FROM THE SEA
Renowned for its delicate, delicious taste and healthful properties, snapper is the ideal entertaining fish due to its huge versatility and popularity.
Snapper is the ideal entertaining fish due to its versatility and popularity.
Who doesn’t like snapper? Delicious baked in a pie, tossed in a pasta dish, lightly fried for a juicy burger or served simply with lemon and herbed butter, snapper is the perfect crowd-pleaser – whether you’re entertaining or just cooking for the family.
Pargus auratus – also known as silver seabream, Australasian snapper and tamure – is related to sea breams and members of the Sparidae family. Red snapper is from a different family, but has similar characteristics.
SEASON & AVAILABILITY
In the southern hemisphere, snapper is available from October through to May. There is little to no supply in the colder months, as the fish migrate to warmer waters if the sea temperature goes below 20°C. Spawning time is in spring and summer.
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Snapper are a coastal fish that typically live in waters 20-250m deep. They are demersal (bottom-dwelling), but also spend some of their lives in the mid to upper water levels. Adults live around sandy-bottomed reefs, while juveniles tend to be found in inlets, bays and estuaries. The fish swim in schools, and can often be found along the coastline of New Zealand’s North Island, and the western to southern coasts of Australia.
DESCRIPTION OF FISH
Pink snapper are a soft pastel pink with red, blue and golden flecks. They have a pale belly – especially in larger fish – and their colour can change in intensity depending on what they are feeding on. Algae will make the skin and flesh a deeper pink, for example. Red snapper (Centroberyx gerrardi) are different to pink and can be identified by their bright red colours and horizontal white stripes.
The flesh of a snapper is white to light pink in hue, and very soft and delicate. Some thin blood lines can run through the flesh, especially in larger fish.
The snapper is a slow-growing fish, and can live up to 60 years in optimal conditions. A fully-grown adult will weigh anywhere between one and 15 kilos.
Snapper get their name from their strong teeth, and they can easily crush the shells of unwary crustaceans. They will also ‘snap’ and tug at the bait on the end of a line.
Aqua Passa
Serves 4
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced 6 Roma tomatoes, seeds
removed, chopped 1 rosemary sprig
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons 1 cup (250ml) white wine 4 snapper fillets, pin boned Basil leaves, to serve Caper berries, to serve 1 lemon, halved, to serve
Heat the oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli and season with pepper, then cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, rosemary, lemon zest, white wine and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened.
Remove the rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium and then add the snapper in a single layer, skin side down. Cook for 2-3 minutes, spooning the liquid over the fish, until the fish turns opaque.
Serve the fish with basil and capers. Squeeze over the juice from the halved lemon, sprinkle with pepper to serve.
WHAT DO THEY EAT?
Snapper feed on crustaceans, worms, small fish, molluscs, jellyfish and algae, amongst other things.
DID YOU KNOW?
All juvenile snapper begin life as females. During their third or fourth years of life, approximately half of them change sex – balancing out the adult population so they can reproduce.
As they grow, all pink snapper develop bony humps on the forehead. This is called ‘hyperostosis’ – meaning an excessive growth of bone. Older males will also grow fleshy bumps on their snout. Scientists believe males use these bumps to nudge females at breeding time, as if to stimulate the release of eggs.
SUSTAINABILITY
There are concerns about managing the sustainability of fishing stock. Quota limits have been introduced and resources are constantly being monitored. Snapper are managed by the fisheries – and in New Zealand and Australia, have a quota management system limiting both commercial and recreational catches.
Efforts are now made to tag and release larger fish so that monitoring can help trace migration patterns and protect the fish at spawning time. Trials are also underway in NSW to farm snapper in open-pen sea cages.
FLAVOURS THAT WORK WITH SNAPPER
Accompaniments are citrus fruits such as lemon, lime, and grapefruit; vegetables including green beans, asparagus, peas and mashed potatoes; parmesan; wasabi; capers; and fresh herbs such as dill, sage, parsley, chilli, lemongrass and coriander.
MADE TO ORDER
Snapper is thought to have been fished by Indigenous populations in Australia and NZ for centuries. This 1793 account by a British colonist explains how it was often prepared: “By throwing the fish, exactly in the state in which it came from the water, on the fire. When it has become a little warmed they take it off, rub away the scales, and then peel off with their teeth the surface, which they find done, and eat. Now, and not before, they gut it. The cooking is completed by the remaining part being laid on the fire until it be sufficiently done.”
REDUCE WASTE
The whole fish can be utilised for cooking – but because it is perishable, use all parts quickly. Snapper skin can be fried to make a crispy snack. The frames are useful for making a great fish stock that can be frozen if need be – plus the wings can be used as a barbecued or deep-fried snack food. Excess fish on a skeleton can be used in fish dim sum or dumplings.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Like any fish, a good way to know it is fresh is by the shiny translucence of the eye. If it looks bright and clear, the fish is fresh. The more opaque (cloudy) the eye, the older it is.
Snapper is a relatively shallow water fish, and the smell can be a giveaway as to how recently it was caught. If the fish doesn’t smell at all ‘fishy’, it is fresh. The more odour, the longer it has been resting out of water. The whole fish should be shiny (not dull), with reflective scales and rosy pink pastel-coloured gills.
HOW TO STORE
Snapper is a particularly delicate fish that can deteriorate rapidly for every minute it is out of the sea. If you are not preparing or cooking it the same day, keep all fish well chilled.
Wash fillets in cold water after filleting, dry with clean paper towels, and wrap in waxed paper, wax wrap or paper. Never store fresh fish for longer than two days, and keep it well chilled in a tray of ice in the fridge. Avoid freezing snapper fillets for too long, as the flesh breaks down quickly when it thaws.
HOW TO COOK
Fresh snapper is an exceptional eating fish. The flesh is soft, delicate and flaky white. It can be eaten raw as sashimi or quickly cooked.
Smaller sizes of whole fish are perfect for cooking whole – either baked, barbecued, marinated, fried or smoked.
When raw, the flesh is translucent and white. When cooked, it becomes uniformly white. Overcooked fish will quickly dry out – while undercooked fish resists flaking and is translucent.
Fish fillets are usually baked, steamed, cooked whole, barbecued, poached or grilled. They can be used in deep frying, but they can quickly overcook and dry out.
Snapper can be cooked with the skin on, and scales removed. Use a hot pan or grill plate; cook the skin side down first for four minutes, until it becomes crispy, then turn over to finish the fish for a minute more.