Triggerfish good eating? They ugly bastards. . .

[Spearnoob]

So yeah, are they?

[Redneck7]

I like em. Major pain in the ass to get the filets though. That skin is TOUGH.

[riplipper]

very good firm white meat.....my family loves them

[Farang Shao Ley]

Major pain in the ass to get the filets though

Very good for b.b.q !!!
The skin is very tough, which protects the meat from to much heat and the fish got enough oil himself , so hmmmmmm, very tasty !

greetz

Ps. I only got one so far, these suckers are that fast

[OceanEd]

Extremely good eating, the gray Ocean Trigger.

They are easy to clean if you have a sharp knife. Just cut through the skin (not the meat) around the entire fillet then grab the skin with a pair of pliers and pull. The skin will come off in one piece, exposing all the white meat which will be completely intact and still on the bone.

The ribs on a trigger are fairly small and it is easy to cut through the rib bones. Then it is a straight fillet all the way down the backbone.

The meat is firmer than many other fish. I think it is the best meat there is for a fish sandwitch.

Just be a wee bit respectful of their bite. They can really nail you if they get a chance.

[Redneck7]

Originally Posted by OceanEd

Just be a wee bit respectful of their bite. They can really nail you if they get a chance.

Let me second that. One of those suckers played dead on me, I go to put the stringer back in the kayak and the next thing I know there is a trigger latched onto my rear end. Same day (we really got into some trigger that day), a guy freediving near me had one bite him so hard that it popped blood vessels in his arm (one of those funky bruise/cut looking bites) through his wetsuit. So maybe be a bit more than "a wee bit" because those things, at least in NC/VA, will bite you the first chance they get...and hard.

I'm going to have to try some of y'alls ways of cleaning them, because you make it sound easy. I was taught by an ex-commercial fisherman, but he was on his 7th White Russian of the night by the time he got around to teaching me...so maybe there's my problem.

[dakamaainahaole]

Originally Posted by OceanEd

Just be a wee bit respectful of their bite. They can really nail you if they get a chance.

Are we talking bone crunching or just skin breaking???

[los mentirosos]

One of the fellows I used to dive with lost part of an ear lobe to one.

[TangoMike]

Originally Posted by dakamaainahaole

Are we talking bone crunching or just skin breaking???

Not so much bone crunching but think in chunks. They rip out a hunk of meat. My buddy shot a nice gag and it got stuck under a ledge. He always wears a hood and when he was struggling with the gag and the shaft wedged under the coral, I saw a flash towards his head and a stream of green. Trigger took 3/4 square inch of meat off of him just above his right eye. Almost to the bone.
BTW I use a box cutter to score the skin and lift off. Great eating fish.

[Spear One]

I think Triggers are one of the best eating fish out there. A bit of a pain to clean, but worth it. However, you need to be very careful to remove the rib & pin bones from the filet before cooking.

[Ironhed]

I agree trigger are some of my favorite fish. the filets are as white as any out there.

[Magnum166]

The skin is like armor, but scissors work great once you get a knife through. Rick

[Wayward Son]

Easy to clean. Save your knife edge. Most people try to ut through the skin wrong & dull the blade.

Just make one small cut near the head. Then slip the blade under the skin & cut from the inside out. Easy as can be. Cut across the body & along both the back & belly to the tail, then just pull the skin off. Then fillet the meat.

[goatboy]

they are even excellent for cevieche

[inletsurf]

Excellent. I fillet them, put some olive oil in a pan, and panko bread crumb them then pan fry them on both sides. Easy, simple, and light. Very white and tasty.

Razor blades work excellent on the skin, as does cutting at a 90 degree angle around the perimeter.