#Northern puffer fish plus

In addition to the Voltaggio brothers at Estuary, chef Jeremiah Langhorne of the Dabney in D.C. The fish are known for their firm but tender white meat, and over the past few years, restaurant chefs have taken note. In the United States, nontoxic puffer fish can be found most often on the East Coast, and commonly in Southern cooking. Puffer fish tails at the Dabney The Dabney Where can you find puffer fish in the U.S. Other names include blow toads, swelling toads, sea squab, honey toad, and sugar toads, all references to the way the fish bloat up like amphibians. Some are poisonous, while others, like the northern puffer fish, are not. The fish goes by several names, and all of them - puffer fish, fugu, blowfish - refer to the same family of scaleless fish with a rough and spiky skin. Are puffer fish and blowfish the same thing? The particular puffer fish used in the U.S., Sphoeroides maculatus, is one of more than 150 varieties of puffer fish and can be found in estuaries and bays along the Eastern seaboard. In recent months, versatile preparations of the Atlantic Ocean’s northern puffer fish - especially puffer fish tails, or the portion of the fish from just behind its head to its tail fin - have been spotted at restaurants in the United States fried like fish sticks, breaded like Buffalo wings, and even grilled with spices. Voltaggio likens the experience of eating them to eating chicken wings, due to the small bone that runs down the center of the tail.

#Northern puffer fish plus

They’re served with tartar sauce that’s folded with a little bit of banana for sweetness, plus a side of pickled banana peppers. Though not battered and fried, the fish tails get slightly crispy. “They can be a very easy finger food.”Īt Estuary, puffer fish tails are marinated in mirin (a Japanese rice wine) and tamari and quickly roasted in oil. “It’s probably one of the greatest little snacks that comes out of the water,” Bryan Voltaggio says. have long served the fish, increasingly, it’s appearing on restaurant menus in a different form. But beneath the spines and despite the tetrodotoxins lies a succulent white fish, says Bryan Voltaggio, a Top Chef alum who just opened the Estuary in Washington, D.C., along with his brother, and Top Chef winner, Michael Voltaggio. Famously, the variety of puffer fish most often served in Japan contains a poisonous toxin and requires special regulations for its preparation.

Life in the Chesapeake Bayby Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L.At first glance, puffer fish may not appear the most appetizing of foods: the northern puffer, a club-shaped fish that can grow to eight to 10 inches and inflates into a spiny ball under duress, is unappealing by design.

The northern puffer is not an efficient swimmer it swims by moving its tail fin back and forth like a paddle to propel itself forward.

Many people enjoy eating northern puffer, which is sold in fish markets as 'sea squab.'

Although some types of puffers are poisonous, the northern puffer is not.

If caught and thrown back into the water while inflated, a northern puffer will float upside down at the surface for a few moments, then quickly deflate and swim away.

Puffers puff up by inhaling air or water into a special chamber near the stomach.

Little else is known about the northern puffer's life cycle. The female lays sticky eggs that attach to the bottom and the male guards the eggs until they hatch. Spawning occurs from May-August in shallow waters near the shore. The puffer's ability to puff up into a prickly ball deters many predators. Northern puffers uses their strong, beak-like mouths to crush the shells of small mollusks, crustaceans and other invertebrates. Its small dorsal fin is set far back, near its tail.

Dark, vertical, splotchy bars appear on its sides and small, black spots appear on its back, sides and cheeks. It has a yellow or white belly and a tiny, beak-like mouth. Its yellow, brown or olive body is covered in small prickles.

The northern puffer usually grows 8 to 10 inches in length.