The lingcod fishery remains excellent off the coast at ports like Westport, La Push and Neah Bay, and good at times in open areas of Puget Sound.
This week, chef Maximillian Petty, owner of Eden Hill on Queen Anne in Seattle, combines his love of art and creativity into a lingcod recipe.
Petty, a Bothell native, was named a semifinalist for the 2016 James Beard Rising Star of the Year Award.
At age 15, Petty began cooking at his sister’s restaurant in Port Angeles, and quickly realized he had an interest in cooking as a career. He then went on to refine his cooking skills in culinary school at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon.
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His cooking talents have taken him all across the country where he worked at restaurants including Zaytinya and Crème Restaurant & Bar in Washington D.C., King Estate Winery in Eugene, Oregon, and Olivia in Austin, Texas.
Lingcod fishery blooming
Coastal charter boats at Westport, La Push and Neah Bay continue to score remarkable catches of lingcod as the population remains healthy and seems to improve every year.
While a lingcod won’t win any beauty contest, they will definitely win the hearts of anglers who enjoy their hard-fighting attitude when hooked, and very tasty and firm white-fleshed meat. Most lingcod average 10-20 pounds with a few pushing the 30-plus pound mark.
Lingcod fishing off La Push, Westport and Ilwaco will remain open daily through mid-October. The minimum size is 22 inches, and the daily limit is two lingcod. Anglers can also add a daily limit of 10 black rockfish to the catch while out on the ocean.
There are shore-bound options for various types of bottomfish off the Westport and Ilwaco jetties, but anglers should use extreme caution since the large rocks and boulders can be very slippery. Good lingcod baits are flounder, kelp greenling, horse herring or artificial scampi-type jigs.
Lingcod fishing isn’t limited to the ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca; San Juan Islands and parts of Puget Sound are open through June 15. The daily limit is one lingcod with a minimum size limit of 26 inches and a maximum size of 36 inches.
Lingcod Terrine
1 pound fresh lingcod, skinless, boneless
1/2 pound fresh shrimp, cleaned
2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
8 scratches nutmeg
2 egg whites
About 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons finely chopped chives
6 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Use a terrine mold or bread pan and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Place an oversized piece of plastic film inside and coat all the sides. Make sure there are 2 inches of overhang on each side. Note: For those unfamiliar a terrine, it is most commonly referred to as a French forcemeat loaf that resembles a pâté.
Fill the pan three-quarters full with very hot tap water. The heat will help press the film to the sides of the pan and gets rid of air bubbles. Let stand for ten minutes. Pour out water and place pan upside down for five minutes.
Chill lingcod and shrimp in freezer for 15 minutes on a plate.
Remove from freezer and place in Cuisinart with all the dry spices and blend until very smooth. Take out of Cuisinart and pass through a Tamis or fine mesh strainer using a flexible bench scraper.
Take usable lingcod/shrimp forcemeat left in the strainer or Tamis after all the liquid is pushed out, and weigh on a kitchen scale.
Place back in cleaned Cuisinart and add exact weight of heavy cream to it (heavy cream should be the same weight as lingcod/shrimp forcemeat, a 1:1 ratio). Pulse until combined and scrape down the sides. Process lightly until combined. Place in large bowl, and fold in herbs and zest.
Place mixture into lined mold and cover top of forcemeat with excess overhanging so it will be completely covered.
Cover first pan with foil and set it into another pan with four-inch sides. Place both pans into the preheated oven and, with the door open, carefully pour boiling hot water into the surrounding pan (a water-bath method). Fill it so the water line is halfway up the pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until terrine temperature reaches 140 degrees on your thermometer.
Once done, take the terrine out of the water bath and place it in the refrigerator with a weight on top. Chill overnight.
The next day, remove mold and flip upside down on cutting board. Take hold of one skinny side of overhang, and pull up on terrine to release the mold properly.
Slice and serve for a first course to a dinner or for a party as a platter. Serve with your favorite butter sauce and pickles, with some grilled bread.
Coming up
This season, esteemed local chefs will share recipes and advice on how to cook a wide variety of local seafood weekly through October.
This year’s lineup of chefs include Tom Douglas, owner of Lola, Palace Kitchen, Dahlia Lounge, among others; executive chef Jason Brzozowy of Maria Hines’ Tilth; chef Shota Nakajima, owner of Naka; chef Taichi Kitamura, owner of Sushi Kappo Tamura; executive chef Wesley Hood of AQUA by El Gaucho along with other chefs from El Gaucho, El Gaucho in Bellevue and The Inn at El Gaucho; executive chef Pat Donahue at Anthony’s Restaurants; Jason Wilson, executive chef and owner of Miller’s Guild and Coffee Flour; Taylor Hoang, from Pho Cyclo; Chefs Jun Takai and Yasuhiro “Yasu” Kusano at Shiro’s Sushi in Seattle’s Belltown; and Chef Megan Coombes, from Altstadt.
Recipes will be posted every Wednesday and/or Thursday through Nov. 2. Also, if you have a recipe you’d like to reel-in my way, please let me know and I will post them, and will even test it out with my family and friends.