Weird News

[richlevy]

It gets even weirder.

Snakehead scared everyone when they first showed up in American waters. Part of the fear was environmental: as the fish, originally from Southeast Asia, crept up the Atlantic coast, they decimated native species. They were at the top of the food chain; smallmouth bass could not compete with their razor-sharp teeth. The other part of the fear was visceral. Snakeheads look monstrous.
Now, though, the Baltimore Sun reports that a group of chefs and environmentalists in Maryland is trying to bring the snakeheads down a notch, by eating them. The brave snakehead cooks have said that firm, fast-cooking snakehead meat tastes like chicken. (This group joins an exciting bandwagon of cooks who are using new recipes to combat the pervasive problem of invasive species.)

They do sound tasty.

"It's just like any other fish -- salmon, mahi-mahi -- it's just kind of an uglier-looking fish," says sous chef Eli Morris. "Sauteing it, it's just like eating chicken, I hate to say that."
Depending on how it's prepared, snakehead is a bit firmer than other white fish, which means it stands up to a grill better. But it's sweet, mild and clean. In the hands of a great deep-fry cook, it might be a great substitute for cod in a platter of fish and chips. More sustainable, too.
Head chef Chad Wells, an avid angler from childhood who has been out on Maryland's tributaries stalking snakeheads, says he would create a different recipe, depending on which section of the fish was being used: sauteing tail pieces, frying the fillets from the middle section and grilling portions near the head.
"It cooks fast, as fast as

So we have a tasty fish that the state actually wants hunted/fished to extinction. If I lived in Maryland I'd be out back with a flashlight, a baseball bat, and cast iron frying pan. Heck, I could leave the baseball bat and just hit them with the frying pan.