackerel, night smelt and anchovy). These are small in size, affectionately referred to as “whitebait” and can be prepared like night smelt (fried and eaten whole).

Surf smelt are one of my absolute favorite little fishes, and we haven't seen them for about 5 years and now they're suddenly showing up. Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast caught these with his purse seine. You can eat it whole like a small trout, or debone and then cook.

ORIGIN: Captain Ken Bates F/V Ironic off the Humboldt Coast

METHOD: Small purse seine

PREP: Be sure to wash and rinse them and then consider how to cook them. Here's a short video on how to clean these beauties in two easy steps: VIDEO, and a couple videos on frying and stuffing surf smelt too on the INFO PAGE

RECIPE: Fried fillets or stuffed surf smelt.

These beautiful fish are rarely found locally, and we can thank global warming for their appearance in Moss Landing. Bonito are a smaller member of the tuna family and are excellent as sashimi, or seared. Your fish were reeled in by hook and line yesterday, and your fillet will come skin on (see how to remove your fish skin VIDEO).

These are a silverside fish, and literally fly onto the boat, so they're netted from the boat. This is a bait fishery (they're used for bluefin tuna), but many of the top restaurants (and home cooks) have realized what great eating they are, and so can you!

Awesome ahi tuna is swimming your way! Your beautiful ahi tuna are reeled in off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel using troll gear as opposed to the gigantic Pelagic long liners that are so destructive.

Your ahi tuna loin will come skin off, blood line removed. Perfect for the grill, for searing, or sushi. Please note that the ahi is firmer than albacore.

This is the highest-grade tuna on the market, sustainably caught. Check out the info page for more details, and peep the recipes too!

ORIGIN: reeled in by John Vogal F/V: Pacific Horizon out of San Diego, or off the Kauai coast by Captain Lanning, F/V Wahine Kepaloa II using rod and reel

METHOD: trolling (not trawling), using hook and line

RECIPES: Pan-Seared Albacore Tuna Loin, Tahitian Poisson Cru, Tuna with red pepper sauce, Simple Poke, Albacore tuna skewers

We are lucky to celebrate sustainable aquaculture this Wednesday! We will be delivering live red abalone for our Neptune's Delight members. We are getting these little beauties from American Abalone Farm in Davenport, Ca., just north of Santa Cruz. Tom has a very cool operation there, nurturing abalone from water brought in just steps away from the beach.

Red abalone is a native snail-like univalve mollusk, legal for sport harvest and aquaculture in California. It is a super local and sustainable ocean product (rated “Best Choice” a la Seafood Watch). As in the wild, abalone eat marine algae (seaweeds) which are harvested in a sustainable manner by clipping the blades so they grow back. Fun fact: the colors on the abalone shells are a result of the different seaweeds that they eat.

These abalones are three years old, and are a true delicacy. You will receive six per order and they are small, but incredibly flavorful. Each fillet is about 1 oz, and will make a delectable appetizer or dinner for two rounded out with some sides. And of course these fine fillets come inside a gorgeous shell that you can enjoy long after your meal is through!

ORIGIN: Davenport, Ca.
METHOD: Aquaculture
PREP TIPS from the farmer: Your live abalone will be sealed in an oxygenated plastic bag. Do not open the bag until you’re ready to remove the shells and cook it. You should remove the meat from the shell as soon as possible. You can store your fillets in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze immediately. (VIDEO)

1. Open the bag and place your abalone on a towel (it may attach to your counter-top). Sponge off any bits of seaweed on the bottom of its “foot.”

2. Hold the shell in your hand with the head facing you. Using an oyster knife, butter knife, or spoon, insert between the foot and the shell, and scoop the foot out. The viscera will either stay in the shell or come out, just discard it. Trim off the head at an angle, and rinse.

3. The abalone will tighten and become very firm when removed from the shell. It will naturally relax after a few hours in the refrigerator. This is not a substitute for tenderization. The best time to serve your abalone as sashimi is right after the natural relaxation has occurred. If, like us, you can't wait, just go ahead and tenderize before cooking.

4. Tenderizing: not necessary if you plan to eat it raw, steamed, or slow cooked. Place the abalone inside a towel and pound both sides of the meat until it’s flexible enough to fold. Don’t pound too hard or you will split or crush it. When you're done it should drape over your fingers. But go easy, honcho!

RECIPES: Pan Fried Abalone with Lemon-Sriracha aioli, Abalone with pine nuts, lemon & butter

VIDEO: How to remove your abalone from the shell and clean it

WINE PAIRING: our friends at tableWINE in Pacifica assure us that a a lightly fruity Prosecco would be delicious! (Andreola Verv Prosecco)

The boats are out so we can't say yet what will be in your catch. Check back for updates, fishery info, prep tips and recipes, and be sure to check the store items below for add-on delights!