myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

So .... 3 weeks tomorrow! YAY!!!! I understand staying in Castara, my husband will be treated to much fresh fish, thanks to the local fishermen. However - I hate any kind of fish - but would like to know how to cook it for him. I'll just be buying chicken
A friend suggested I bring some spices with which to marinade some fish in, I have tons from Grenada, all kinds .... I suppose some will be great just BBQ'd or panfried?
Also - he hasn't ever filleted a fish - do the fishermen do it for you, or is it up to the person who buys the fish to do it?
What kinds are usually caught around Castara?
Thanks so much!

Suzie,

i don't know if it is a good idea if you sacrifice to cook fish, if you don't like it at all.
You can find a huge number of westindian seafood receipes all over the internet.
You will have to choose the meal according to the species of fish.
If it is "Dolphin" (Mahi Mahi), which is caught in Tobago on a regular basis, you can
basically do anything with it, steam it, bake it, fry it, whatever.
Wahoo and Kingfish are quite versatile too.
Not so species like Cavali and Tuna. Fried they tend to get dry and tough, or you have to be
very careful with the cooking time.
"Red Fish" (American Red Snapper) is best baked or fried.

The species caught depend less on the area, but on the fishing method. Castara fishermen do
"trolling", "banking" and "drifting". Trolling catches mostly Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish and Tuna.
"Banking" catches bottom fish like Red Fish, Grooper and Salmon. Etc.

So just admire what they will bring home and move to suit

thanks, that's helpful!

Hi Suzie,
Andy has given you a great synopsis on the various fish you can find in Tobago and your husband will love them all...maybe you could try some?
So only a few comments. Filleted; don't expect. If you are lucky you may persuade the seller to do; don't be surprised if you are charged extra to do it. I am not an expert at filleting; but found bringing a step by step photo along (mine was in a cooking mag; bet there are ones on line) enabled me to successfully do it!! The usual way you will get fish at a jetty is gutted and scaled (they always do this) and then cut into horizontal steaks. I think you get a lot of bones that way.
Try and see what you think. I prefer to buy whole or a half of one (depending on size) cleaned and then do my own hacking. You might want to bring a pair of kitchen spears; if you go with the option of doing your own. Fish bones can be extremely hard.
I also find "red fish" has a lot of bones. Our favorites our barricuda (but hard to get),grouper, rainbow runners (I think called "salmon") and dolphin.
Cooking ideas....simple. Pretend you're camping;cornmeal coating in a very hot skillet. Make cerviche. See if anyone will organize a beach BBQ.
Cheers,

Suzie,

as for the filleting, the fisherman will usually do it for a few extra dollars. It requires a very sharp fillet knife, which
you may not want to bring with you.
Dolphin fish has to be skinned before filleting, as the skin is very tough. Skinning a dolphin is a technique by itself,
which a sports fisherman should learn though by watching the "professionals".

Enjoy the experience