Monkfish liver (foie de lotte)

[stefanyb]

Does anyone have information regarding the current availability of monkfish liver in New York?

If you go to the fish market at Chelsea Market and speak to the woman who owns it, she will be able to get it for you.

[torakris]

In the new Nobu cookbook there is a recipe using monkfish liver that looks fantastic. Has anybody tried this item? Can you get this liver from any type of monkfish (Angler). We have a great deal of monkfish in Scotland, I assume they just throw the liver away, I'm interested in trying. However, before I comit to the very tedious effort of trying to convince my fishmonger to keep the livers for me I thought I would find out if it is worth the bother.  <p>Best Regards to all.

How does Nobu prepare his?

Fall is the season for anko (monkfish) and thus ankimo.

The most common way of eating it is steamed or fried and in a ponzu sauce with grated daikon.

I did a quick search and came up with recipe for smoked ankimo, I am going to have to give this a try it looks great!

The site is in Japanese but has lots of pictures.

http://www.tcp-ip.or.jp/~camp/smoke/gyokai...oke41/smk41.htm

[Jon Tseng]

Slightly late to the day...

Have bought monkfish liver from Borough market in London before (actually I picked up about a kilo cos it was cheap... slightly od'ed).

The main ways of cooking it sem to be steaming it like a foie gras torchon (this is what the japs do) or pan-frying it slices, again much like FG.

Did it both ways, though I'm sure there are other preparations which can be tried (errr, monkfish liver and bacon anyone???) The texture is creamy, gelatinous - actually yes remarkably similar to foie gras. However the taste is not nearly as rich; best described as vaguely fishy. There was also a slight bitterness; I dunno if this was related to the freshness of the liver or something missed out in preparation (soaking/marinading perhaps?)

cheerio

J

[Pat Goldberg]

I have made the monkfish liver from Nobu's cookbook. It is excellent.

I have also prepared it more or less like foie gras, based on a version I had at Esca, here in New York. It is important, as in the Nobu recipe, to remove the skin before you prepare it.

I purchased monkfish liver at the Union Square Greenmarket two Saturday's ago.

[SobaAddict70]

There's supposed to be a Japanese restaurant on 53rd street west of Broadway that serves monkfish liver; this - I wasn't taking notes, so don't quote me - is a place where a guy I was talking to today said a few of them just went there one night and had whatever the chef prepared for them. They had been advised in advance to order the ์ plate, not the 贄, because you didn't get much more food with the 贄 meal. <p>Because the waitress had such a thick accent, they weren't sure what the first course was: it looked like gray tofu with a sauce poured over it. However, it turned out to be the monkfish liver pâté - which he said was like foie gras to him. <p>Does anyone know of this place? The name escapes me at the moment. (Or should I move this to the Restaurant thread?)

The restaurant you're thinking of is Sugiyama.

Although, if memory serves, there wasn't any sauce poured over it.

SA

[hollywood]

I've had ankimo at sushi bars and it's usually a small shaving of the stuff on rice (for tourists) or not. About a week ago I had a whole cake of it served as an appetizer in ponzu or some sauce at Sushi Ike in Hollywood. Tasty. The odd thing was that after I had ankimo I was able to appreciate sea urchin sushi for the first time.

[torakris]

We smoked ankimo for dinner last night and it was absolutely incredible! Between 4 adults we finished off 3 good sized pieces and were left wanting more.

[mixmaster b]

I had monkfish liver for the first time last night at Mori Sushi in LA. (Part of a memorable omakase that I will describe in greater detail when I get a moment.)

It was served with seaweed, thinly sliced japanese cuke, and shaved daikon, with a pit of lemon juice over the top. The liver was cooked simply (probably streamed), and served cold in smallish slices.

I thought it was very good, very similar to foie gras, and with a smooth, buttery texture. A little goes a long way because it is so rich.

[thefoodhunter]

Monkfish liver in a can is available for about 7 Euros in Paris at Le Grande Epicerie. It tastes exactly like cod liver (about 1 euro a can).

[Matt Seeber]

monkfish liver is something not seen on many menus (i for one wouldn't mind seeing more of it). my understanding is that it's sorta hit and miss (not always readily available) in the fulton market. when it's very fresh, it has taste qualities of both liver and the ocean!

while the asian preparations mentioned sound wonderful, i'd go for a more contemporary european style. a thin slice, quickly sautéed with candied quince and salad of some slightly bitter greens

[tissue]

If you serve it Japanese style, don't forget to top it off with some grated daikon mixed with tobasco sauce and scallions.

[col klink]

My favorite ankimo dish was called a "hamburger" by my favorite sushi chef. He took a large scallop and sliced it in half to serve as the "bun." A slice of prepared ankimo served as the "meat." That was topped with flying fish roe and it was absolutely decadent. I can also vouch for the combo of ponzu and ankimo served on a bed of seaweed salad. Of course, there aren't too many ways I don't like ankimo!

[Liza]

Matt and anyone else seeking monkfish liver in NYC,

When the season comes round again, I think in the spring, Alex Villani of Blue Moon Fish carries freshly caught monkfish and monkfish liver. As he is the fisher and the proprietor, his is monkfish of very high quality. Blue Moon Fish is at Union Square greenmarket on Wednesdays and Tribeca Greenmarket on Saturdays, end of March through December.

Before steaming it, I soaked it in orange juice for 30 minutes, them steamed and sliced.

[SobaAddict70]

Liza, does the finished product look like regular foie gras?

I've only had it once, and that was a couple of years ago, as the first course at Sugiyama's omakase. There, it appeared as a small, beige-colored tofu-like substance and was served with a wooden spoon. I think I took a bite and exclaimed, "WOW".

SA

[Schielke]

The usual look of the steamed liver is a round slice from the wrapped "log". The slices I have seen are usually very thin 1/16 " - 1/8 ".

Ben

[Basildog]

We were offered some Monkfish liver today from my main fish guy, and as i had read about it here, i said hell yeah, send us a couple of lbs to play with.

David found it in the fish fridge, and sauteed some , served it on some mixed leaves, splash of balsamic/EVOO and some crisp parma ham.Tasted pretty dam good

[awbrig]

We were offered some Monkfish liver today from my main fish guy, and as i had read about it here, i said hell yeah, send us a couple of lbs to play with. 

David found it in the fish fridge, and sauteed some , served it on some mixed leaves, splash of balsamic/EVOO and some crisp parma ham.Tasted pretty dam good 

Sounds awesome!

Did you have it as a featured item on your menu? Or was this just for your greedy little appetite? I thought the CUSTOMER comes first!

[Basildog]

The Customer comes after we have decided that they are worthy of trying a new dish

Actually, i had my last 2 tables waiting for starters when Dave starting cooking the liver, so we had a taste, and then i offered it to these tables as a free sample.First table looked at me as if i had offered to bugger their dog, 2nd table said yes please, and enjoyed it.Will probably put it on tomorrows menu

[Jon Tseng]

Use it quick B'Dog

doesn't keep for long

when i sauteed it found it has a slightly mouth-puckering/dry aftertaste (tannin?). Did you find this?

J

[Basildog]

Didn't get any tannin taste, just a combination of livery ocean.Poaching some in a roll with panchetta.Intend to slice it and serve cold(or is that a mad idea?)Still playing around really.Couldn't get anymore today, but maybe Saturday

[Bux]

I think that when I've had it in a Japanese restaurant in NYC, it's been poached. It's served cold in a ponzu sauce with a piece of lettuce as a garnish and a bit of spicy stuff. They must roll it up in a cylinder before poaching as it's served in disks about a third of an inch thick.

[Basildog]

We were thinking ginger/soy dressing

[hollywood]

I think that when I've had it in a Japanese restaurant in NYC, it's been poached. It's served cold in a ponzu sauce with a piece of lettuce as a garnish and a bit of spicy stuff. They must roll it up in a cylinder before poaching as it's served in disks about a third of an inch thick.

Sushi Ike in Hollywood serves discs about an inch thick. Great stuff.

[nicos]

Varoulko (Michelin 1-star )is also famous for its ways with monkfish, which Lazarou introduced to Athenians many years ago. The by now classic monkfish liver riganato is served in a sauce concocted of honey, balsamic vinegar and Greek mountain oregano.

[Jinmyo]

Welcome, nicos.

Hm. That saucing sounds pretty heavy. But then I think of monkfish liver as ankimo, in a Japanese context.