Seafood and summer go hand in hand. Not only is Christmas the ultimate seafood-centric holiday in Australia, but the refreshing and light qualities of seafood are the perfect foil for warmer weather.
Cooked prawns, cold oysters, and Barramundi fillets on the BBQ are absolute staples from December-February. But summer is the peak season for many other seafood species too, some lesser known!
In this article, Sydney Fish Market tour guide Alex Stollznow talks you through the best species to get on your plate this season: try these to make the most of high quality and low prices.
TIGER FLATHEAD
Tiger Flathead consistently lands in the top 3 species (by weight) traded through Sydney Fish Market’s auction, and its peak seasons are in December and February. These appropriately named bottom-dwelling marine fish have flat-triangular shaped heads and long tapering bodies, and are endemic to Australia.
Tiger Flathead have a slightly sweet flavour, low oiliness and drier, medium textured flesh with fine flakes. Our two favourite ways to cook Flathead are wrapped in banana leaves and baked or barbecued, like in this recipe, or battered for fish and chips (recipe here).
BLUE GRENADIER
Possibly more widely known as Hoki, this deep-sea dweller is one of Australia’s best fish and chip species.
Living at depths of up to 500 metres offshore in southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia, this fish is known for soft, sweet, and delicate flesh that lends itself to either battering and deep-frying, or a gentle poaching.
Their diet consists primarily of lanternfish, which impart a nice briny flavour.
EASTERN SEA GARFISH
Garfish is one of the few species in Australia that could be said to have lost popularity over time. This is almost certainly due to their preponderance of very fine bones coming off the spine, even though they’re so fine that they can be eaten with no discomfort. Traditional Garfish recipes often mention rolling the body with a milk bottle to gently break the bones (although milk delivery ceased over 50 years ago!).
But we can guarantee that over this 50 years, Garfish haven’t lost their sweetness or unique flavour. In fact, they remain one of Australia’s finest fish, still highly prised by top chefs such as John Niland, who crumbs butterflied Garfish and serves them with a yoghurt tartare and herb salad.
You can also try crumbing and frying just one side of the fillet, allowing the natural presentation of the fish as well as a moreish crunch.
SAND WHITING
Whitings are comfortably one of Australia’s sweetest families of fish. They tend to hang out on muddy bottoms (as opposed to sand or reef), which allows them to feed on a variety of prey such as small crustaceans, polychaete worms, bivalves, and small fish.
Though highly regarded as table fish, their abundance and ease of capture allows this fish to remain low-priced, with whole Sand and Trumpeter Whiting usually available for $8-12/kg.
They can be filleted, but we recommend that these smaller Whitings be cooked whole, whether that’s steamed, wrapped in foil or deep-fried like chicken wings. You won’t need to adorn this fish too heavily: let the flavours speak for themselves.
GOLDBAND SNAPPER
For such a premium table fish, the Goldband Snapper is yet to gain the reputation it deserves, particularly in southern Australia. Ranging across northern Australia from Perth to Brisbane, the bulk of our catch comes from the Northern Territory, West Australia, and Queensland’s tropics.
Goldband Snapper are generally mid-sized, with small whole fish weighing about a kilo and a half and larger fish well over 5kg. Smaller fish are often sold whole while the larger fish are usually filleted. This fish has a delicate, mild-medium flavour, low oiliness, and moist, firm flesh with large flakes and few bones, which are easily removed.
It is particularly amenable to grilling or roasting: try this recipe if you’re cooking it whole, and this one for fillets.
AUSTRALIAN SALMON
One of Australia’s most misunderstood fish, the Australian Salmon is named for its perceived visual similarities to Atlantic Salmon, which were observed by early settlers to Australia. It is, however, not a part of the “Salmonidae” family, but in fact a member of “Arripidae”, a family of salmon-shaped fish which occur only in Australian and New Zealand waters.
This is a fish that responds particularly well to proper handling methods (such as brain spiking, bleeding, and placing in an ice slurry as quickly as possible). Good handling methods ensure optimal freshness, making for a clean, firm, meaty fillet that is excellent as crumbed fish pieces, minced in fish cakes, barbequed, or smoked.
We even have a video tutorial on our Facebook page that teaches you how to make delicious fried fish balls using this species… Check it out here!
BANDED MORWONG
Known in New Zealand as Red Moki, Banded Morwong have distinctive red and white stripes across their flanks, and are normally found around Tasmania. Their firm, flaky flesh has a distinctive, medium flavour, though is sometimes considered dry. To prevent the flesh from drying out, we recommend baking this fish in banana leaves or foil, such as in this recipe.
The size of this species also makes them ideal as an inexpensive centrepiece on your dinner table, and taste especially good when married with teriyaki, chilli, basil, and coconut milk. Try it in this recipe for a burst of flavour.
EASTERN ROCK LOBSTER
Available wild-caught and farmed, these marine crustaceans are closely related to Tropical Rock Lobsters. Found from the East coast of Australia all the way to WA, they shelter under rocks, on ledges and among coral to depths of 200m, although commonly 35-60m.
By far the most valuable commercial species in Australia (worth over half the value of total Australian finfish catch), they are caught mainly in pots and mostly exported live or frozen to Japan, Taiwan, or China.
These are a premium species and as such deserve a thoughtful approach. Whatever you do, make sure that the Rocklobster is the star! They are gorgeous as sashimi, in a salad, or in a pasta where the sauce is made by simmering and reducing the Rock Lobster shells and organs (video tutorial for this recipe here).
Our best tip for selecting a good specimen is to make sure that the shell is firm (this will indicate that the tail is full of meat). If cooking a lobster yourself sounds like a bit much, try one of these pre-prepared dishes from our retailers.