Kingfish/Kingcroaker Sashimi

I forgot to post this the past summer—when we fished up a large Northern Kingfish (Menticirrhus saxatilis), also known sometimes as whiting or kingcroaker. It’s a relatively common fish we can catch here on the south shore of Long Island, and although most people catch them on normal (calms/bloodworm/squid) bait, I tend to catch them on… chicken, since they are usually a byproduct of when I’m fishing for eel (as were the flatfish we caught all summer.)

Because their common name of Kingfish and Whiting is shared with several other species of unrelated fish, finding information on their taste is difficult. They are not fished commercially, and tend to remain smaller, which is a real shame because this particular fish is delicious both cooked and as sushi/sashimi.

In Long Island there is no bag or size limit to these guys which means you can catch them to your heart’s content. When cooked, it is a flakey white fish, with very sweet and tender meat. As sashimi, it tastes very, very reminiscent of yellowtail/hamachi, which was a welcome surprise!

No real recipe to be had—just a sharp knife, some wasabi and soy sauce and you have yourself a party! I sometimes make a spicy kingfish roll with it that the kids absolutely adore. I wanted to let those curious about whether these can be sashimi’d know that yes, very much so!