Tog Day Afternoon:
Tautog, or blackfish as it is more widely known, has not always been a considered a table worthy fish, despite the popular Philadelphia eponymous eatery. During the mid 70’s a transition was made in the world of gastronomy which led to the humble tog’s place on menus all over. I consider tog a special fish for two reasons; one being that is one of the few fish where males and females are colored distinctly different. This is important because as responsible spearfishermen/women we try not to take the larger egg laden females whose spawn tend to have a much greater chance of survival. Males of this species have white patches on their jaws and cheeks, females are a mottled color all over. Another unique feature of the tautog is that its meat will benefit from rigor mortis, which translates simply into a textural change in the meat from only a few hours on ice or in the fridge. Although it’s a good idea to gut the fish, drain the blood and remove the skin as the mucus it secretes can sometimes taint the flavor of the meat if left on too long.

Cooking your Catch:
Blackfish au Beurre Blanc with Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus

Fresh Tog fillets
Flour
Salt/Pepper
Asparagus
Prosciutto di Parma (Use the Canadian stuff and I will come find you)

Beurre Blanc
3 sticks (12 oz) chilled butter cut into 24 pieces
1 medium sized shallot (about 1-1½ Tbs)
¼ Cup dry white wine (I use Vermouth and Fresh Lemon Juice)
¼ Cup White Wine Vinegar
¼ Tbs Salt
1/8 Tbs White Pepper (black is fine it just depends on how snooty your guests are)

This particular fish, with whom I’ve had a little history, deserved, in my mind anyway, a special uber-rich preparation, hence the artery clogging sauce choice. Togs can be skinned and prepared whole but as this monster will not fit under my broiler I’ve opted to portion out the fillets. I feel that there is a marked difference in flavor and texture between meat toward the head and the collar, which despite the name is the meat toward the tail. Clean the fillets and dry them immediately, from there a simple dredging in flour followed by some sea salt and freshly cracked pepper is all the seasoning that is required.

The asparagus should be firm and the spears bright green. When storing asparagus stand the trimmed bottoms in a flat bottomed bowl with inch or so of cold water and keep refrigerated. Using a very sharp paring knife gently peel the stalks. Wrapping in Prosciutto is fairly straight forward just be sure to wrap them tightly. Leave the tops and a little of the bottom section exposed to facilitate easier flipping without damaging the wrap. Refrigerate for about twenty minutes or untilled chilled.
Note: Pancetta will work just as well and actually tends to crisp up nicer than Prosciutto
On browning fish… Use Butter! Use Stainless Steel! (If you don’t like butter, and by that I mean you hate America and all things good and righteous, stop reading now and go make yourself a salad commie!) Melt your butter over medium heat; wait for the foaming to cease then add the fillets, do not move them around or fidget with them let the glorious butter do its thing. Flip once, that’s it.

The asparagus will only take about 5 minutes total and can be grilled out of doors or on a grill pan. You can use some oil, not much, but flip constantly. Some of you budding Escoffiers may say to blanch briefly and refresh, you can, but its not necessary prior to them being wrapped.
Beurre Blanc, if I am not mistaken originated in Nantes, and is one of the richest sauces in the French repertoire and complements sautéed or broiled fish wonderfully; it’s also fabulous on plain asparagus for those of you purists who feel I’m gilding the lily with cured meats. Timing is EVERYTHING when it comes to preparing a butter enrichment like this, have your indgredients and tools range side and ready to rock. First reduce the wine, vinegar, shallots (or green onions now that I think about it) salt and pepper in an enameled saucepan until your left with a very pungent single tablespoon of liquid. Remove from heat and very carefully add the butter one piece at a time whipping each piece into the liquid COMPLETELY before adding the next. I tend to whip with my right hand and squeeze tightly the next piece of butter in my left allowing the dripping butter (if any) to fall into the pan. The idea behind an enrichment such as this is to not allow the butter to separate under the heat, if it does pour what sauce you have made very slowly into a chilled metal bowl and whip very quickly. The sauce will become oily if broken and a greasy slick will appear on the surface. The trick is as one might expect is to not let this happen, again by whisking in each piece completely before adding the next. The sauce, when finished mounting, will take on an ivory color and the consistency of a light hollandaise (a sauce equally tasty on asparagus and quite lovely on cold boiled fish)

Presentation to me is simple. Asparagus down first, then fillets, then sauce. I tend not to get too crazy with this as fish and vegetables should look and taste like fish and vegetables. Keep in mind that beurre blanc cannot be reheated and must be kept tepid lest it break. It can be refrigerated though and you’ll have yourself some delightful shallot butter for toast or later enrichment projects. Garnish with lemon zest or chopped parsley and bon appetite!

Kenny found this Anchor just the other week

Well, we thought we should post some of the items we have been finding on these shipwrecks over the last couple of months. This is not all of them but a good sampling. The season is still going strong. Water temperature on the bottom is finally rising. Visibility has been good at least twenty feet or more.

Kenny found this Anchor just the other week

John Stengel and Al Trombley with Valve

Kenny Chasing a Valve

Greg with Valve

Group with some booty

Door from a wreck and door knob

Helm from Last Year

Well Capt. Bill found this huge couple hundred pound flange on the Copper Wreck. It is brass and iron. He thinks it might be a head off a boiler or a motor.

Photo Courtesy of Kim Dixon

This past Sunday the Tuna Seazure left the dock for a 28 mile ride to one of the lesser frequented wrecks off of South Jersey. The Tuna Seazure was made for off shore canyon trips and at 24 knots she made the trip in just over an hour. On board were locals Bill and Kim Dixon, Mark Dolphin and Bill Bedford along with Rob from the shop and of course the trusty mate Ken and old salt Capt. Bill and myself.

The Varanger is one of my favorite dives off of Jersey. On Sunday we didn’t have the blue gulf stream water that you often get on this wreck. The first 20ft were murky, but as soon as you hit 20ft the visibility opened up. On the bottom we had a good 30ft of visibility. We were tied in between the midship and stern sections. The landscape was dominated by the two immense engines that seemed to spill out of the wreck. The surrounding decking has collapsed away leaving the great diesels proudly exposed. Aft of the power plant the deck rose to 105ft. Looking out into the break the sea floor at 145ft looked like a far drop. The deck was interrupted by large hatches and openings with stairs leading into the deeper recesses of the wreck begging to be explored. The very stern of the wreck where the large gun once stood has since collapsed and drops off to another debris field.

The Varanger is full of life. Kim was trying her new camera set up out in the darker waters of Jersey. There were plenty of soft corals and anemone for macro shots. Bill Dixon and Rob found a bumper crop of scallop along the edges of the wreckage. There was a large tautog that was hanging out on the deck and came over to check me out during both of my dives.

At 470ft there is way too much wreckage to explore in a couple of dives. The Varanger is the kind of wreck that leaves you wanting to come back for more. We’ve got the boat with the HP to get you there style. I look forward to making a return trip before the end of the season.