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Do you eat black drum?

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67K views 30 replies 18 participants last post by  ccx2 
#1 ·
I've heard mixed opinions. If you do eat them, how do you prepare them? Thanks.
 
#3 ·
I was curious last year myself and kept one for the first time. It was a small one about 30 inches. Not much meat for that size fish on it but nice looking meat and no extra that I saw. I fried it and it was fine. I would not keep a big one just because there are other fish that I like better and grow much faster so the resource is replaced sooner.
 
#5 ·
Yes,I love it ,only keep the bigger ones because as Wes Blow said they don't have a lot of meat for the size fish they are ,they are mostly head and gut and a small one yields very little meat. I also prefer the bigger ones because the meat is very firm and course and while it is ok sliced thin and fried it is best in making a fish stew because the meat doesn't fall apart like most fish,it's also great grilled. As I say I love them but don't keep but one or two a year because they are a pain to hold cool and clean, then you have a huge carcass to get rid of. Usually I will head and gut after I catch it and leave this for the crabs and it fits in the cooler better and also bleeds the fish out. This is legal as long as the carcass is as long as the legal length of the fish, 16inches.
Enjoy them,they are great.
 
#6 ·
Eating Black Drum

Yes, cut the meat in 1/2 in. filets dip in (1 cup of milk with egg stired in) then dip in italian bread crumbs. fry in olive oil. lay filets on a 9x13 glass dish of cooked pasta (any type) pour your favorate marinara sause over meat and pasta. sprinkle mozarellla cheese over dish and bake @350 for about 30 min or til cheese is slightly golden (you can season to taste with other things you like with italian dishes) this is a easy dish and you would never guess it was fish. It is really good
 
#7 ·
We used to keep them when a 10 fish day 40-60# was common off Cape Charles.You have to scale them with a hoe.If the scales land on your lawn they'll be there for years.They're as big as 50cent pieces and fly up in the air when you mow the lawn.A 40 # Drum will yield about 10# of fillet.You'll find worms in just about all of them.They grow very slow and those big ones could be 40 years old.There's better fish to eat.
 
#8 ·
I ate a black drum sandwich at Stingrays on ES and didn't like it at all. Smelled bad, tasted worst than it smelled. Japanese couple sitting next to us had same sandwich and didn't like theirs. One of these days I'll try it again. Stingrays is supposed to have a good BD sandwich, but not on that day.
 
#10 ·
Smaller fish under 15 pounds aren't bad, make a nice fish fry. Have tried bigger fish up to 60lbs caught in the Delaware Bay and they were good if prepared like veal parm, however the big ones I've caught south of the Delaware Bay are worm city usually and not worth it. Very fun fish to catch though.
 
#16 ·
I kinda figured this opinion would surface in this thread.
Commercial and recreational pressure is probably as high as its ever been and there are still a bazillion of them around. Sounds like you have eaten a lot of them to make a comparison ,and the small ones turn to big ones if given the time.
There is a low bag limit on them as it is, maybe we should close it so we can have more of them to jerk around buy the lips for our pleasure.:peace::peace:
 
#17 ·
I also have eaten small ones and found them to be very tasty. I was frying the black drum fillets with redfish fillets and my dad wasn't interested in the black drum so he made sure to take a look at the fillets as I cooked to be able to identify what he was eating. After it was all cooked he decided to give it a try and ended up eating more black drum than red! Then requested that I not throw them back anymore.

Shayne
 
#19 ·
There are less Black Drum harvested these days than ever. Heck, take a look at the citation reports for released vs. weighed fish over the past several years. While the big ones get a bad wrap because of the worms, they ARE good to eat... just think "pork chop" instead of fish.

Wonder why no one says "Let the big ones go" when they're talking about Flounder?
 
#22 ·
Well i think Al-B hit it right that the small ones taste a little differant than the big ones in that they taste like any other fish. I dont often keep a small one and prefer the big ones, the meat is of a different consistancy , more dense and firm,and like Al-B said think porkchop because thats a close desription of it. Ive actually grilled some while my wifes friend was over and ofered her some without her knowing what it was and asked her what it was and she said "Pork Chop". To eat it just fillet,cut out the section that may have spaggeti worms,they are easy to see for they will be in a clump and are large, wont hurt a bit if you happen to eat some, then cut out the fat/dark meat as you would any other fish and then use it as you would any other fish, my favirite is grilled or it a spendid fish stew. Beak up the rack and boil it for a great fish stock.
 
#24 ·
grab three beers and clean your black drum, make sure theres no red meat or any junk. cut the good stuff into bite sized cubes. i used about 2 or 3 pounds of fish for this stew. U can use any type of fish really, but black drum ends up tasting like pork - perfect.

fry about 10 or 12 slices of bacon up (or a lil more) and place bacon onto paper towels. keep your eyes on your wife so she doesn't sneak any. u want this stuff nice and dried out - u r going to crumble it up into the stew. in the rendered bacon fat fry your drum nuggets up. do not over cook em - they will cook a little in the stew later. u want to sear the **** outta the outside on high heat then take em off and sprinkle with salt and pepper. take 6 or 7 red skinned potatos and loosely dice em. u want chunks small enough to eat. par boil the chunks for 7-10 minutes - then drain and place in a large stew pot. dice a few carrots and place in the pot with potatos - season all this with s/p. dice up a large onion and set aside. dice up some mushrooms or whatever veggies u want to put in. when bacon is done crumble up good into the pot with carrots and potatos. when all drum is fried up, drop onions and mushrooms (or whatever u want) into bacon grease and sear for a little while. when all that is done drop it into the stew pot with the potatos - put all that rendered grease in there if theres any left. put on medium heat and fill with milk so the milk is just above all the veggies/taters. season again to taste with salt and pepper. simmer for 20 minutes or so. the only thing left on the side should be your fried black drum nuggets. the stew should be a little watery like clam chowder. u can thicken it with a little flour if thats what u like. lastly add the drum/fish nuggets and let simmer 5 minutes. its ready now. serve with crusty bread and beer of choice. mmmm good
 
#28 ·
grab three beers and clean your black drum, make sure theres no red meat or any junk. cut the good stuff into bite sized cubes. i used about 2 or 3 pounds of fish for this stew. U can use any type of fish really, but black drum ends up tasting like pork - perfect.

fry about 10 or 12 slices of bacon up (or a lil more) and place bacon onto paper towels. keep your eyes on your wife so she doesn't sneak any. u want this stuff nice and dried out - u r going to crumble it up into the stew. in the rendered bacon fat fry your drum
nuggets up. do not over cook em - they will cook a little in the stew later. u want to sear the **** outta the outside on high heat then take em off and sprinkle with salt and pepper. take 6 or 7 red skinned potatos and loosely dice em. u want chunks small enough to eat.
par boil the chunks for 7-10 minutes - then drain and place in a large stew pot. dice a few carrots and place in the pot with potatos -
season all this with s/p. dice up a large onion and set aside. dice up some mushrooms or whatever veggies u want to put in. when bacon
is done crumble up good into the pot with carrots and potatos. when all drum is fried up, drop onions and mushrooms (or whatever u
want) into bacon grease and sear for a little while. when all that is done drop it into the stew pot with the potatos - put all that rendered
grease in there if theres any left. put on medium heat and fill with milk so the milk is just above all the veggies/taters. season again to
taste with salt and pepper. simmer for 20 minutes or so. the only thing left on the side should be your fried black drum nuggets. the
stew should be a little watery like clam chowder. u can thicken it with a little flour if thats what u like. lastly add the drum/fish nuggets
and let simmer 5 minutes. its ready now. serve with crusty bread and beer of choice. mmmm good
Sounds about right Gus, sounds good to. I know your a fairly young guy but all that bacon and the renderings is gonna make you old quick ,ha ha.
I actually use Olive oil instead of bacon with no difference seen in the end result. I also use olive oil to cook greens instead of side/fat meat or hog jowl and people are crazy about my collards.
 
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