Presentation is everything. Wine helps. How was it?

Things like that make me wonder who the first person was who looked at it and said "hmmm, I should eat that"...lol. Hope it tasted good.

Monkfish is popular in Europe. It's "lotte" in French. It is a truly ugly fish.

The monkfish I can get (occasionally) on the West Coast has an annoying gray-ish membrane on it (like some pork ribs do) that's best pulled off before cooking. As far as tasting better than lobster - nah. It's in that direction but not close to being better to my taste. But it is delicious.

I'd have rather eaten it hot instead of spending time posing it for photos that would let it cool. The eating matters, the photos don't.

Maybe it had a nice personality....

Damn, that’s an ugly fish 😬

I've had it but never saw what it really looked like. Horrible.

However, I never cooked a whole fish, I can't deal with cooking a body of anything. Buy filet, fish steaks, shrimp without heads, on and on.

That photo has now made it impossible to order that fish again!

Jane

We eat a lotte of it !)

Once again, a thing of beauty . . . and with something that was so ugly.

I must not know how to cook it. I used to see it in our area groceries and tried it several times. I was lured in by the ”tastes like lobster.” I thought it pretty much tasted like nothing.

Great word play, Islay!

Beautiful presentation, dcarch. Monkfish is something we don't see here often but we really enjoy when we run across it.

I wonder how it got its name?

Than you, thank you everyone!

sometime ago I had monkfish in an upscale restaurant, I was amazed. I had never believed that there was a food that I would use the word "awesome", except that time. I started to cook monkfish often after that.

"amylou321 ---- Maybe it had a nice personality...."

I don't think so.

"colleenoz --- Damn, that’s an ugly fish 😬"

Yeah, I understand that even all monkfish moms say, "All my babies are ugly"

"jane__ny ------ I've had it but never saw what it really looked like. Horrible.

However, I never cooked a whole fish,---"

I tried to buy a whole fish, but not have any luck finding one. I thought a whole monkfish would be great for Halloween.

" Elmer J Fudd ------- I'd have rather eaten it hot instead of spending time posing it for photos that would let it cool. The eating matters, the photos don't."

I totally agree with you. You should never play with food until it gets cold. However, if you Google Image "dcarch or dcarch7 plating", you may find over the past many years I have posted several thousands of dishes all cooked the same way. I have learned methods to put food on the plate without letting the food get cold (or cold food get hot). But thank you for your suggestion just the same.

dcarch

dcarch, I love seeing your gorgeous food photos! And I don't doubt that you are able to take great food shots and still keep it hot or cold.

Long, long ago I found a recipe for Monkfish and actually found some at the local fishmarket. I can't eat fin fish so have no idea what something tastes like, but DH LOVED fish. In this one case he asked me to NEVER buy Monkfish again. He found it soooooo unpalatable that he didn't eat more than a bite or two. Perhaps it was bad to start with, or perhaps it was the recipe, but I never did try to cook it again. And, DH would never order it if on the menu, which was something he rarely did with fish.

"lizbeth-gardener - dcarch, I love seeing your gorgeous food photos! And I don't doubt that you are able to take great food shots and still keep it hot or cold."

Thanks! Over the years, I have entered into a few cooking competitions. In competitions, two things are important: you have to keep your food hot while waiting for your turn to be judged, and you have to plate your food well.

"CA Kate z9, ------but DH LOVED fish. In this one case he asked me to NEVER buy Monkfish again. He found it soooooo unpalatable ----- '

Monkfish requires skill to prepare before they can be sold. I think probably that was a bad piece of fish. Skate is another fish you should only buy from a good seafood place.

dcarch

Lotte à l'Armoricaine is a local-to-me recipe that's delicious. I found this English version. A bit long-winded but.....

https://frenchforfoodies.com/2011/10/10/french-family-recipes-martine-from-brittany-and-her-famous-lotte-a-larmoricaine/

I found the fish rather bland. I've had it a few times. Meh.

Could someone explain the video above to me? Did the fisherman get his hand and forearm caught in the fish’s throat? Was the throat constricted on the guy’s arm? Subtitles would have been so helpful.

There are SO many different types of fish and seafood that have delicious mild but subtle flavor. I'm not sure what anyone expects when trying new types but ones so described are often among the most prized and expensive. I'm thinking of salt water stuff similar in this way to monkfish like delicious jumbo sea scallops, cod fillets, sole, turbot, even shrimp and prawns, haddock and pollock now used for some products, and so many others. Flavors described as being sweet and mild.

Seafood needs to be properly handled to be fresh to the buyer. Often, when it needs to travel some distance from where caught, it's frozen and in fact flash frozen right after being caught. We buy frozen, dry process jumbo scallops from a restaurant supplier. I made some a few days ago. They take 24 hours to fully defrost. Once defrosted and wiped dry, their sweet and fresh aroma is enjoyable to experience. I sear them to a golden grown on two sides in a frying pan and add some salt and butter, there's nothing more sweet and subtlety delicious. I handle monkfish about the same way though I bake it with lemon and butter. Nothing else.

As others have said, I can't help but wonder if the poor experiences some have related were because the fish was less than very fresh.

and with something that was so ugly.

As with many things, looks are a matter of perspective. There keep on being monkfish born, so I imagine the male monkfish and the female monkfish find each other attractive.

What are you making for Thanksgiving? Throw it away. Make this instead:

dcarch