The Boiled owl

Because North Americans are generally averse to the cooked heads of animals, we’re losing out on what’s generally the best cut of meat on most of the animals we eat—the cheeks. Fish are no exception. If the fish is big enough, you need its cheeks.

Bluefish cheeks look (and therefore almost taste) like sea scallops. They’re sweet and tender and hands down the superior cut on the fish.

Neighbor Bill, in all of his kindness, brought back two 10-pound, 31-inch Blues in the spring. They weren’t in the surf yet but they were in the “back bay.” Bill threw the vast majority of the big blues right back. He was hooking them left and right.  Angling can be one of the most heartening experiences to be had at the shore.

Of course, I fry the beautiful morsels.

For me, the gore left behind (on the left) on Bill’s cutting board is a beautiful reminder of where the flesh of our fish comes from and how we get it.

What the Blue looks like after Bill is done with it.  Nothing wasted (except the head).  Notice where the cheeks were cut, right behind the eye.