INDIAN RIVER INLET, Del. 鈥斅燭here’s no shortage of seafood restaurants and crab houses near聽the beach.聽 Whether it鈥檚 an informal crab shack or a high-class restaurant with gourmet offerings, they’re practically everywhere. But while plates full of crab cakes, fried shrimp, flounder and salmon are easy to find, there’s also a fish swimming in the same waters you are that the locals swear by as being the very best 鈥斅爄f you can find it.
Tautog, simply called “tog” by the watermen there, and also called blackfish in other areas, can be found in the mid-Atlantic waters, but rarely on mid-Atlantic menus. They鈥檙e usually at the bottom of the sea, where shipwrecks and reefs sit, making it hard for the sharpest of anglers, and those who charter a boat for a few hours, to snag one.
“They鈥檙e hard to catch; they鈥檙e seasonal; they like cooler water,” says Burt Adams, a charter boat captain and the owner and operator of Hook ‘Em and Cook ‘Em, at the Indian River Inlet Marina in Delaware.
“When it warms up too much they won鈥檛 bite very well; when it gets real cold they won鈥檛 bite. They鈥檙e tricky to catch because they will come up and just nibble your bait off and leave you bare-hooked,” Adams goes on to explain.
“They stay in the wreck. They鈥檒l stay inside the wreck and just bring their head out far enough to grab a hold of the bait and they don鈥檛 really bite hard; they just nibble at the edges,” he said.
But these ugly, ornery fish are well worth the effort.
“I haven鈥檛 had a bad tog yet, no matter how it鈥檚 prepared,” Adams said. “They鈥檙e kind of a sweeter-tasting meat, but it鈥檚 a very mild fish. It鈥檚 not a real strong fishy flavor.聽 It鈥檚 real white meat and it鈥檚 flaky and moist if you don鈥檛 overcook it.”
They鈥檙e also a seasonal fish in Delaware, though the good news is that the season opened up again this week and runs through the end of August. If you鈥檙e fishing off Maryland waters, they’re in season most of the year, though, just as聽in Delaware, you鈥檙e limited in how many you can bring back to shore.聽 You also have to make sure whatever you catch meets the minimum size mandate.
But if chartering a boat and heading a couple miles off shore won鈥檛 allow you to keep your appetite, you can try to let someone else do the work for you. You’ll just have to work to find that person.
“Tautog has been one of our favorites, [our] most-popular sellers,” said聽Scott Kammerer, the president of the SoDel Concept restaurant group.聽 鈥淚t almost sells out and people call ahead to get it.
“It鈥檚 a delicacy,” Kammerer added. “You talk to chefs and you talk to the guys who catch fish; they like tog.”
It鈥檚 just not something you can count on seeing on the menu every day.聽 But if you鈥檙e a chef or restaurant owner, having a relationship with the local anglers will go a long way.
“I鈥檝e had guys I鈥檝e been buying seafood from for 25-years,” said聽Kammerer. 聽“If the fisherman and the purveyors know that they鈥檙e going to sell it to you, they鈥檒l call you first.聽 We鈥檒l buy it no matter what.”
But he admits being part of a group that owns nine restaurants throughout Delaware is an advantage.
“If you鈥檙e just a restaurant by yourself and you鈥檙e trying to go out and find it and track it down, it鈥檚 hard,” said聽Kammerer. 聽“It takes relationships.”
Adams, who also sells it in season at the Hook ‘Em and Cook ‘Em market at the marina, won’t disagree. “It’s not easy to find,” he said, sounding exactly like the kind of man who has taken countless trips on open waters hoping to catch some, “but very well worth it.”
Check 草莓传媒.com each Thursday morning through Labor Day for a new 鈥淏eyond the Bay Bridge鈥� feature, where 草莓传媒 will explore the goings-on at all the Delmarva beach towns. From new restaurants, events, to music and more, 草莓传媒 will bring you fun tips and information to make your trip to the beach more enjoyable. Be sure to bookmark the page as well as the page to stay updated throughout the summer.
