The clam looks like the same type of clam we enjoy and I commercially rake in NJ. Hard clam, AKA mercenaria-mercenaria.... But it's probably not, due to the slight verticle striations and the fact that they are not at all the type of clams that exist down there. I couldn't see the specimen closely enough in the short part of your video. If you would like, post more video or pictures and I'll use my dichotomous key from my marine bio classes 20 years ago and figure it out. Fun video. Way to enjoy your days, even when the weatherman keeps most on the couch. Living the dream that few have the guts to follow. I'm grateful i took that leap almost two decades ago now. Good work.
A lot of folks wont really understand when you say "its theraputic". Ive said for years that being on the water is far better therapy than any PHD can give. There are times ill just sit in the boat, drift, and soak up the scenery without fishing. The fish are just a bonus to being out there. Another great vid man.
I feel the same. Living in landlocked CA, I feel my time at the ocean(Cozumel) is very therapeutic. I’m a scuba diver and go there at least twice a year. I know if I didn’t, I would not be very good at work (I’m a flight nurse). I need a reset away and the ocean does wonders. I’m looking forward to the day when I can spend more time ocean side after I retire!
Crispy skin tip - Fillets should be well scaled and room temperature. Once the fillets are well dried both sides with paper towel scrape the skin with a knife against the grain of the scales wiping the knife down each time until very little slime comes off. Make 3 (for the size of that fish) shallow cuts in the fillets perpendicular to the fillets laid out lengthways. Lay the fillets in a very hot pan one at a time immediately squashing them with a fish slice until they stop trying to curl. Turn the heat down a bit and cook until the upper side looks a little over half done. Flip and cook the other side. Generally try to avoid moving the fillets to avoid the skin peeling. Thanks for the videos!
@@KeyWestWaterman No problem. You can also salt the skin for a few minutes before drying/scraping to bring out additional moisture. To clarify, the cuts through the skin shouldn't go through the skin around the edges of the fillets, just through the middle of the fillets.
Mojarra is amazing. In Cuba we use them for “minuta”, fried fish sandwich. Fillet both sides and leave tail on then it’s put on a wet breading mixture and fried added to a bun and it’s awesome. Thank you for bringing us along, merry Christmas and happy new year
The evolution of a viewer of this channel: I started watching just for the diving ,kill shots, and seeing fish. Then, I focused on listening to your narrations. Then I "met" Maddaline and Will and all your rotating friends. You taught us to cook so many things. We hear historical tales of how you started in the business. We watched for weeks as your new boat was being built. Then we got to look forward to your wedding as watch your beautiful fiancé became your beautiful bride. And now another year is passing and I realize, I'm hear for the story, and living vicariously through this channel to see how good people enjoy hard work, friendship, adventure and life long learning and growth. I feel like I know you and have even come to care for your well-being. Thanks for more than just a RU-vid vlog. Thanks for opening up and being personable. I watch for much different reasons now. To anyone stumbling around who happened upon this channel, stick around. You'll grow to love it. I guarantee it.
Can’t thank you enough for taking the time to share this! The channel has turned into more than I could have ever imagined. And changed my life for the better in so many ways in the process. 🙏🏻 love to hear you enjoy it so much, makes it all worth while for me.
Love your creativity amigo. I know it's kool to see you going 80' and getting a 30lb Cubera, but you showed us that perseverance viarance and imagination will bring home the bacon. Thanks for your videos👊🏼
My girlfriend and I always watch your videos together, she’s always excited to see cats. I thought that clip of the Tarpon was awesome. Seeing how nimble they are from an underwater perspective is crazy.
Great video Aaron. Happy new year to you, and Madeline. The dude that posted the negative comment earlier, if he doesn't want to watch, don't watch. It's your life, if you want to do RU-vid full time, that's your business, and totally cool. I'm glad I dont have a negative heart. Must be an awful existence.
It was a pleasure meeting you in Publix. Really enjoyed the shore dive! Also saw some Spotted Cow in the kitchen. I know you didn’t get that locally. 😂
Cross cutting through the skin will minimize that curling and allow you to get a crunch on it when frying. And I’ve started roasting my potatoes and onions instead of boiling them for a super rich mashed potatoes. Normally I’m making bangers and mash, but I can’t wait to try this Key West seafood version!
Great video again, showing how true life is in the keys, great tropical paradise days and not so great!! When I was a kid living in West Palm, we used to call those Sand Perch, maybe just a local thing, but yes great eating. We also used them for Snook, clip off the dorsal fin and drop them down up current and the big daddy’s hang low and wait to ambush those perch. Many 30-40" fish hooked up that way, Those were the days.
Merry Christmas to you both. Miss seeing Will, but I saw his post about his life and how he met you and the rest is history. Great friends are hard to come by. 😊
Fishing in the big water is awesome but when we grow up in the shallow waters catching bait with our hands an fishing with it just for a bite an watching the fish eat an where they live and swim is therapeutic. Educational from my grandfather. God Bless an Merry Christmas to the Young's! Thanks for sharing y'all.
I first off just want to say thank you for posting on Christmas i really appreciate it no one else has and also merry Christmas to you and your family god bless keep doing great videos i love them all u are one hell of a fisherman and i learn a lot from you ! thank u so much!
I really felt the “it’s therapeutic” part. You guys are blessed to live in an area where you can shore dive even in conditions like that, on any given day. Whereas I have to drive nearly 5 hours to reach the nearest ocean. Merry Christmas!
always appreciate your honesty when it comes to fishing , diving and cooking. i would recommend a salt crust grill for that mojarra . i use that method a lot for smaller fish and i also reuse the salt that i bake with, i just re add egg whites to get the kosher salt moist again to wrap around the fish to cook.
Aaron and Madeleine, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Ken & Maria from Mobile, AL. I understand how you feel having a salt deficiency in your blood. That you for all the peaceful underwater videos. What I could see of the clam that you were holding is that it belongs in the group classified as hard-shelled clams. This hard clam is commonly called a quahog and is excellent to eat.
Mojarra is a tasty fish, white and flaky. I've used them in fish and potato pancakes, never had any leftovers since everyone loved them. Watching this on Christmas day, Jimmy Buffett's birthday (RIP), merry Christmas and happy New Year to all.
Merry Christmas I love your videos they are very therapeutic. Ever since the first ine i watched. You're very calming. Keep filming we'll keep watching!!!!
hey Aaron, thanks for this awesome video! I requested this on your insta and these videos are a lot more relatable for me in central fla. thanks for taking us with you in paradise!
Merry Christmas Mr and Mrs Young. Enjoy your first Christmas as newly weds. Will I believe that clam was a middle neck clam. They are good eating if you can find ya a dozen or so. I would just check regs. States are pretty hard core on clam regs since populations are down everwhere.
Hope you guys had a wonderful days of Christmas. This type of video was a very nice change up and shows that you can enough what you love at any time if you are willing to find a way.
Hey brother look forward to your Monday night releases watched it for years comes to mind watching your cloudy water video have you ever considered going to some of the local fish markets showing what's available so that those that can't get out to do it themselves can at least cook it mail order
Merry Xmas you two and your floofs from South Africa! Your therapy is my therapy. Your calmness is infectious. I'm in my mid 60's now but in the summer I get into about 6 feet of water or less with flippers, mask&snorkel, dive-bag and a trident and spear soles. Delicate flesh, wonderful tasting so I can identify. You channel is excellent!
Merry Christmas Aaron! To keep the skin flat and crispy, dry it out by leaving it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours then salt it and drop it, skin side down, into a hot pan and press it down flat for 10-20 seconds. It will shrink but set in a flat form 👍
Air Fryer is the way to go if you want to cook it whole and have the skin come out crispy as a potato chip. I've done a handful of smaller 12" Spotted Rose Snapper in the air fryer and they came out looking like they were deep fried in a restaurant. Score the skin in both directions and oil it down a bit and then 400 degrees in the air fryer and it's a close second to the real thing. Really good.
Good stuff. There are actually two types of mojarras The other one is more angular, the one most used as bait, and delicious also. Very white meat. One of my favorites. Great to see one in your videos. .
Mojarra is awsome! you can catch really big ones on small live shrimp or crushed hermit crabs (no shell). They do grow big and as @locoboy46 mentioned, they make great minuta!
parchment paper, place it on preheated pan. Let paper soak up oil, add a little oil on paper for the fillet, and place fish, skin side down on the paper and press enough to prevent the fillet from curling like in your video. I bought some small clay floor tiles, I use them to grill chicken, beef, etc. I place the tiles on the fillet or meat cut, enough tiles so that their weight makes sure what I'm cooking stays flat and cooks evenly but not so much that I press any of the meat's juices out of the cut.
Happy Holidays! You might try putting cuts in the skin, diagonal or x's. Before frying/cooking, prevents curling. I think that's what sushi chefs do. Tight lines
I know how you feel.....When the weather is this bad I still feel like a fish out of water living out here on the coast....Don't know if you like fried mullet.....I only enjoy it with the skin on!!😎
A trick chefs use before scooping the meat out of the pan. Pour wine over the meat. Start the stock on the pan. All the crisp stuff will loosen up. Then pour it in the stock pot. Also keep a Roux in the fridge to scrape in the pan that will thicken the sauce. Then liquify with stock or milk slowly to thin out the roux. Depending if you want a cream sauce or not. Then strain to get your gravy. Hot roux cold stock cold roux hot stock. Or milk.
to get your skin crispy for snapper and other species, start in a cold pan skin side down on top of a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking. Also, ideally, use s weight such as a brick or lodge cast iron weight (wrapped in non stick aluminium foil) - to prevent it from curling up. 80% cooking with skin side down, 20% skin up while butter basting.
def try the mojara, we tried one over the summer after my daughter caught a big one off of our dock and it taste great. Welp i see you shot one now lol i will watch the end to see if you liked it. Seems you liked the mojara, idk about gravy im not a gravy fan.
Tell Will that Rokkit Kit was in Florida. You guys should really hook up with @RokkitKit and plan his next trip to Florida. You guys are real just like he is. It would be great to share the Key West experience with him. And congratulations on marrying your best friend!!!! May you be blessed with many happy years together!!! And i hope she uploads more paddlinMadilyn videos. So peaceful! Thanks for sharing the keys experience with us! Peace!!! ❤🐠🌏🐳❣️🌎
@KeyWestWaterman oh, I really hate that!!!!!!! Maybe in the future because it would be great for @RokkitKit to spend a week with y'all! He said he could spend days in the mangroves. And then deep water fishing, diving that great place you showed us with it being like a fish column.... the fort...... I hope it works out in the future! Peace!❣️🌎🐳🌏🐠🌍🦀🦞🦐
The mollusc you found is a type of a cockle. They usually live buried in the sand and are hard to find without digging. Should be edible. For the fish - fresh protein curls. You need to let it rest for longer. About 24 hours usually works.
merry Christmas to you and your family...the mojarra wel 1st time im hearing that name for it...but where im from we call dem blinch...the smaller size is really good for bait..but really white meat too
Re the clam,I was raised in nz with the saying "you can eat everything from the ocean " if I was looking at those clams they'd be coming home and meeting the frying pan 😂
Does anyone else catch themselves, ducking under the mangroves when Aaron is swimming through? or is it just me. Great content as always. Thank you for bringing us along. Merry Christmas to you both. Looking forward to 2024.
Dry the filets as good as you can. Score the skin. Salt the skin side fairly heavily put it on a plate skin side up in the fridge for around a hour uncovered. Pan medium high lightly oiled. Either use a bacon press or some type of weight or use your hand but skin side down and don’t touch it till the edges look like they’re about burning.
@@KeyWestWaterman Haha ur welcome-Thank you for sharing your "waterlife", aside from learning a whole lot, I always look forward to relaxing to the peaceful vids, it's a real treat 🙏🏼 Hope you guys have a great New Year!
Clam is fine to eat. The reason you don't see them is due to them being in the sand a few inches deep. If you find one there are normally more nearby, just follow the way the tide goes.
