Hammerhead eating quality
Submitted by chopdog on Thu, 2014-02-27 18:08
Just after peoples opinion on what hammerhead is like to eat? Got one the other day, chopped its head off, gutted it and finned it straight away and hung it over the side of the boat for a while. Cryo vac'd it and froze it.
Cheers
carnarvonite
Posts: 8655
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Ordinary
Compared to other sharks their eating quality is pretty ordinary that's why I don't even bother bringing them aboard if I can help it
dkonig82
Posts: 2091
Date Joined: 06/07/10
I have read a couple of
I have read a couple of reports on here that said it was good - but I've never tried it.
Carnarvonite surely knows better than most though, so maybe not that good afterall!
When asked by a non-fisherman 'how many fishing rods do you really need?' the correct answer is either:
n+1 (where n is the number of fishing rods you currently own); or
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sea-kem
Posts: 14919
Date Joined: 30/11/09
The small one's I've caught
The small one's I've caught I rate highly. Better than whaler but that's my opinion.
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out wide
Posts: 1535
Date Joined: 30/12/08
You'd eat shit Andy
Haha. I'm with John![](http://fishwrecked.com/sites/all/libraries/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/thumbs_down.gif)
sea-kem
Posts: 14919
Date Joined: 30/11/09
You ever tried it?
You ever tried it?
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out wide
Posts: 1535
Date Joined: 30/12/08
No but my pro fishing mate
whom fishers out of Albany tells me they are the only shark he can't sell cause they are shit.
He always keeps me going with as much shark as we want but never hammers
sea-kem
Posts: 14919
Date Joined: 30/11/09
If you catch one 1-1.5m
If you catch one 1-1.5m tempura it. Come back to me if you still reckon it's shit![](http://www.fishwrecked.com/sites/all/libraries/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/msn/teeth_smile.gif)
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carnarvonite
Posts: 8655
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Tempura
You can tempura it, batter it with a sledge hammer, temper it with oxy aceteline, smother it in spices but it will still be hammer head and taste like shit.
sea-kem
Posts: 14919
Date Joined: 30/11/09
As I said John it's my
As I said John it's my opinion. No need to rag me.
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Ninety Mile
Posts: 193
Date Joined: 17/01/12
Entirely depends on the
Entirely depends on the size. If its <1.5m id rate it as some of the best eating shark around. Freezing also helps if there was much Amonia but again if its small that shouldnt be much problem either.
Ninety Mile
Posts: 193
Date Joined: 17/01/12
Cant believe you guys dont
Cant believe you guys dont like Juvinile hammer, im from vic where a decent fillet of shark is about all you can look foward too and i'd rate small hammers as some of the best eating flake around. Anyway each to their own!
scottnofish
Posts: 1617
Date Joined: 28/08/07
have kept 2 before
and byfar the worst shark i have eaten ,thought it may have not been bleed proparly so made sure i did the next one right and it was still crap gave it away to the inlaws who will eat anything and was told not to give them any of that ever again there cat wouldnt even eat it
crasny1
Posts: 6990
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Scottno
What did you score on the Avatar screenshot. Looks awesome! I bet fish and thats why I dropped that in your label.
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crasny1
Posts: 6990
Date Joined: 16/10/08
I have one word. Yuk!!!!I
I have one word. Yuk!!!!
I lived on a boat for 3 months as a Uni student off Rotto during a summer break. Had no $$ so had to be self sufficient. Ate everything we could catch, and not all days went to plan.
Tried a couple of hammers. The first I recall at about 1.5m and after eating that thought "shit". Tried a smaller model to see if it was size that mattered - "pew". NEVER again. I recall thinking not even if I am starving!
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
Butters29
Posts: 53
Date Joined: 28/03/13
Better eating sharks around
I shark fished professionally 15 years ago and we were getting a dollar a kg for it then. The trunks would go mushine after a few days in the brine (we could keep trunks normal 10/14 days no problems) it also had a more pungent smell to it than anything we landed. I used to give it to my folks for pet food, it was eaten by their dog but it ate everything so might not the best judge. In saying that though a very small one freshly caught maybe all right but I think if the choice was there I would avoid it.
Ben85
Posts: 442
Date Joined: 20/11/11
I used to catch plenty of
I used to catch plenty of smaller hammers (3 ft) off the beach over east. I reckon they were great. Not sure if they were are different species to what we get over here though?? Always heard the bigger models were shit.
I'm a bit suss on the way some people are cleaning their sharks and that may have some bearing on the final result when eating. Yes you need to bleed and gut the shark as soon as possible, as the ammonia is in the blood. The longer you leave it the more chance there is of ammonia going through the flesh. Also it is essential the blood line which runs down alongside the spine of the shark it removed, this blood line contains the highest concentration of ammonia. Most people forget that step and I think this may be a reason why some are dissatisfied with the final result.
I’m not a big believer in freezing the fillets but some people say it “quietens down” the ammonia making it better for eating
mjohns
Posts: 337
Date Joined: 11/01/07
Hmmm im in the same boat i
Hmmm im in the same boat i got a 6 footer i got off the beach a couple of weeks ago in the freezer...
Hope it tastes good as it was an awsome looking animal!
Least ill know for next time, flesh didnt smell that bad , not as bad as some other similar size sharks ive caught and they were all awsome on the table.
Butters29
Posts: 53
Date Joined: 28/03/13
I agree with Ben85 about
I agree with Ben85 about cleaning them, I'm not sure people know how to clean sharks correctly. You see pictures of a big chuck of the tail removed and the fins hacked off. The fins are removed by the pros not so much for bleeding but more for the dollars they fetch.
The way we cleaned was head and tail them. Cut from arse up and open the gut, clean/pull out the intestines. Where the cavity joins the tail make a small nick with the a knife to open up the spinal blood line. Then using a deck hose (if you have one) flush water through, it should run/spray out the tail. When all the blood is flushed out and the water is running more or less clear the trunk is ready for an ice slurry. If it can go into a slurry for a few hours it will draw more blood out of it.
The best thing about hammerheads pulling them from a net was that their heads had a handle each side that you could grab hold of when doing so. Other than that they were a pain in the arse, lots of work for little return.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8655
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Getting out of net
The easiest way to get them out of a net is to cut the outer sections of the head off then they just fall out.
Used to hand deliver to Carey park fish shop in Bunbury when Tom Karamafilis owner it, carrying 2 sharks in each hand and one would be a small hammer, He'd pick it out and chuck it straight back on the truck, "don't try to bring that shit in my shop", next time we would try the same thing and get the same result.
mjohns
Posts: 337
Date Joined: 11/01/07
Or if no deck hose put your
Or if no deck hose put your mouth over where you cut the tail and blow the blood back through into the cleaned gut cavity and rinse.