Corpusfishing.com

[Gib]

I have heard sting ray is good to eat, and I finally had the right combination, sting ray and courage.

Caught a couple of rays over the weekend that went about 50 pounds each.

Cut the wings off one of them giving one to the other guy in the boat.

Just had sting ray for supper. Nothing special, salt, pepper, garlic, pancko, and fried.

I was impressed. I expected meat to be course like shark; however, it was very tender and delicious.

I do not mean tolerable, but it was GOOD!!

I recommend it to all, but I would not mess with it if it is not a big one. Off of a 50 pounder, 1 wing, maybe 5 to 7 pounds of meat.

Oh, very easy to filet, but I could see how a little one would be more of a problem.

[Seabass]

Thanks for that report, Gib. I have often heard of stingray being edible and in fact good eats, but I can't really say I know of anyone that has intentionally/knowingly eaten one. People say that "bay scallops" often served in restaurants are merely cookie cut pieces of stingray, fried. I brought some ray meat home one time and froze it. After many months I took it out and thawed it, finding the meat all stringy and not looking desirable. Didn't eat it.

But I still want to sample a piece of one of the most commonly tossed back species in the gulf/bays. I have Cajun blood (well, my family tree shows decendants directly from France to N.O. in the early 1700s, not Acadians, but they probably assimilated with em'. ) so I guess that makes me apt to try anything .

Do you recall what kind of ray you ate? Was it southern, cownose, or otherwise? How was the texture when you ate it? Was it fresh-crisp right through or more like an oversized red and chewy? Perhaps a combination like a nice large scallop?

Seabass

[The Trash Heap]

That stringiness in the southern stingray I've eaten only reinforces its clam flavor. The wing fillets beg to become clam strips. A small ray would still be worth at least tasting if you don't have a big one to experiment on.

Haven't been able to catch any skates around here, but I'm betting those must be the origins of cooky-cutter scallops because from what I've seen of ray meat it couldn't hold together well enough to resemble a scallop.

The jeezly skates I barely will admit to catching while halibut fishing in Alaska were too damned big (some well over a hundred pounds) to chase around with a cooky cutter even if the party boat captain didn't laugh me over the side for suggesting we keep one.
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The Trash Heap Has Spoken!
NNYYAAAHH!!!

[sandflea]

Sting ray are great to eat but only fresh, if you freeze them they are horrible. Due to some slow fishing trips we broke down and cooked some one trip and have been hooked ever since. The best way we found is we fillet it, place in ziploc w/Italian dressing, remove and salt & pepper and grill it on the pit like a steak. When it is done no matter how big the fillet it is gone instantly. We used to take it back to College Station with the rest of our catch, invite all our friends for a cookout, not tell them what it was and every time it was gone as fast as you could get it ready. Gig'em.

[The Trash Heap]

It figures. What a Cajun will eat, so will an Aggie.

[Class of '71]
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The Trash Heap Has Spoken!
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[larry meinert]

If it is not to old, fresh, and cooked right, it will taste as good as any scallop.

This is such a great site. I would hope to BCNU this winter when work is slow but I am threatening a trip down to the island some weekend before then.

[landlocked beachbum]

Another widely spread urban legend, also known as BS! Sure rays are good eating, but that's NOT where "bay scallops" come from!

http://www7.taosnet.com/platinum/data/species/scallopbay.html

http://www7.taosnet.com/platinum/data/species/scallopsea.html

Doesn't anyone else look this stuff up?????
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[Gib]

Seabass,

I do not know what kind of ray I ate except that it is your typical sting ray in this area. I do know for a fact that it was not a cow nose ray.

The texture was great. I expected shark like texture, but after cooking, the texture is very tender with no "rubbery" bite at all. It was not chewy.

I have had scallops and I love them, but this did not have the texture of any scallop I ever ate.

Also, I did not freeze the meat.

The wings do get what I guess some are calling "stringy". I cut out anything that did not look like meat. There was no chewy, stringy, fishy, etc. taste to it.

As stated before, it was not just tolerable, it was delicious. I prefer it over Redfish if the Redfish is not blackened.

[ironmanstan]

A biologist friend of mine smoked his on the grill and said it was great that way. i personally have never had any kind of ray i'm sure its great. rays are a cool species i just let mine go and eat a dumb o redfish.
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I LIKE MINE FRIED.

[B-1 83]

[omaka]

If yall like bitter flesh then sting ray is absloutely great to eat hehehe.

[CastnBlast]

They are great grilled w/ lemon garlic butter, cayane pepper. Also, don't forget to filet the bottom side of the wing...It's often forgotten. I find they are easier to filet leaving them whole.
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Vegetarian (n)...Old indian word for bad hunter

[Tyler]

http://www.corpusfishing.com/ray.htm