Opah loin (last night\'s dinner)

cdnewman

The local tuna has been kinda sad of late and salmon season is still a few months away, so what's a boy to do for fatty fish in february? Why not try some Opah?

Fishmonger recommended some montreal steak rub, but I only had a "delmonico" sample rub (not steak eaters), so that plus some chinese sesame oil just before grilling.
Sliced totoma squash with same sesame oil diluted with canola, penzey's bangkok blend:

[img size=150]Squash on grill at 425 for 5 minutes/side: (((oops, hit submit too early. Please see part 2 for rest of pics)))[/img]

cdnewman

Hit "submit" instead of preview, sorry. Continued:

Then cranked egg to 550 and dropped on the opah:

Flipped at 1 min 30:

After another 1:30, tilted on thick edge for 20 seconds, then off. Sliced immediately, plated over jasmine rice and made a dipping sauce of rice vinegar, grated ginger, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, a few sambal chilis and some cilantro:

Paired with Archery Summit Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir 2006 (which pretty much turned a budget meal into a "special occasion" in 3 seconds). The earthiness of the wine really worked with the ginger and the cherries/blackberries really brought out the sweetness of the fish.
All in all, very happy.

Hoosier

That looks fantastic. I would love to try it. Never heard of Opah and had to look it up. Looks like it's very popular in Hawaii, rarely caught by recreational anglers, but becoming more available in restaurants. Very similar to tuna from the look of it...similar taste/texture?

cdnewman

Not quite as fatty as tuna. Taste is definitely sweeter and a little milder. Would use in place of tuna for most recipes, but go lighter on the sauce.

BayouMark

Nice cook. Grill marks are tough to do on fish. If you try for good grill marks then you risk overcooking. If Opah is available here in So La I want to try some.