What do you think of skate?

[clothier]

Another disappointment.

I thought this thread was about Roller skates.

We're going back to the 70's!

[budrichard]

Ammonia smell in skate and in ALL fishes is a product of decomposition. Fresh skate as well as most fish will have almost no smell at all, certainly not a strong smell. Eons of evolution have imprinted in our brains what 'bad' smells like. If your nose doesn't like the smell than it's bad.

Fresh skate will have no smell and will taste sublime and will not be tough. If the membrane is still on, you can poach in a court boullion and then remove. Other wise just coat lightly with Wondra four, salt and cracked white pepper, fry in unsalted butter. Serve with fresh lemon. -Dick

[MichaelB]

From Larousse:

It should be washed several times to get rid of the smell of ammonia, which is most marked when the fish is quite fresh.

From the Oxford Companion:

Rays have an ammoniac smell which puts some people off eating them.  However, it should not be so.  Non-bony fish, such as rays and sharks, use urea, a chemical substance, to control their osmotic balance (stop water from leaching out of them into the sea, or vice versa).  On death, urea starts to break up, producing ammonia and the ammoniac smell.  This is good, since one wants to be rid of the urea and all traces of the ammonia will anyway be dispersed in cooking.

Dick?

[rshorens]

Maybe I've just been lucky, but in the few places where I've eaten skate(Farallon in San Francisco, J. Sheeky and Sweetings in London), it has been delicate, sweet and nutty when prepared very simply(sauteed in butter). I love it and always order it when it's on the menu. I'm glad I didn't read about the urea problem here or I wouldn't be tempted to try it! I've had more problems with scallops being off.

Roz

Edited April 17, 2004 by rshorens (log)

[jrufusj]

I am resurrecting this old topic because I saw skate for $1.99/lb at the fish market this weekend, and have been dying to purchase some and cook it. The only way I've eaten skate, though, is as raw sashimi in Korean naeng-myun bowls.

Eunny:

When you've eaten it in Korea, have you had it fully "ripened" or fresher? I have bought it in Noryangjin perfectly fresh and prepared it in a Western style (browned butter and capers). More often in Korea, I have had it fully ripe, with an overpowering ammoniac smell -- either as sam hop or hong-eo jjim. I must say that the sam hop combination of very ripe, ammonia-scented skate, fatty pork cut as for ordinary bossam, and cabbage kimchee has made me a convert to Korean-style, high-smelling skate.

Now that I'm in Tokyo, I don't see it any more. Never was a regular part of my diet, but this thread is making me miss it.

Jim

[Suzanne F]

I just had skate last night at Dominic (fka Pico) in Tribeca. It was great -- soft, sweet, not the least bit ammoniac. Prepared just as I'm used to seeing it: sauteed, then sauced (in this case, artichokes barigoule).

To sautee, dip in milk, then in Wondra flour (that's how it's done at Artisanal; I like that better than in cornmeal, which is how we did it at Soma Park). Sautee in a very hot pan in a little oil and/or clarified butter.

[eunny jang]

When you've eaten it in Korea, have you had it fully "ripened" or fresher? I have bought it in Noryangjin perfectly fresh and prepared it in a Western style (browned butter and capers). More often in Korea, I have had it fully ripe, with an overpowering ammoniac smell -- either as sam hop or hong-eo jjim. I must say that the sam hop combination of very ripe, ammonia-scented skate, fatty pork cut as for ordinary bossam, and cabbage kimchee has made me a convert to Korean-style, high-smelling skate.

Now that I'm in Tokyo, I don't see it any more. Never was a regular part of my diet, but this thread is making me miss it.

Jim

I've only ever had skate in hamheung hwe naeng-myun in the Korean restaurants here in D.C. - it's always tasted very sweet and only vaguely fishy or sea-like.

[budrichard]

First, don't be caught in the trap of believing everything you read in print is true. Second the USDA recognizes that smell is a very important determinater in the freshess of fish. If it smells bad, it is bad! Judging from the number of posts about skate not smelling of ammonia, I will opt for a non-ammonia smell as an indicator of freshness.

BTW. if you have ever shopped for fish in a Korean grocery store, you will not be surprised about the smell of anything. Korean hygiene standards are very poor. -

Dick

[eunny jang]

BTW. if you have ever shopped for fish in a Korean grocery store, you will not be surprised about the smell of anything. Korean hygiene standards are very poor. -

Dick

Umm.

I guess I'll leave this alone, but...I am sorry if it does not agree with you, but sometimes, strong-smelling foods are a good thing, ancient and indispensable (fish sauce, daenjang, stinky cheese). Not everything is hermetically sealed with a "born-on" date printed on it.

[phaelon56]

The first and only time I ever bought shark was from a local Wegman's - purchased it ona Friday and when I opened the package on Saturday I alomst fell over from the ammonia - kitty litter smell ain't the word - it was borderline toxic. Haven't tried shark again but I'm very curious about skate. I've seen it suggested by some that the item sold as "scallops" in some areas is actually skate cut outs. I had no reason to disbelieve this as I've eaten some scallops that had no discernible scallop flavor (especially in Chinese restaurants) but the ammonia smell issue woudl seem to disprove this theory (only in that it is not skate that's being used - I still believe that counterfeit scallops are probably abundant).

Is this skate that I saw at the local farmers market recently? Its the item in the middle bin on the right hand side of the picture.

[Stigand]

I've seen it suggested by some that the item sold as "scallops" in some areas is actually skate cut outs. I had no reason to disbelieve this as I've eaten some scallops that had no discernible scallop flavor

Skate (k)nobs do look a bit like scallops (white, somewhat circular) and are sweet-tasting. I've never heard of them being used fraudulently as a scallop stand-in, but they are very tasty and (at least here in the UK) good value for money. I think I like them more than skate in fact.

On the skate/ray debate: the fish that I call skate my (British) grandmother calls ray. Not sure if this is a peculiarly British usage, but it does suggest that ray and skate may be synonymous.

[Peter Johnson]

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone can help me with a skate cooking question. I was trying to pan-fry skate the other night (as described above: milk --> flour --> butter in pan); two minutes on one side, and when I flipped it...THE WHOLE THING CURLED UP INTO A TUBE! Unsalvageable (appearance-wise, anyway); so I rolled it around and ate it. Super tasty. But...

What the heck happened and how can prevent it from happening in the future?

Thanks!

[Tess]

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone can help me with a skate cooking question.  I was trying to pan-fry skate the other night (as described above:  milk --> flour --> butter in pan); two minutes on one side, and when I flipped it...THE WHOLE THING CURLED UP INTO A TUBE!  Unsalvageable (appearance-wise, anyway); so I rolled it around and ate it.  Super tasty.  But...

What the heck happened and how can prevent it from happening in the future?

Thanks!

←

Same thing happens to me no matter what the stuff is coated with. I don't know why. I might suspect that the heat was too high, but it always seems to be cooked just about right. Maybe it's the different-length fibers shrinking- although there doesn't seem to me to be that much shrinkage.

Anyway, I've found that if I press down on it gently with the spatula I can straighten it out and get it to come out flat.

We were just talking about skate on another thread, and someone suggested doing a breaded "oven-fried" version. I'll have to see if it curls up in the oven too.

[Peter Johnson]

Thanks, Tess--that had occurred to me, but I haven't adjusted the temp down to see if that's what's going on. Maybe I'll try it...

[touaregsand]

First, don't be caught in the trap of believing everything you read in print is true. Second the USDA recognizes that smell is a very important determinater in the freshess of fish. If it smells bad, it is bad! Judging from the number of posts about skate not smelling of ammonia, I will opt for a non-ammonia smell as an indicator of freshness.

BTW. if you have ever shopped for fish in a Korean grocery store, you will not be surprised about the smell of anything. Korean hygiene standards are very poor. -

Dick

←

Wow! I'll leave it alone too.

Skate ceviche Korean style is a delicacy. My husband prepares skate with browned butter, an entirely different taste sensation, damn good stuff.

[MichaelB]

Greetings!

I'm hoping someone can help me with a skate cooking question.  I was trying to pan-fry skate the other night (as described above:  milk --> flour --> butter in pan); two minutes on one side, and when I flipped it...THE WHOLE THING CURLED UP INTO A TUBE!  Unsalvageable (appearance-wise, anyway); so I rolled it around and ate it.  Super tasty.  But...

What the heck happened and how can prevent it from happening in the future?

Thanks!

←

The rolling tends to happen with machine skinned skate. The machine tends to leave some tendon-like material on the grey (as opposed to the white) side of the skate. When you cook, those tendons shrink dramatically. They are easy to get rid of if you hand skin your skate. They are not so easy to trim off if you have skate that has already been skinned.

[joeyk2k]

Ummm love skate (from a chef's point of few) not so keen 2 eat it though a bit bland!! Use any meat based sauce red wine, beetroot, mushroom etc.. works well. Also my version of black butter heat butter until nut brown add capers, chopped parsley and balsamic vinegar. Remove from heat, pour over skate. Lovely!!! Skate also mke a great pressed terrine layered with sliced cooked potatoes and chopped gerkins,capers and herbs.

[Tess]

The rolling tends to happen with machine skinned skate.  The machine tends to leave some tendon-like material on the grey (as opposed to the white) side of the skate.  When you cook, those tendons shrink dramatically.  They are easy to get rid of if you hand skin your skate.  They are not so easy to trim off if you have skate that has already been skinned.

Thanks for the explanation.

Whenever I see it in the stores, it is all trimmed and skinned.

For what it's worth, I always seem to manage to flatten it out using the spatula without too much trouble and plate it looking normal. However, I only cook one piece at a time and I can't imagine trying to flatten out a number of them at once.

[naguere]

Eduard Pomiane (Cooking With Pomiane) says of cooking skate:

Skate often smells of ammonia and chemists know that ammonia forms, together with acrolein, an insoluble and odourless compound. Acrolein is formed by the action of fat at a high temperature.

If therefore we sprinkle cooked skate with black butter which has been darkened by the action of heat we add enough acrolein to annihilate any possible smell of ammonia.

[pam claughton]

I took a class recently on cooking skate, and it was very interesting. Skate is one of the most perishable fish. Many local restaurants in my area, Boston/Cape Cod don't sell much of it in the Summer, because it perishes after a day or too in the warm weather. It will last longer in Winter.

Always cook Skate the same day you buy it, and smell it before you buy it, it should NOT smell of ammonia. If it does, don't buy it.

One of the best ways to cook it is to saute quickly over medium heat. It only needs a minute or two on each side, and it will be cooked and tender. It is very easy to overcook it, and because it is so thin, it will cook quickly. When fresh, and sauteed, it will have a very sweet, delicious taste.

We simply dredged it in flour, then sauteed it in butter...lots of butter, then finished with capers and lemon.

It was delicious!

Pam

[ratgirlny]

I've only had skate in France. I really like it and always order it when I am there. To me, it seems very mild. They always serve it on the bone(or is that a cartilage?), but it is so easy to eat! Just scrape it off. I usually have it with brown butter and capers.

[BonfireCuisine]

Skate - love it when I can get it fresh.

My grandmother made it best when we went to France when I was young. Flour dusted, sauted in butter with garlic, capers and lemon - remove the skate and add more butter to make a sauce and pour over skate. - ah of course it had grandmother's love on it so it was of course better.

I've made it here in the states and I've found a good "fresh" fish monger, I did (gasp) try the frozen ones from the asian (no offense) markets but they never really smelled all that good once thawed and I even went to a respectable market (long debate about what makes a respectable market avoided).

The thing about skate (2 cents for today) is when it's good it's really good but when it's bad it's almost worse then spoiled miso..

Jason

[TJHarris]

The rolling tends to happen with machine skinned skate.  The machine tends to leave some tendon-like material on the grey (as opposed to the white) side of the skate.  When you cook, those tendons shrink dramatically.  They are easy to get rid of if you hand skin your skate.  They are not so easy to trim off if you have skate that has already been skinned.

Thanks for the explanation.

Whenever I see it in the stores, it is all trimmed and skinned.

For what it's worth, I always seem to manage to flatten it out using the spatula without too much trouble and plate it looking normal. However, I only cook one piece at a time and I can't imagine trying to flatten out a number of them at once.

←

If your skate is machine skinned, you can avoid the rollling if you lilghtly score the grey side of the fillet in a cross-hatch patern before cooking.

[Tess]

If your skate is machine skinned, you can avoid the rollling if you lilghtly score the grey side of the fillet in a cross-hatch patern before cooking.

Cool! I'll do that from now on. Thanks!

[jackal10]

Skate calls for black butter - beurre noisette - more nut brown.

Having cooked the skate in butter, remove and keep warm, wipe the pan and add fresh butter, cook on high heat until nut brown, add capers and lemon juice, pour over skate.

Decent Chablis, good bread to mop the juice, maybe a simple salad..heaven