MMMM, Scallops are so good!

[Kyle]

So last night a buddy brought me some HUGE cooked scallops that he had taken the previous day. They were so good, each piece was the size of a golf ball.
After we ate, he showed me the pics of the scallops. .................That Fu#@er....
He speared a 17 pound bat ray, whacked off the wings, steaked up the meet and baked away.
I was frikin pissed and a little grossed out, but it was damn good, and the next bat ray I see, I'm going to feed it my long iron.

Any one else seriously hunted, whacked, and cooked bat ray?

Kyle

[dpc]

When I used to live in Santa Barbara a buddy and I were freediving out a Devereux Pt. near Isla Vista. Bat rays were every where. He shot one small one (~60 lbs.) and we grilled up the wings on the BBQ. It was okay, maybe we didn't cook it right, but I wouldn't do it again. It was a pain in the butt carrying that slimy thing back to the house on the 1/2 mile walk.

I bet those mud marlin put up a fight though!

[Peter R.]

Anybody like these rascals? I was at my favorite sushi bar the other night and some lady brought in a live or freshly dead leopard shark she had caught @ San Clemente. The sushi chef sliced it up and despite mild protestations served me some. My verdict: too tough and tastless. I didn't finish what little he served me.

I hav'nt tried bat ray that I know of. I heard somewhere that if you order scallops in some less than stellar restaraunts, you're actually chowing down on bat ray!?
Urban legend maybe.:)

[fuzz]

Not at all. I used to catch stingrays on pole in a harbor & a nice guy that used to hang around us would buy them off of us & take it to a chinese restaurant to be used as scallops. It was a nice restaurant too...

[Stodelle]

Hate to tell you guys, but there was a statistic out a few years ago that something like 90% of restaurant labeled "scallops" are actually rays. It is also in the book "Probably More Than You Wanted To Know about Pacific Fishes".

I would not have a problem with eating it, I just want someone to show me exactly how to clean one and which part to use.

[DaKahuna]

Same here!
I see enough of those rays around that I'd definitely give it a try if you get enough meat to make it worth it.
Tastes like scallops! Bring it on!
Just need to know how to butcher it!

[gonetobaja]

Ok guys heres the deal,

Down in baja we catch them all of the time. Sorry to say that most of the time they are caught in gill nets close to shore.

The way we clean them down here is to cut off of the wings and then fillet the big piece of cartalige in between the meat layers. Skin them and cut up into pieces and cook however you cook scallops. Another way I have heard is to take a piece of thin walled steel pipe and then place the pipe on the wing. Hit the top of the pipe and it cuts out a plug of meat from the wing. Then you take the plugs of round meat and remove the cartilage in the middle and skin and cook.

Whatever you do dont cook them with the cartliage in them, I think it gives them a funky taste.

Great with alfredo sauce and pasta...

GTB
http://www.gonetobaja.com

PS I have never speared one but I would be willing to bet that they are a handfull, be carefull of the tail.

[PhotoTJ]

Jeez, the real scallops movin' a little too fast for you boys? I've heard about the 'resturant rays', but real scallops are so easy to get, why bother?

[Prodigal Son]

Originally posted by PhotoTJ
Jeez, the real scallops movin' a little too fast for you boys? I've heard about the 'resturant rays', but real scallops are so easy to get, why bother?
I think there are 3 reasons:
1. Three letters: MPA. Some of the good dive spots around Orange County fall in a MPA (i.e., no scallops). There are good scallop spots outside the MPAs, but even some of the DFG wardens are confused about them. I think some divers just don't want to run the risk of getting ticketed by a warden even if they are collecting in a non-MPA area. I keep a MPA map in my car just in case.
2. Freediving for scallops takes some time and effort. In certain parts, they are lots of rays that are an open shot. I'll have to consider trying one.
3. A lot of divers probably don't even recognize scallops right under their noses.

[DaKahuna]

With a 10 per day limit on scallops, I can't even get a full meal out of my allowed take! Let alone if I ever wanted to try to have a meal for a few friends....

My buddy Bluegill has actually ordered ray wings from commercial sources to prepare at his restaurant, and no, they weren't on the menu as scallops. He said they actually filleted the whole wing, removed the cartilage, and cooked it as a large chunk. He said that the meat is similar to scallop in texture and flavor, but is not as sweet tasting as the real thing. I'm sure he'll chime in to correct me if I missed anything. ;)

But when I think of the poundage of meat to be harvested from a ray as compared to the work involved in getting a few scallops here in OC, I WILL be giving it a shot, pun intended!

Yo GTB! I like the pipe idea, but I would probably opt to use PVC instead of steel. You can file down/sharpen the end of the pipe to make it cut pretty well. At least it worked well on the potato guns I used to make! :D ;)

Last thing I need is advice about landing one. What's that about the tail? It's not a stingray, but you still have to worry?

[Peter R.]

Chip,
They use that tail as a wip. :eek: I can imagine it would get pretty painful, if a dying, fighting bat ray was thrashing that thing around!
Peter

[JustAddWater]

Rays taste like scallops?....mmmmm Ilove scallops, unfortunately very few make it home to be cooked. I like to put them on ice, in a baggie with lime juice and tabasco for an hour, then eat them raw. I don't know if I'll try that with a bat ray.

[DaKahuna]

Thanks Peter!

Any ideas if/where a single shot might stone one? Otherwise I might be wanting to buddy-shoot one if it's big so 2 people can fight it! Then one can go get the tail while the other stabs it in the head. It might be time to finally invest in a float line or a reel. :rolleyes:
Maybe I'll be BBQ'ing some ray in the parking lot before the next OCHunter meeting! We'll see....:)

[dpc]

I'd say right between the eyes, but make sure you see the whites of 'em first! You might want to try a small one first, just to gauge the amount of fight the mud marlins gonna put up.

[Marcus]

I've eat sting ray before here in Florida, white meat with a good texture to it, pain in the ass to clean though. The stamping idea sounds like it would be a little easier.

[Peter R.]

That seems like the easy thing about a bat ray: the kill zone. I would think if you slung your steel any where in that prominent forehead of theirs, you'd have a pretty good chance. It's a body or wing shot that I would worry about! :eek:

June 24, Chip! Hennesy's actually has that open pit flame in their courtyard. That would be great wouldn't it? You come walking into Hennesey's slinging some big dead ray!:D

PR

[DaKahuna]

Bring yer coat hangers to the meeting!
If I cut them right, we can just play it off like we're roasting marshmallows. ;) Though it might be hard to explain why I'm squeezing a lime on a marshmallow....
Or maybe ray-scallop kabobs?
Like I said before - we'll see. :)
If I'm able to get wet next Wednesday or Thursday I'll definitely give it a try.
I think it would be funny and :cool:

P.S. I'm with you guys on the head shot, but they have a big head and I know that their brain isn't that big. Maybe I'll try a shot from down low, almost parallel to the ray, from the front, so as to try and scramble as much of whatever's inside the head. :confused:

[PatMyGreen]

Its cheating if they don't have a barb! For real though, the meat is good on stingrays down here, and our dining establishments call them scallops in the off season. If I'm not mistaken it was a damn near hundred pound stingray that won the Hell Divers Rodeo this year, wonder if this is the begining of a new trend in spearing?

[gonetobaja]

Im thinking the kill shot on a bat ray is between the eyes and back towards the tail about 1 inch. There is alot of cartlage there and you also might get some organs and gills in the same shot. Plus you get the added bonus of a good hang with your tip. They have alot of power when they freak out.

Im gonna be at the 24th OCH meeting and Im gonna bring some video of one of our trips to the islands.

If ray shooting becomes popular Id be the man. There are so many rays in baja, they leave big holes in the beach when they come up at hight tide to eat crabs.

Deep fried, real good.

I know that scallops are illegal to harvest down here in baja. When we are out at the islands there are areas with scallops that are the size of a small plate. When I first saw one I thought it was a baby ab. The rock scallops down here are HUGE.

Hope to see everybody at the meeting.

GTB

[IB Boyd]

A friend of mine has caught shovel nosed sharks(guitar fish?) on rod and real, and says they also taste like scallop. I have also heard the same thing about angel sharks. I caught 30-35 pound bat ray once while fishing off my kayak and it put up a very impresive fight. Those big wings do provide some power!!

[CaptSport]

Hey Guys,

I've caught several of these thing's on hook and line. Ya know the old fashioned way. lol There tail is nothing to worry about unless you step on the barb. They don't really whip there tail and if they did it wouldn't hurt much since it's very soft an pliable.

The hardest one I've ever caught was in a lobster net. I was hoopneting lobsters and started to pull the net to the surface and it was like pulling a stuck anchor. I finally get it to the surface and its a batray about 15lbs. I was wiped out after that. But I do know the bugs love em as I was low on bait and used him as bait.

Also, when in France I once had skate prepared in a cream sause. It wasn't that bad, but I would rather eat halibut anytime.

Next time I get one I plan on trying the "scallop thing" to see how they taste.

Cya,

jr

[Erik Sun]

Originally posted by dpc
When I used to live in Santa Barbara a buddy and I were freediving out a Devereux Pt. near Isla Vista. Bat rays were every where. He shot one small one (~60 lbs.) and we grilled up the wings on the BBQ. It was okay, maybe we didn't cook it right, but I wouldn't do it again. It was a pain in the butt carrying that slimy thing back to the house on the 1/2 mile walk.

I bet those mud marlin put up a fight though!

"60 pounds" is a small bat ray!!?? =P

[Erik Sun]

bat rays and sting rays put up good fights on rod and reel. they're muscular little beasts. If you kill a 50 pound bat ray, are you really gonna eat it all? I heard they taste alright.

But...it's not even a challenge to shoot. they come so close to you. It's like shooting garibaldi :(

Bat rays are cool!! They always scare the sh!t out of me whenever one pops out of nowhere and its 4 feet across.

[dpc]

Yeah, those things get huge, I saw one the other day that had a 4-5 ft. wingspan and must have been pushing 120lbs.

[ROCK BOTTOM]

Shoot them between the eyes. You may find the kill spot by shooting them a little back of this spot but you want to shoot the ray toward the front of his head. You can swim him back to the boat like leading a dog on a leash. King Louie shot a 115# ray on my boat to score the points necessary to take the lead on the club board two years ago. He also shot one that went 277#. The meat is very good to eat, don't forget the liver too.

Zz

[Erik Sun]

dpc, a 4-5 foot wingspan is 120 pounds? WOW. those things must be pure muscle. To me they only look like 30 pounds. hahahaha. they never fail to scare the sh!T out of me when they pop out of nowwhere and they're about the size of my gun