Parore fish

taurus2005, Sep 18, 5:52pm
Ok to eat?
davidt4, Sep 18, 7:19pm
Yes, fine.I don't know why they have such a bad reputation.Thye must be fresh, of course, as with any fish.
taurus2005, Sep 18, 7:28pm
Yes, I had some which was very fresh but when I have mentioned this to friends they reckon they would not eat it.
gardie, Sep 18, 7:32pm
Depend on what era you come from I guess.I wouldn't touch it because i was taught that as a child!Black snapper we called them and we threw them back - even if we caught nothing else.I'd probably give them a go if I was offered just to be polite.Wouldnt' go looking for them.
squeakygirl, Sep 18, 8:57pm
They are lovely. I wouldn't mind some right now!!
buzzy110, Sep 18, 9:18pm
Delicious.
pickles7, Sep 18, 11:54pm
It is the guts, that really spoil that fish. It must be cleaned as soon as its caught. Only if there is nothing else to eat I reckon. I have eaten it, once. mmmm only once.
beaker59, Sep 19, 12:07am
We used to eat it as kids but frankly theres better fish in the sea. Problem I used to have is the smell of the guts and as the person who always seemed to do the gutting everyone would be tucking into nice fish and all I could think of was the stench of pulling out the insides. Aussies prize them highly and Luderick as they are called over there are quite expensive I am told. They have a black lining to the gut cavity too.
margyr, Sep 19, 12:10am
have not had to gut it so cannot comment on that, the sister used to bring fillets down to Mum when she was alive and I cooked it and ate it, it was fine.
ferita, Sep 19, 1:57am
In Australia they are a very sought after fish. In fact they make special fishing rods just for targeting them.

In New Zealand they are not regarded well as there is untrue myths about them eating sewage etc. They are good to eat if you bleed and gut them right away.
dpeni, Sep 19, 1:58am
kaka fish...........haha
juliewn, Sep 19, 5:03am
They tend to be a harbour/estuary fish, rather than a sea fish.. another name is 'black snapper' due to the black colourings.. if filleted quickly after catching, it's great.. not quite so nice if left ungutted or not filleted quickly..
obviousas, Sep 19, 9:00pm
They are found in marina and muddy shore line. So depending on how clean the harbour is, that is how clean your fish will be. It is also common to find worms in their meat, like barracuda. I would rather eat mullet than black snapper.
ferita, Sep 19, 11:23pm
I have never found worms in them.. i cannot find anything in the net mentioning worms either and I have caught them in a lot of places in NZ. I have even caught them at viaduct basin and not found worms in them.
beaker59, Sep 19, 11:36pm
When we used to get them in a net the sealice at night would get to them and sometimes all you were left was a hollow skin with bones othertimes the lice holes all through them like worms. I haven't found worms in them either. However trick with wormy fish is to gut them straight away as the worms live in the gut and only migrate into the flesh when the fish dies. Parore live almost everywhere from open ocean reef to Viaduct harbour they eat weed hence the big smelly gut contents. I wouldn't rate them the worst fish out there.

At the request of some Pommy guests on my boat a few months back I cooked up some Yellow tail whole then tried one myself geez they're nice I'd rate them up there with snapper or any of the top fish. Next trip I might take a thai style rub to go on the fish then into the griller on the boat. Maybe I shouldn't broadcast the secret though EH! ;)
buzzy110, Sep 20, 1:05am
Too late beaker. Mind you they are rather small and fiddly. Did you just gut, scale and cook whole or have I got the wrong fish species altogether?
beaker59, Sep 20, 1:40am
The ones I cooked were about 10 or 12 inches long so not that Tiny more middle sized yes headed gutted scaled then 3 slices down each side dusted in flour then fried in butter for about 3 min per side. These are the size we mainly catch and use for Kingi and John Dory live or snapper bait cut.
obviousas, Sep 20, 4:21am
Use to see lots of them in the viaduct basin and Quay Street (Princes Wharf). Good size between 12 to 15 inches. They are also common in Milford and Bayswater marinas.
alebix, Sep 20, 4:31am
x1
Sure is, we sold is years ago in the supermarket fish bar. Was very popular.
kuaka, Sep 20, 3:49pm
parore is fine as long as you remove the gut as soon as it's caught.I've never bled them, the flesh is lovely and white, unlike kahawai which does need bleeding or it taints the fish, which is already dark in colour anyway.Parore cooks up lovely and white and succulent, but it doesn't have a lot of flavour usually.I've never found worms in them.
darlingmole, Apr 4, 2:09pm
I can remember wrapping some slimy silt around my fishing hook and catching HEAPS of them in Haruru Falls (near Pahia).Didn't eat them though, threw them back.I've never been able to eat the fish I caught ... it's just to *personal* if you know what I mean