What is Orange Roughy?

[justagirl]

I know it's a fish, but what is it? Where is it from? It it good to eat?

[Suzy Wong]

It's a firm, (yet flakes) white, "meaty" fish, with a mild taste. Not sure where it's from. It can be baked, breaded or poached.

I only eat seafood, so I am freaky for fish....

[ToddMa]

It's from Australia and almost always frozen. It was real popular in the late 1980s.

[Suzy Wong]

It's from Australia and almost always frozen. It was real popular in the late 1980s.


YEAH Daddy "Todd" Warbucks's, WHAT'S your point?

Day glo clothing and the Go Go's were also;)

[ToddMa]

I love everything about the 80s. Except mabye Orange Roughy. It actually looks a lot like Chilean Sea Bass in color.

[Oyster]

I heard of it, but never seen them. They are a member of the slimehead family, and apparently they are very slow growing, which leads to some stocks being overfished, with very slow recovery times.

LInk to pic:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2171/2341932164_a43492895f.jpg

And some info:
It was a damn shame to see that orange roughy was still being sold in New Zealand, almost everywhere we went.

There should be a moratorium on fishing this species. I mean we carry on and on about Japanese whaling yet continue to accept species like orange roughy on our seafood menus....shame on you New Zealand

From the ever reliable wiki


The orange roughy, red roughy, or deep sea perch, Hoplostethus atlanticus, is a relatively large deep-sea fish belonging to the slimehead family (Trachichthyidae). This fish is categorized as vulnerable to exploitation by the Marine Conservation Society. It is found in cold (3 to 9 °C), deep (bathypelagic, 180 to 1,800 m) waters of the western Pacific Ocean, eastern Atlantic (from Iceland to Morocco; and from Walvis Bay, Namibia, to off Durban, South Africa), Indo-Pacific (off New Zealand and Australia), and in the Eastern Pacific off Chile. The orange roughy is notable for its great age — a recorded (disputed by commercial fishers but supported by scientists) maximum of 149 years — and importance to commercial deep trawl fishery. Actually a bright brick red in life, the orange roughy fades to a yellowish orange after death.
Like other slimeheads, the orange roughy is slow-growing and late to mature, resulting in a very low resilience. They are extremely susceptible to overfishing because of this, and many stocks (especially those off New Zealand and Australia, which were first exploited in the late 1970s) have already crashed; recently discovered substitute stocks are rapidly dwindling...In recent years, the consumption of orange roughy has risen drastically due to increased supply through previously impossible deep-sea trawling techniques. Its recovery rate from fishing is slow because of its life cycle and sporadic reproduction making the fish incredibly prone to overfishing. It is the first commercially sought fish to be added to Australia's list of endangered species because of overfishing. According to Seafood Watch, orange roughy is currently on the list of fish that American consumers, who are health and sustainability minded, should avoid. In addition to the dangers for the species, the method of bottom trawling has been heavily criticized by environmentalists for its destructive nature. The destructive nature of bottom trawling combined with the heavy commercial demand has garnered focused criticism from both environmentalists and media.

[PNG]

http://www.rodnreel.com/gulffish/gulffish.asp

Good fish reference for the GOM from www.rodnreel.com.

[PNG]

http://www.rodnreel.com/gulffish/gulffish.asp

Good fish reference for the GOM from www.rodnreel.com.

Use the "search by common name" option at the top right to get a full list of the fishes in the GOM.

[Tchoupitoulas]

When I lived in Houston everyone ranted and raved about Orange Roughy....but at $6.99 a pound I opted for ribeyes. I finally broke down and bought some, cooked it and threw it out. Very fishy taste to me although it smelled fresh. Pass the catfish.

[Suzy Wong]

It's not "fishy" at all, it's very mild (not supposed to be) maybe it wasn't as fresh as they said....

[edible complex]

it used to be the go-to fish on the menu at Houston's...don't know if it still has a starring role there.
you can find bags of this frozen fish at Sam's real cheap if you want to give it a try. you can pan sear it and top it with a reduction of some fresh squeezed orange and lime juices, carmelized onions, tequila, butter, a dash of key lime seasonings and sprinkle fresh cilantro on it. serve w/coconut, lime, jasmine rice.

[justagirl]

Thanks yall. I wasn't really going to try it or anything...just didn't know what it was...saw it on a web site in a recipe. I figured yall would know the answer...thanks.

[ChefGuy]

Orange Roughy is a great fish if it is wild, but 99% of the roughy you get in this country is farmed.

[buzd]

Right or wrong (more likely), I always sort of equated it to Tilapia.

[justagirl]

Buzd, I was thinking the same thing actually. I don't know why, but I was.

I was more interested in the other recipe ingredients, and I wasn't going to seek out orange roughy, but I was still curious as to what it was.

[Schuarta]

Right or wrong (more likely), I always sort of equated it to Tilapia.

Good comparison. In SF Bay Area Supermarkets, before we left in Feb., 2007, finding Orange Roughy (previously frozen) in the seafood case was a 100% certainty. Its a firm white fish which became popular when the price of Cod soared. When I was a kid, Cod was dirt cheap - codfish cakes and the major source for fish & chips. Now it's high-end, with Roughy taking up the slack for mid-priced.

[edible complex]

Good comparison. In SF Bay Area Supermarkets, before we left in Feb., 2007, finding Orange Roughy (previously frozen) in the seafood case was a 100% certainty. Its a firm white fish which became popular when the price of Cod soared. When I was a kid, Cod was dirt cheap - codfish cakes and the major source for fish & chips. Now it's high-end, with Roughy taking up the slack for mid-priced.

In Cod We Trust...just read an amazing recipe for some seared cod w/a coconut sauce in either Island or Caribbean Life and Travel. A friend of mine has many a fish and chippie in England...he is the Codfather!

[justagirl]

Where I grew up on the coast, in Southern Maine, we always had cod and haddock. I love the haddock but the cod was oily and often wormy. Still to this day when I go to Maine and order fish and chips, I always make sure it's haddock and not cod.

[Schuarta]

Where I grew up on the coast, in Southern Maine, we always had cod and haddock. I love the haddock but the cod was oily and often wormy. Still to this day when I go to Maine and order fish and chips, I always make sure it's haddock and not cod.

That may be the reason we doused our fish with Malt Vinegar. To kill the worms.

Just kidding! :D

[Suzy Wong]

Tilapia can be good...especially in fish tacos, becasue it picks up the taste of the seasoning easier IMO don't be a tilapia snob;)

I only eat seafood meat wise, so I eat fish often, probably will die from mecury overdose

I like fish as close to it natural taste, sauces as possible, no marinades or anything like that for me.

The only fish I do NOT like are mackeral and swordfish.

Salmon is my FAVORITE, and steelhead trout, I eat those the most....

[Schuarta]

Tilapia can be good...

...I only eat seafood meat wise, so I eat fish often, probably will die from mecury overdose...

...The only fish I do NOT like are mackeral and swordfish...


Don't worry about mercury. Mercury poisoning has been totally overblown. I experienced the swordfish scare where swordfish could not be bought for more than 10 years because... "it would kill ya". All BS.

I only eat mackeral as sushi. It's suppose to be fantastically healthy for you. It's also usually the cheapest fish sushi.