Butterfish Recipe
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Diving
Forum Name: Spearo's Corner
Forum Description: Free-divers & spearos chat about their sport
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=81417
Printed Date: 11 Jun 2026 at 6:20pm
Topic: Butterfish Recipe
Posted By: oldyella
Subject: Butterfish Recipe
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 7:32pm
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I am not that keen on butterfish but I have found something that is pretty tasty and felt like sharing. It is an Al Brown recipe from his book "Go Fish" based on the Gurnard Escabeche Bruschetta (Page 144). Given my southern origins I am renaming it Greenbone Escabeche Bruschetta, which only involves substituting the gurnard with greenbone! It involves marinating the cooked fish in a flavour-rich mixture of extra virgin olive oil, star anise, saffron, red onion, garlic, chilli, orange zest, lemon juice, orange juice, honey and sherry vinegar. Eaten the next day at room temperature on some homemade bruschetta (oven baked bread 175degC for 10 minutes, with a fine spray of oil on it). Bon apetit!  |
Replies:
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 13 Aug 2012 at 7:37pm
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So you cook it and then soak it in stuff that actually tastes nice for 24 hours?
Seems reasonable.
:-)
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Posted By: bluefox_13
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 8:08am
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So if its butterfish do you marinate it for 24 hours, throw it out and eat the dish you had it all in on the bruschetta?? Gotta taste better than the greenbone itself....
------------- Yes its cold... no I dont care that you feel the cold easily... no we can't get out.... |
Posted By: BOC
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 8:25am
| I'm more impressed with the photo Rich! that must have taken some time. Border and everything. Gosh |
Posted By: oldyella
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 8:56am
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I guess if it were a commercial product it might be sold as:
"Allergy information for spearos: May contain traces of butterfish".
It is a fantastic recipe though so worth trying with other fish too!
(BOC: all the credit for the photo goes to my helper).
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Posted By: Ergo_Rapido
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 10:30am
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So much butterfish hate on this forum. Anyone who needs to get rid of any, just send it to me...
------------- Chuck Norris will never have a heart attack. His heart isn't nearly foolish enough to attack him. |
Posted By: Weightless
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 10:39am
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What's not to hate? God know's I have just about tried to every way of cooking / flavouring them known to man (apart from this recipie that is) and I still cant find a way to get the family to eat the stuff. Do they taste different down south, or is it that over winter that's almost all you get, so you have tricked yourselves into liking them? |
Posted By: tobe yak
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 10:54am
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Nice pics there Old Yellow, definately keen to try that Safron oil combo. PS your old Wettie is still going strong for my boy. I got sick of Butter Fish now i really like them, Crumbed fish fingers, and especially baked fillets in tin foil and herbs. i swapped some buttrer fish for pork with a mate who is a pig hunter he reckoned it was the best fish he has ever had.
Perhaps the south island ones are tastier than the northern models. But probably more a case of personal taste. ------------- Gold fish gatherer. |
Posted By: spearfisher916
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 11:02am
| NI butters are sad, sick looking things, I wouldnt eat one either. SI butters are virtually a different fish, my family loves them. I don't eat many myself these day though, prefer cray, scollies and trumps... However back on thread, that dish looks awesome and I'm going to give it a go. |
Posted By: _Jimmy_
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 11:32am
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gets a thumbs up from me, looks the goods. i wouldn't consider doing it with gurnard though, now that is a brilliant fish to eat. #1 in my book and would only fry it. butters i recon have to be treated well, gutted in the water, on salt ice immediately once in the boat. left a day then filleted. |
Posted By: e.m.p!
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 11:42am
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Mate of mine gave me a good recipe for Butt-fish on the weekend. He reckons to split a slab (leaf?) of bull kelp and put the fish inside, then the whole lot on the barbie and fry the hell out of it. Tastes like fishy veggies or veggie-fish… Actually he made it sound really yummy and says the fish gets infused with a really nice flavour. Will try it next time, nothing to loose K
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Posted By: spearfisher916
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 12:09pm
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_Jimmy_ wrote:Posted By: JRDO
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 12:11pm
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Butters and blue cod are very average once you get above the waist of the NI. The conditions south of the NI's waist produce better quality spcimens of those two fish. ------------- BANNED from doing anything about anything anymore. |
Posted By: Gundry
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 1:11pm
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Marginally Thai Coconut Cream Sweet Thai Chilli Lemon juice Chilli Flakes Margarine (had not butter thats where I got the name from) Mix together in a Dish the lemon cuts down the everything else to give a nice sauce. Buterfish fillets in tinfoil place one bayleaf underneath the fish. Pour sauce over the top Throw some lemon wedges and red onion on top wrap it up Bake for about 10 mins give or take a couple mins Eat and Enjoy Its real good it really is Think Okona adapted the recipe a bit for the better and really enjoyed it also. And as I believe it he was not the worlds greatest Fish fan. Pretty sure thats is although I get the feeling I may have forgoten something ------------- Winter is Meh |
Posted By: Philip van Zijl
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 1:20pm
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I agree, that Butterfish tastes better, having moved down to Oamaru about 18 months ago. I've aways liked them though. My sister, from South Africa was here recently, and prepared fillets for my 60th birthday dinner, after we speared them at Moeraki earlier the day: Layer an oven pan with the fillets, sprinkle them lightly with Moraccan spice, add a little bit of cream or yoghurt, cover with Parmesan cheese, dry or fresh. Grill for about 7 minutes at 180C. Done, quicksticks! Growing up, in RSA, we used to stick abalone or crayfish in kelp, plug up the end with more kelp to seal, make a fire in the beach, and after it is burnt out, bury the stuffed kelp in a bed of coals, leave for about 30mins, in the case of Paua/Perlemoen/Abalone. Remove and enjoy. ------------- Never underestimate and old man with a spear gun ;) |
Posted By: oldyella
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 2:18pm
Good to hear the wettie is still in service!
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Posted By: Firey
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 2:57pm
Im with ya Jimmy all the way Nothing wrong with the butters up here north of the bombays. Family love it, wifes favourite fish. Beer battered with home made tartare mmmmm ------------- No sooner does man discover intelligence than he tries to involve it in his own stupidity. |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 3:30pm
| Yeah, I agree with JRDO and others, butterfish and blue cod are definitely better from cooler water, but they are still good to eat. I used to despise them, but only because I got sick of eating them. I don't think they are a particularly good pan fried fish - too delicate, and often the texture works against them. I will often just do shallow fried panko crumbed butterfish, but finish it in a hot oven and serve with a sauce - I prefer a herb sauce or a white sauce. They are now back to being a favourite fish. If you don't like it, it usually means you are a crap cook. |
Posted By: laingfish
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 3:33pm
| i normally drop them off at the dump on the way home saves filleting . unless i failed at shooting something else |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 3:38pm
Like a boatload of tarakihi and moki Geoff? You must have some new photos for us by now - maybe from the dump????
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Posted By: SharkBite
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 3:41pm
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I put some butterfish in my compost bin at Kawau, it makes most excellent fertilizer (for the lemon tree I am trying to grow up there) ------------- "There goes another moocher" |
Posted By: Jet_ski_fisher
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 3:57pm
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Butters have to and i do mean have to be gutted and iced down with in the hour to be of any taste to anyone... ------------- http://www.legasea.co.nz" rel="nofollow">  MH... Catch measure release...<*))))< |
Posted By: Troy Tempest
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 6:23pm
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Lovin' the Butterfish recipes - but not understanding the haters.
I'm interested in reasons for the dislike, is it the taste, the consistency or is just snobbery because some people seem to think they are too easy to shoot? I'm not judging opinions, just interested... ------------- ·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸¸·´¯'·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸ ><((((º> .¸¸·´¯'·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸ ><((((º> Just quietly getting on with it... |
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 6:45pm
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Tarakihi are hardly difficult to shoot (at least in the lower parts of the country) but you will not find that many tarakihi haters.
It could be because butterfish tastes like warm, rubbery water.............. but that is just a guess ;-)
We all have different tastes. For example; I like blue moki.
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Posted By: JamesHB
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 6:49pm
| Butterfish are good until you get gurnard, blue cod etc..then they become a last resort. |
Posted By: spearfisher916
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 7:20pm
Stop poaching them in bath water. I would rather eat SI butters than blue moki. That said, I tried a copper moki for the first time recently, fillets battered and deep fried on the boat while still twitching and it was daaaaamn good.
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Posted By: _Jimmy_
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 7:32pm
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Went out this Arvo in Leigh and grabbed a couple of butters. New RA carbon 120 is Far ken Nice  I tend to bake them, layer of cooked onions then broccoli, then fish on top. Couple tablespoons good mayo all over the fish, couple tablespoons water in the dish. Cover with foil,. Bake 10 mins at 200. Take foil off add prawns grated cheese and handful breadcrumbs. Salt pepper ect.... Grill till golden brown. Just as easy to do camping on the BBQ for a feed for lots of people at once. Just wrap it all in foil |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 9:49pm
Stick to boats and fast cars UJ. Leave the cooking to people who know how. Blue moki is good honest working class fodder, but butterfish are food of the Gods, ambrosia!
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Posted By: adamb22
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 10:45pm
Too right, best way to cook em right there.
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Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 10:59pm
If you have to be a great cook to make butterfish taste good, that doesn't say much for the butterfish...  Much prefer moki tarakihi blue cod hiwihiwi red mullet snapper boary spiny dogfish trumpeter pinkies goldies bluies kohies johnnies green wrasse and ******* cod myself.
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Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 11:44pm
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Posted By: BOC
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:01am
| ^ haha classic! |
Posted By: mjl
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:22am
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Butterfish is great. I am going through my butterfish renaissance with my 3-prong. It ain't sashimi fish but if you cook it well, like anythign it tastes great.
My new favourite recipe is Indonesian Sate. It doesn't taste much like fish but it is fantastic. You could use anything for it but I use butterfishes that I've killed myself and get a great deal of satisfaction from that. ------------- "It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top. " Hunter S. Thompson |
Posted By: oldyella
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:23am
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Mullins,.. spiny dogfish? Really? That may be a bridge too far I think!
I would also include Jack Mackerel as a fantastic flavoured / textured fish (no comments regarding bait permitted).
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Posted By: herby
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:31am
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Mullins, you must be a better cook than me, I tried green wrasse the other day, a gnarly old bull one that charged me when I was playing with a three prong. It was utter rubbish. it looked nice, but tasted like crap!
Speaking of bait... I tried super-fresh pilchards last week, gutted/headed/butterflied and then flash fried with a bit of salt. Was nice, but fiddly, taste was exactly like koheru.
Lately I've been making a point of trying fish that I wouldn't normally try.
This weekend's effort was a fizzer - buterfly tuna. A bona fide 'mother in law' fish.
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Posted By: SharkBite
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:36am
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Butterfish cooked by me often tastes like rubber. not silicon you understand, more like ethylene propylene, which is described as:
Probably the most water resistant rubber available. Has excellent resistance to atmospheric ageing, oxygen and ozone up to about 150C. It has good resistance to most water-based chemicals and to vegetable-based hydraulic oils. However, it has very poor resistance to mineral oils... Sounds just like my butterfish! But what I hate most about butterfish (at Kawau) is that there are hundreds of them and they insist on giving your position away when you are snapper snooping in the kelp. Many a snapper snoop has turned into a butterfish cull at Kawau yet no apparent impact on their population.
I like eating Kahawai though. and Trevally. and blue and pink Maomao. and everthing else except for Porae. ------------- "There goes another moocher" |
Posted By: Smoo Diver
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 10:46am
You need to talk to Omebic for a great green wrasse recipe. Rig63 will attest to it's awesomeness. |
Posted By: Ponder
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 5:48pm
I'll take a tasty kahawai over a bland mushy butterfish any day
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Posted By: Troy Tempest
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 8:29pm
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All good, still find it interesting how polarised peoples views of butterfish are. Seems like the butterfish is the marmite of the sea. People love it or hate it! At least you can still get butterfish in NZ... ------------- ·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸¸·´¯'·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸ ><((((º> .¸¸·´¯'·.¸¸.·´¯'·.¸ ><((((º> Just quietly getting on with it... |
Posted By: Gundry
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 11:54am
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Mullins HIWIHIWI Really??? I cant say I have tasted one but they look all sorts of yuck Oh and not had Grenn Wrasse but the Banded Wrasse I have tried was not terriable. Also I like butterfish. Favourite fish for me to eat that I have shot myself would be a Boarfish Fantastic tasting fish ------------- Winter is Meh |
Posted By: SharkBite
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 12:39pm
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So who prefers butterfish to boarfish? ------------- "There goes another moocher" |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 1:55pm
I like both, but they are different - both suited to different purposes. Butterfish delicate, boarfish meaty. Butterfish make an awesome base for Thai fish cakes
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Posted By: PJSPEAR
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 3:09pm
| i smoked some butter fish the other day with chilli powder and brown suger and have to say it was one of the best smoked fish i have eaten |
Posted By: Poppa D
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 3:25pm
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I perfer both, if you need to off load some fish sometime just let me know. I havent been fishing for awhile (boat) never seen or tasted a boarfish before.
Poppa D
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Posted By: Philip van Zijl
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 6:09pm
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Thai green curry.... ------------- Never underestimate and old man with a spear gun ;) |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 6:18pm
Thai green curry is that kiss of death, much like "it is good smoked" Pretty much anything tastes good in a Thai green curry. Hell, I would probably even eat tofu in a decent curry!
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Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 7:21pm
u mad
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Posted By: Ces
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 10:00pm
Come on mate, let's not get carried away... 
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Posted By: e.m.p!
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 10:05pm
^ this.  |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 10:15pm
Tofu tacos?
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Posted By: Ces
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 11:21pm
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Posted By: Gundry
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2012 at 6:51am
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Smoked Butterfish and Tofu Tacos!!!!! Dark days are upon us. I have tried Smoked butterfish and didnt think to much of it as far as being good for smoking goes however my smoker and technique have improved so maybe its worth another hoon. ------------- Winter is Meh |
Posted By: SharkBite
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2012 at 9:02am
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Yep I smoked up a butterfish. However the family would not eat it, so it produced a long lasting fertilizer. Not that they starved, I served it up alongside smoked kingie, crayfish, scallops, snapper and some trevally sashimi. Such is the life in the North. When the mood takes me though, I still enjoy a butterfish slaughter, as I understand that other people will eat them. ------------- "There goes another moocher" |
Posted By: Highroller
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 9:52pm
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I once served a group of friends ( spearos and fishermen ) porore, shot on an abysmal mission when vis was just possible to see tip of gun.
-3x large parore, ikied, gutted and filleted within minutes of death.
-fillets cut into bite sized pieces, beer battered with garlic and a squeeze of lemon.
everyone who ate it just assumed it was snapper and when I told them what it was they didnt believe me. Without a doubt it was delicious, i would do it again and im not embarrased about it.
I have always found the more *******ised fish such as kahawai, trev, kingi, blue moki, poare and I suppose parore too, having such a bad rap is down to improper care of the catch. People tend to favour like snapper, JDs, tarakihi and the like because they throw them in the boat, un ikied, not on ice, not gutted, in the sun for hours, and the reality is that its still edible. Do this with the above mentioned 'basterds' and no wonder you think they taste like ****. I think gurnard, snapper, tarakihi is great, personally I perfer fish with more flavour. Trevally is #1 in my books.
I have also eaten jack macs, beheaded and gutted, flesh scored and rubbed with garlic, butter, herbs and dusted in flour. flash fried and served like prawn cutlets on a platter with dipping sauce. Do this at a bbq and pass the plate around- you wont have any left.
on the butterfish debate, i have mixed feelings about them, sometimes they are great, sometimes average. I always gut straight away. I reckon they are better left overnight in the fridge than super fresh. I tend to pan fry or batter, next time will try smoked.
enjoying the banter, im sure this gives some of you haters some fresh material ;)
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Posted By: oldyella
Date Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 10:09pm
I'm with you on the jack mackerel. They are a great eating fish. |
Posted By: SharkBite
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 10:04am
------------- "There goes another moocher" |
Posted By: Phantom Menace
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 4:27pm
| yep - Butterfish are better after a night in the fridge. (Gutted straight away, iced and then in the fridge either whole or filleted). They are my son's favourite fish at the moment so I usually bring a couple home for him. |
Posted By: Newsmurf
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 6:50pm
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Fry butterfish on one side. When you flip it, throw a chunk of butter in and a small handful of capers. When the fish is done, chuck it on a plate and keep frying the capers till they're crispy then pour them and the burnt butter over the fish. Even if you don't like capers normally, wait till you smell them cooking, totally different and with the nutty burnt butter it's something else. ------------- I'd rather dive than breathe. |
Posted By: Unclejake
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 7:03pm
Your jack mackerel method sounds fantastic. I love them raw and smoked so will try the whole fish on a stick idea. Thanks!
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Posted By: slackadave
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 8:06pm
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Butterfish are tasty! Gotta be up there with the nicest texture of fish, Hawkes Bay Butters must just get it good here and taste better? |
Posted By: jaydogfish
Date Posted: 31 Aug 2012 at 8:46pm
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yuck butterfish
------------- THE DOGG |
Posted By: bigbrett
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2012 at 9:14am
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Fish snobbery at it's best. My favourite eating fish are as follows: #1 Boarfish - by far the best I have ever had! #2 Butterfish #3 JD #4 Pigfish #5 Blue Maomao The only problem I find with butters is when you fry them the fillets curl but they still taste awesome! ------------- Also known as "Dory Rider" |
Posted By: CrayCray
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 1:58pm
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Ever since I was a kid I was told by the old man that Butters have to age, filleted in the fridge for 24 hours. I can remember frying some up on a camping trip fresh from the ocean and it curled, fell apart and was average, but overnight in the fridge, light coating of flour, S+P, in a pan is trumps. Or crumbed, shallow fried in a burger... Just food for thought! ------------- Double wrapped to hammer the fatties. |
Posted By: Jet_ski_fisher
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 2:25pm
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Here is the list of best eating fish you can get for wellywood.. 1/ Tic's 2/ Puka 3/ hoki 4/ gemfish 5/ bluenose All can be crumbed and fried or battered and deep fried or smoked.. Everything else is bland... |
Posted By: chalkeye
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 3:35pm
I dunno what a Tic is mate but I'm pretty sure dem's fighting words! ------------- float like a crowbar, sting like a bee |
Posted By: Diver Dan
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 4:47pm
Tic = tarakihi Hoki? Are you serious?
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Posted By: bigbrett
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 6:10pm
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^Last time i checked we were talking about spearable fish?! ------------- Also known as "Dory Rider" |
Posted By: Mullins
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2012 at 6:33pm
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Pat - I doubt BTF has ever been fishing, let alone spearfishing. Still waiting for that visit at work...
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Posted By: tigurello 90
Date Posted: 09 Sep 2012 at 8:39pm
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i enjoy my butters to be deep fried cant complain with that if the batters nice and light |