Chesapeake Ray

[eldereno]

Wegman's had some Cheapeake Ray available to buy and I bought some. What do I do with it now? Suggestions, anyone??????

[heidih]

This site seems to provide some interesting ideas. Just to note that the spelling is "chesapeake". Seems akin to skate but in the recipes I do not see mention of the bones. Would love to get your feedback if you try it.

[Brasshopper]

I used to be stationed in Norfolk, VA and I would go fishing off a pier in the Chesapeake. They had croaker recipes, horrible little greasy fish that I always threw back. Brought up memories.

I found the recipes, specifically, here: http://www.virginiaseafood.org/chesray/recipes.htm. They had a "Notes for Chefs" as well, which said

Chesapeake Ray is a very lean meat

Only 100 Calories per serving

A low fat alternative to red meat

Rich, red coloration like #1 Tuna.

Has the mouth feel of veal.

Mild flavor profile allows Ray to work with a wide range

of herbs, spices, and sauces.

Cooked to medium rare there is very little shrinkage.

Suitable for any course: Soup, Appetizer, Entrée, Salad

Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

And of course....so I'd make sure it had been frozen for a week or so to at least -10 or so, then I'd consider crusting it like rare tuna.

Interestingly enough, this is also known as the "cownose ray". Its main predator is the shark, and humans have mostly wiped the shark out - so the cownose ray population is booming. Ecologists are claiming that we need to put humans in as a new predator for the ray before it wipes out shellfish that it predates on..and the description makes me wish that we could get the same seafood down here in Florida that I used to get in the stores in Virginia. I used to take huge trout that was sold at, appropriately, the "Giant" and I would get all the pin bones out with Japanese tweezers, then stuff the poor thing with cornbread and pecan stuffing, put the stuffing around the outside as well, add more pecans, and butter, and chopped parsley. I had a friend of mine over for dinner one night and, well, I didn't know he wrote a newspaper column until he wrote one about this wonderful meal he just had.

Yep, here I am in Florida, and the seafood is horrible, and most of the best comes in frozen. Sigh. You should feel lucky. Of course, someone will educate me about Florida seafood, and I'd accept an education in this case. I grew up in Florida, and I can't remember ever having good seafood down here.