IMHO Bonito is great table fare...of all the Tuna family it seems to spoil the quickest...I spike the head of the fish to keep it from thrashing and tenderizing the meat...then I pull a few gills to bleed it...once it's bled out in the bait tank I put it on ice. If you don't care for this fish it will turn mushy and the meat will separate and taste funky. There are lots of small Bones all over the Redondo Canyon and at the PV kelp line...they really haven't moved into King Harbor yet.
My favorite ways of prepping the Bones is for Spicy Tuna...filet the fish and cut out all the dark meat or bloodline. Then chop into small pieces and mix into the spicy sauce. The spicy sauce is...Mayo, Rooster sauce (Sarichi) to taste, Masago (flying fish egg or smelt roe), a splash of rice vinegar and soy, a splash of sesame oil and hot chili oil, a little ginger, lots of blackened sesame seeds, and some sea salt from Hawaii.
This is a Mexican style poki I learned from the panga guys down in the East Cape... Squeeze the juice from some limes and soak some small pieces of Bonito in the lime juice for about 15 minutes then add the lime cooked fish to a sauce made from Soy, Wasabi, and chopped green onions. Simple but delicious.
Bonito Sashimi and sushi rolls are good too.
Smoked Bonito is another popular dish at my house. We marinate the cleaned fish fillets in Terrayaki, Ginger and Brown Sugar overnight, then put the fillets on a rack to air dry. I roll the fillets in brown sugar then place them back on the rack and sprinkle some Cajun Spices and or Lemon Pepper on them, then smoke the fillets for a couple of hours...Delicious...!
Good Luck
Jim / Saba Slayer
