# Eating Skate Wings



## wolfgang

I've been told that the wing meat on skates is quite tasty and that they are even used to make imitation scallops (sometimes served in restaurants instead of the real scallops). Is this true? Has anybody tried it?


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## Ryan Y

*Oh Boy..>This is sure to start some debate....*

Bottom line is "NOPE"


I say that because they are not the same....That is not say that someone hasn't put them in front of you (or someone else) and said "try this....Its scallops".

Anyhow, they are not the same, if you put the two in front of me and said to try them I could tell you which is which without eating them.

skates and rays....(which allot of people confuse the two and use the terms interchangeably as I do sometimes) actually have more of a whiter meat then scallops.


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## fishbait

I've heard that before too. I also heard that you can use a cookie cutter to make the round scallop shapes and punch them out of the wings.


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## Lip Ripper

i have had them a few times and they are not that bad. but when your cleaning them it can be a pain, they have cartilage like bones thought the wing, almost like filleting a flounder.


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## Charlie2

*Skate Scallops*

Urban legend.

Scallops don't have gristle and skates do. If you were going to punch 'scallops' from skate wings, I'd suggest something other than a cookie cutter. More like a piece of pipe would probably work. 

I have eaten skate(and sting ray) wings poached in white wine which were tasty.

I've also had scallops and even I can tell the difference. Duh. C2


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## eric

skates are very good eats. 
a good size. like 18" wide. too big like 3' isnt good.

has alot of meat. and very very little 'bones'
hell , there is no bone. its all soft cartilage

similar to shark meat, except its white and soft. and doesnt have that shark meat odor.

depending on cooking method, most of the time you can literally just suck the meat off the cartilage.

to skin one isnt so hard as it looks,,, with the damn spiky back.

just hose clean. with a big scrubber, make sure no sand is left. just get a cleaver, hack the wings off (bury the rest of the mutilated corpse in your flower garden) then hack wings into pieces. then fillet skin off smaller pieces.

then cook however you want it.

im chinese, so i use some chinese recipe. which can get complicated.

next time around, im gonna try to fry em, and see how they taste.


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## Hudak

Charlie2 said:


> I have eaten skate(and sting ray) wings......


Ok, I guess I can follow you eating the ray wings....but the skate, your mind over matter gauge goes wayyyyyy beyond mine. I don't know that I would be able to get the fact that it is a skate out of my mind long enough to even give it a chance. 

Now, I have had lizard fish before. That was actually good. Surprisingly. It was deep fried and it had a texture kinda like chicken. My fishing buddy brought some up to the pier that he went home and cooked. I am not saying that I would go through the trouble of cleaning a mess of them, but if offered some already cooked, I wouldn't turn it down.

Robert


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## Lip Ripper

Charlie2 said:


> Urban legend.
> 
> Scallops don't have gristle and skates do. If you were going to punch 'scallops' from skate wings, I'd suggest something other than a cookie cutter. More like a piece of pipe would probably work.
> 
> I have eaten skate(and sting ray) wings poached in white wine which were tasty.
> 
> I've also had scallops and even I can tell the difference. Duh. C2


i saw some special on the history channel where they actually had commercial skate fishermen. they also got a decent price per lb for them. they were using them to make bay scallops,i think.


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## Charlie2

*Bay Scallops*

I said that I had heard about them; just haven't seen any. I don't doubt you one iota.

I heard they were called Bay Scallops and the giveaway was that they were all the same size. I guess they punched them out with the same piece of pipe C2


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## longcast

Ignorance is abundant here.

Scate wing is white meat. To get the skin off, par-boil them a few seconds, then peel skin off with a fork. When Scate is cooked the meat is stringy or thready. There is no way to get a Scallop type product out of it.

Before anybody else sticks their foot in their mouth about Scallops being made out of Scate, catch a Scate and cook it. Then you will know the diff.


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## RuddeDogg

*yep*

If ya do a search in the recipe board you will see that I posted some recipes for sakte and stingray.


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## hengstthomas

For you guys who like skates ... Come to CHP in early spring  If your bottom fishing thats what you'll catch 99.9% of the time
Personally I never tried skate but have had rays. They are very good on the grill . Lip Ripper was right about them being like a flounder to fillet . Just make sure you kill it before attempting to cut off the wings not because of any dangers but they bleed A LOT and if they go into a fit you'll get covered in blood  . I usually make a few stakes then fillet the smaller ends of the wings . Once cooked on the grill you take a fork and insert the tip under the skin and roll it off the steak then take fork between the meat and cartilage and pop the meat off . I cant see how they are confused with a scallop ... then again I get em fresh in Chinco and you aint had scallops till you get em like that !


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## fishinmama

ya know, i think fiore posted up a report couple months ago with a bunch of pics of skates & rays that are a delicacy in Singapore.....

but if you are offereing me one or the other, i'll have the scallops please!


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## fingersandclaws

hengstthomas said:


> ... then again I get em fresh in Chinco and you aint had scallops till you get em like that !



Typo? Did ya mean Chino? Like the prison in southern California? opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:


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## HuskyMD

I had cow-nosed ray wings once. I stress *once*.


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## kenyee

Lightly floured and fried then served w/ butter is the french way of cooking skate but then they seem to put butter on everything to make it taste good 

I've also heard that bluefish cheeks taste like scallops and taste great deep fried. I'm going to have to try that next year


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## hengstthomas

fingersandclaws said:


> Typo? Did ya mean Chino? Like the prison in southern California? opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:


Chincoteague Va Right off the boats


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## hengstthomas

HuskyMD said:


> I had cow-nosed ray wings once. I stress *once*.


Was it bled ? More important to bleed it than any fish


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## Bass_n_around

*cookie cutter LOL*

You can tell the difference for sure.Also there are so much cartalidge it aint funny .There is know way a cookie cutter is going to cutt threw that


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## Bass_n_around

*Rays*

Ther was a 61/2 ft ray caught in july i think it was at AI Va.the gyu cutt it up and took it home about 125lbs of bone and cartlidge


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## hengstthomas

Bass_n_around said:


> Ther was a 61/2 ft ray caught in july i think it was at AI Va.the gyu cutt it up and took it home about 125lbs of bone and cartlidge


YO ! I'm sending you a PM


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## fishinmama

kenyee said:


> Lightly floured and fried then served w/ butter is the french way of cooking skate but then they seem to put butter on everything to make it taste good
> 
> I've also heard that bluefish cheeks taste like scallops and taste great deep fried. I'm going to have to try that next year


the blue cheeks are great & sweet-- best part of the fish - but they gotta be from a decent sized fish to make it worthwhile & ya need quite a few of em -- no wonder other fish take the blue heads as bait!


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## texas sharker

*make friends with a Vietnamese!!!*

to ALL:

the Vietnamese have cooked both rays & skates for a LONG time & make REALLY good things out of both. check out your local library for a Vietnamese cookbook.

my buddy's beloved is from Saigon & he eats REALLY well, as she KNOWS how to turn ray/skate/anything that swims into "ambrosia".

GOOD LUCK out on the water, ts


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## Rockfish1

with enough herbs and spices you can make a dog turd taste good...


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## George Gravier

I heard some restaurants substitute scallop when you order skate wing is this true??


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## sprtsracer

*All I can say is...*

They make GREAT shark bait, but then again, I've never fished for sharks with scallops!


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## Coast'n

Cut off the wings immediately after catch, skin the top only, lightly flour and saute in butter. Cleaning is a pain as they have spikes and are very slimy but the flavor is like a crab/scallop mix. The europeans have crashed both the skate and dogfish populations as they are popular over there and take a long time to reach reproductive age.


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## HuskyMD

hengstthomas said:


> Was it bled ? More important to bleed it than any fish


No need to bleed it as it skinned it and cut off the wings immediately. I did soak the meat in water which seemed to help remove some of the junk. It was very white when it was done. Just a little rough and not too much taste. It was edible, just not tasty. Fried and with butter I'm sure it would taste better, but I try not to eat too many fried foods.


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## hengstthomas

Coast'n said:


> Cut off the wings immediately after catch, skin the top only, lightly flour and saute in butter. Cleaning is a pain as they have spikes and are very slimy but the flavor is like a crab/scallop mix. The europeans have crashed both the skate and dogfish populations as they are popular over there and take a long time to reach reproductive age.


Seems we need to invite them over here ...


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## hengstthomas

HuskyMD said:


> No need to bleed it as it skinned it and cut off the wings immediately. I did soak the meat in water which seemed to help remove some of the junk. It was very white when it was done. Just a little rough and not too much taste. It was edible, just not tasty. Fried and with butter I'm sure it would taste better, but I try not to eat too many fried foods.


Fried foods will be the end of me just like my dad but I'll take the good with the bad  
Put it on the Grill


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## J_Lannon

fishbait said:


> I've heard that before too. I also heard that you can use a cookie cutter to make the round scallop shapes and punch them out of the wings.





You are correct, there used to be a few places in Rhode Island and Mass. that used skates as a scallop substitute. I used to watch them do it all the time. They also use skates for imitation crab meat as well. IE......subway sandwiches seafood sandwich. Its mixed in with some actual crab to give the sandwich the right taste.

They used heavy duty gaskets punches to punch out the imitation scallops


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## Al Kai

Rockfish1 said:


> with enough herbs and spices you can make a dog turd taste good...


This quote is funny, I like this.


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## chumrunner

IMO the best thing to do with a skate is to stick a couple of 12/0 J hooks in it, yak it out 'bout 300yds and wait for a 14ft tiger to take you water skiing


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## mud

chumrunner said:


> IMO the best thing to do with a skate is to stick a couple of 12/0 J hooks in it, yak it out 'bout 300yds and wait for a 14ft tiger to take you water skiing


I love water skiing!


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## SeaSalt

Koreans eat raw skate wings with the cartridge... its pretty good.  Pickled skate dish.. 

before all you round-eyed friends get grossed out, us ******-eyed folks think eating barely cooked meat is nasty...  

I actually like my steak med-rare and my fish raw...


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## NTKG

SeaSalt said:


> Koreans eat raw skate wings with the cartridge... its pretty good.



you koreans..... ya'll eat everything with legs but the table!


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## AtlantaKing

NTKG said:


> you koreans..... ya'll eat everything with legs but the table!


I thought that was the Cantonese...


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## Fish Bait

Hey John, just wanted to point out that us Mediterranean type round eyes also savor skate, not to mention squid and octopus, as well!


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## SeaSalt

Fish Bait said:


> Hey John, just wanted to point out that us Mediterranean type round eyes also savor skate, not to mention squid and octopus, as well!


for a minute I thought you were fishbait. I was going to say, what you talking about, last time I saw you, you were ****** eyed japanese...  then I realized, it was you... 

how's it going D? haven't seen you in awhile. hope that revolution is treating you well. I still think about when we went out on the Severn River. You are the healthiest grandfather I ever met...  kicking my butt paddling...


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## BubbaBlue

NTKG said:


> *you koreans*..... ya'll eat everything with legs but the table!











.


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## texas sharker

chumrunner, et.al.,

barring my buddy's lady & her ability "to feed the masses" with NOTHING that started out looking EDIBLE, you idea sounds like a FINE PLAN.

fyi. i'm trying to get "obx" interested in going after another BIGGER friend of the over HALF-TON tiger that was taken off the city pier in Oak Island, NC.

i think enough of the idea that i'm planning to try to get into mother's storage building over Christmas & bring the "antique" 16/0 Penn, the 120# class rod & my 30' leaders back to VA.

i keep thinking about trying a >20# live skate & a couple of 5-gal buckets of fresh blood to be "formally introduced" to the BIGGER friend.

GOOD LUCK out on the water,ts


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## Hudak

texas sharker said:


> chumrunner, et.al.,
> 
> barring my buddy's lady & her ability "to feed the masses" with NOTHING that started out looking EDIBLE, you idea sounds like a FINE PLAN.
> 
> fyi. i'm trying to get "obx" interested in going after another BIGGER friend of the over HALF-TON tiger that was taken off the city pier in Oak Island, NC.
> 
> i think enough of the idea that i'm planning to try to get into mother's storage building over Christmas & bring the "antique" 16/0 Penn, the 120# class rod & my 30' leaders back to VA.
> 
> i keep thinking about trying a >20# live skate & a couple of 5-gal buckets of fresh blood to be "formally introduced" to the BIGGER friend.
> 
> GOOD LUCK out on the water,ts


Do you guys find critters prefer skate over ray? I have heard mention of skate a couple times now. I have always found the opposite, anytime I send a skate out, nothing....Let me send a healthy ray, and he will get to know the inside of a critter quick.


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## texas sharker

thekingfeeder;all

imVho, large sharks are UNdiscriminating between rays & skates (and for that matter ANYTHING that crawls/swims/flies). 

it's also been my expierience that a hungry tiger will eat ANYTHING that he can get his mouth around. 
fwiw, one time in Galveston (2 decades ago) i saw a @600# tiger "spit up" a whole roll of TAR PAPER, still wrapped in brown paper from the lumber-yard, when he was landed!!! (WHY a roll of tar paper looked "inviting" as a meal is beyond me.)

i also know of a tiger that, when dressed, had a Carter 4-barrel carb off a Chevy V-8 in his gut.

like i said, they aren't very "finicky" when it comes to "having lunch".

GOOD LUCK out on the water,ts


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## Hudak

Undeniably what you are saying is true. Just my personal experience, if I have a skate, ok, I am fishing....If I have a ray, hold on, it is about to happen. That kind of mentality. I guess another reason I like rays is they get much bigger then skate. Evidently I haven't used enough skate to gain confidence in them like ray. Maybe one day I will.....


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## kenyee

texas sharker said:


> i also know of a tiger that, when dressed, had a Carter 4-barrel carb off a Chevy V-8 in his gut.


Makes you wonder what kind of weird digestive system they have. At least when a striper eats a fish w/ a yoyo weight, the weight gets stuck in the striper...


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## texas sharker

kenyee, et.el.,

REF: "wierd digestive system"

as i've been "crazed over" sharks for about 5 decades (my mother would tell you that it's like having a son with a passion for rats!), that's a question i can answer, with some liklihood of being correct (there are darn few things that i DO know about! = chuckle).

the digestive system of most sharks is relatively simple & like most simple things (think a sledgehammer versus the PC you're sitting at.= which one is LESS likely to break down?) works WELL, if slowly. 

the system is basicly a long tube with teeth on one end & a "vent" on the other end, which is surrounded with strong muscles, blood transfer systems & nerves. 

the system works on muscular contraction (YES, for any biologists reading this, this is an OVER-simplification.) & works equally well in BOTH directions. 

should your shark ingest something (like the Chevy carb) that is NOT digestable, he simply "reverses the flow" of the process of "moving down the tube" & spits the item(s) back out OR "passes" the item, undigested, out the vent.

GOOD LUCK out on the water, ts


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## Fish Bait

John-
Didn’t want to hijack this but it seems to have run its course.

The Rev is great. I have used it mostly on the upper Potomac and even found some flat water where I can catch SMB.
When are you going to go kayaking again? I’ll slow down so you can keep up with me.


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## wolfgang

OK...I just gotta ask the shark hunters out there...are you guys saying that you use live skates/rays as bait for sharks??? How??


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## texas sharker

wolfgang;et.al.,

YEP. we do. (fwiw, i've been known to "harness" a LIVE chicken hen for sharks-they "flop around" really well & attract LOTS of attention!!!)

BOTH live rays & skates can be similarly "harnessed" & "put out on a picket" = sharks LOVE them. 
(as someone else here said, i PREFER a BIG ray, i.e. over 10# - over 20# i believe to be BETTER, for bait, as BIG sharks like BIG live baits.) 

otoh, i do NOT "turn my nose up at" a big skate or a large/live fish, if i cannot find a lively ray.

GOOD LUCK out on the water, ts


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## stonemason

Emeril cooked skate wings on tv once...

SKATE WINGS WITH GRENOBLE SAUCE 
from Emeril Live EM1C08

[ email recipe to a friend ]
[ display recipe in printable format ] 


Ingredients needed:

8 skate wings, (3 to 4 ounces each) cleaned 
Salt 
Freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 cup flour 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1/4 cup minced shallots 
2 tablespoons capers 
2 lemons. juiced 
1/2 cup dry white wine 
2 stick butter, cut into cubes 
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves 

2 cups assorted vegetables, blanched if needed (such as haricots verts, baby carrots, halved, thinly sliced squash, thinly sliced zucchini, thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced red onions, etc.,) 

Season the skate with salt and pepper. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the skate in the flour, coating completely. 

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, saute the skate for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove the fish from the pan and set aside. 

Add the shallots and capers. Season with pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and wine. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 6 to 8 minutes. 

Whisk in the butter, a cube at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon of parsley. 

Add the fish back into the sauce and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. 

In another saute pan, heat the remaining tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. 

To serve, spoon the vegetables in the center of each plate. Place the skate on top of the vegetables and spoon the sauce over the fish. Garnish with remaining parsley.

Yield: 4 servings


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## stonemason

interesting article

http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3123


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## whichway

*emeril the fuzzy!!*

ok ok 

i was gonna sit back and see what you guys think of skate but after the emeril thing i feel the need to chine in. 
as a chef, and running a independant restaurant, i must say that if and when you can get FRESH skate wings, usually when the striper season goes up and down the coast, they are awesome, 
lightly dust in seasoned flour, saute in a hot pan with clarified butter, add lemon, capers and parsley and that is all she wrote. 

you should try this once and let me know what you think


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## whichway

and by the way the cheeks of just about anything if you handle them correctly are great!!


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## SeaSalt

whichway said:


> and by the way the cheeks of just about anything if you handle them correctly are great!!


have you ever had cheeks of yellow tail... yumm!! grilled yellow tail cheeks...


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## Jesse Lockowitz

scallops are good..


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## Freddrum

*Alright*

A few months ago, I went into an account of mine and noticed some guy's filming something in the restaurant and asked the proprietor what was happening. They were from New Zealand and were following the commercial catch of cow nosed rays from catching to eating. I was a little :--|. BUT, after giving an interview to the film crew about how many we get on the OBX and release, the chefs in the kitchen sauteed up some chopped up cubes of the ray wings with I believe soy, garlic, black pepper, and so forth and I'm here to tell you it was delish. Tasted like rare beef, and good beef, like tenderloin. Was VERY surprised and it gave thought to keeping one here and there but I doubt it. To each his own. 

By the way, they said the documentary will air on the discovery channel next spring.


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