EPIC STRIPER RUN AT IBSP!

Striped Bass! That’s what’s for dinner at my house since I was lucky enough to receive a big filet from a striper caught by a local fisherman.

And, it’s probably what’s for dinner for the past few days for a lot of folks who have a fishing fanatic in their household or know a few because the bass has been plentiful at Island Beach State Park, Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, according to Grumpy’s and Betty and Nick’s, the two local bait and tackle shops in Seaside Park.

The Facebook pages of both stores are filled with photos and/or videos of fishing men, women and kids weighing in their prized catches. And posts every couple of hours let you know where the hot spots are, what lure to use, and who’s annoyed that they are at work and can’t make it down to the island.

John Bushell Jr., owner of Betty and Nick’s posted this at 4:41 p.m. today: “Today harkened back to 2011. It was EPIC, could be considered legendary. Never have I ever been so happy to be wrong about the Fall run. Is it going to last? I think it will. It would take some kind of catastrophic shift in weather or temperature to get this body off the literally MILLIONS of sand eel we have parked here in our area. The action has slowed as of right now, as it did yesterday, then picked back up when the sun went down and the tide changed. I am in the process now of posting the 50 or so videos on Facebook. I will then post them here on our main site. I might have to do them 20 at a time like we did in 2011.”

I looked for a few striped bass recipes online, but figured why use a chef’s recipe when a fisherman would best know how to cook what he catches. So, I decided to go onto the Facebook page of Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle Fishing Club and ask the experts – those who are catching the stripers – how they like to cook their fish and I got a dozen or so totally different recipes, and a few jokes.

Tonight, I tried Jon Velez’s recipe. Jon said: “I crush Ritz crackers, lay on bottom of pan, then I mix melted butter and parm cheese and pour fish, then more crackers on top, bake 350 degrees until fish flakes apart. It’s awesome.”

He’s right, it is awesome when those buttery Ritz get drenched in butter and cheese and get browned and extra crispy. The fish stays moist and flaky and it’s pure heaven to scoop up some of those extra buttery crumbs with each bite of fish. I served mine with a side of fresh zucchini, squash, onions, garlic and tomatoes sautéed in olive oil.

Two fishermen offered up the foil pouch on the grill method of cooking their striper fillets. Jeffrey Clayton and Rich Bloschock said they make an aluminum foil pouch and put their fish and seasonings in the pouch and then on the grill. Jeff puts olive oil, oregano and garlic with veggies in with the fish.  Rich uses butter, garlic, and lemon pepper seasoning, topping the fish with Old Bay and Hungarian paprika, and serves it over saffron rice.

Blackened is another cooking method of choice. No other way, according to George Bailey. Ron Ford leaves the skin on and grills his fish with the blackening seasoning. Then he flakes off the fish and uses it to make fish tacos.

Purists, like Wes Darcy, puts the striper filet in a buttered pyrex dish, sprinkles it with paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper and then bakes it in a 350-400 degree oven. A side of rice completes his meal. Theresa Marie said she recently had some LBI (Long Beach Island) striper…butter, salt, pepper and lemon…perfect with mushroom risotto.

Fred Spolitino offered up this gourmet recipe: filet and skin the fish. Dip one side in parmesan cheese. To a hot iron skillet add butter, crushed fresh garlic, and just before the garlic starts to burn, lay the egg side down, cheese side up. Sear, then squeeze lemon on it and put black pepper and fresh chopped dill on top. Add a little white wine to the pan and put the skillet into a 400 degree oven and cook for 10 minutes or so (based on thickness). Baste once with juices halfway through.

Patricia Azurak cuts the filets into cubes, dips the striper in beer batter and deep fries the cubes. Matthew Krezel said his brother makes a nice beer batter but won’t give up the recipe, but he thinks it’s a store brand with his own secret ingredients added to it.

Tim Swift mixes soy sauce and mayonnaise until it turns into a paste that is the color of a “brand new copper penny” and then paints the fillet liberally and grills it on the barbecue until flaky. “Easy, foolproof, delicious,” he said.

Justin Leber uses Old Bay and Italian salad dressing on his striper and Connor Blaszka uses tomatoes, onions, capers and seasonings and bakes his fish.

Rob Trempy said he cuts the thicker parts of the filet into cubes, wraps them in bacon strips, sprinkles Cajun spice and pepper over the wrapped cubes. He then butters a pan and puts the cubes in the pan, which goes into a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Chris Iron suggests searing the fish in grill pan coated with olive oil for two minutes each side, then putting it in foil and topping it with jalapenos, parmesan cheese and mozzarella, and marinara sauce – striper parm.

One last recipe comes from Mark Thompson, who dips the filets in vinegar, then salts and peppers them, lightly breads them with Italian bread crumbs and places them on a hot grill or skillet, cooking each side until done. “Then, sprinkle more vinegar on them and serve and enjoy,” he said.

Smoking the fish was another suggestion from Harry Metzger, to which Warren Jacobs replied: “If you were to decide to smoke them, which end would you light?”

And, Kurt Nowak offered up this old fisherman’s joke:  “I know a good blue fish recipe. Cook on a cedar board, cover with tomato sauce, veggies, etc. Cook for about 30 minutes, throw it in the garbage and eat the cedar plank.”