17", Far Rockaway beach NY on a bunker chunk. Most consider these "garbage fish" but I love to eat them. Their diet is almost all crabs / crustacions and their flesh has a distinct crabby / lobster flavor. I scale them, remove the fins / head / guts and leave the tail / rib cage and fry it whole.
I find that filleting them causes way too much meat to be lost with their gigantic rib cage. Cooking them whole unlocks all the delicious flavor of the bones and it's quite easy to pick apart once cooked. The skin has a fantastic texture and flavor once fried. I typically fry in a cast iron with butter and olive oil with some garlic and onions.
And don't forget to save the belly skin! It's tough as nails and the fluke go bananas for it
Posted by Opposite_Ear_5582