How to Fillet a WHOLE OPAH with Tommy Gomes

[@jeffsmith825]

Thank you for just showing people what's possible when it comes to harvesting fish. Too often in this country we take the easy way out, hack the sides off a fish and it's over. People also freeze fish knowing they're going fishing again the next day or next week and they never get to eating the fish they froze. I spent a year in Japan and really it gave me a new perspective on fish and eating fish. If I am going after big Tuna, I'll now have people lined up to give it to when I return. Makes me happy knowing the fish will be enjoyed to it's maximum. It's a great resource and this country needs to learn to utilize it.

[@ChefEpic]

I totally agree with you on everything you said. It's a shame when people catch fish and waste them in the freezer. Some fish freeze well, but I found that unless you have a proton freezer like fish markets might have, Tuna doesn't freeze well.

[@jeffsmith825]

@@ChefEpic yepp and people here don't even freeze fish properly when they inevitably do freeze it which also drives me nuts. They just put fish on top of fish in a freezer and end up throwing most of it out when they need space for something else or decide the fish they killed two years ago for no reason probably isn't good anymore. I also don't like the idea of "catching my limit" being some sort of badge of honor. For some reason, if the limit is 10, people keep 10 even though they need 4. I am fully supportive of people going fishing and eating fish, I do it very often and I love it. It just doesn't make much sense to me why people treat fish worse than say bread. Nobody goes to a grocery store and intentionally buys more bread than they know they could possibly need but people do it with fish all the time.

[@everettduncan7543]

@@ChefEpic does opah freeze well?

[@victoriarospond5586]

Everything about this video was right on. Such appreciation! Thanks so much.

[@johnsmalldridge6356]

Best opah cleaning video ever!

[@ChefEpic]

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words. Are there any other fish you want me to film?

[@ChefEpic]

sounds great. will do.

[@siddharthkumargogoi8942]

Hats off.. have never seen such precise clean-cutting.. with negligible waste of food

[@bfarm44]

Very impressive and educational I had no idea how many different cuts were available on one fish.

[@Victoria-wy7hb]

just saw this on tik tok and had to watch the rest! awesome stuff dudes

[@alankatoxct]

*Amazing Video* been fishing all my life (69 yrs young now) and never even knew the value of this fish. I've never caught one either! Caught a lot of tuna out of San Diego. Thank you for the 'demo' ARIGATO. Great presentation 👏.

[@johnathoncastro]

This guy is awesome. I would love to learn from him

[@ChefEpic]

He's definitely been a huge influence here in San Diego when it comes to local sustainable seafood.

[@kenlouis1432]

needs a masterclass and I am not even a fisherman but I learned quite a bit

[@MrBBang]

This guy is the Master of fish filleting. He doesn't need all the fancy and expensive knives to do the job.

[@siddharthkumargogoi8942]

Seriously his cutting skills, his saving of food, everything is so epic

[@bozzskaggs112]

Great video. I appreciate Mr. Gomes' appreciation of the fish as well as his explanation of the different cuts. You could do another video starting with a model of the Opah skeleton and primary cuts, go to a slow breakdown of the actual fish and show preparation of sashimi, sushi, baking, frying, making stock from the head and bony parts after the fillet and how to make leather from the skin if it was to be skinned like a deer before the dissection began. The last comment is almost hyperbole but I'm making a point. Some of my favorite videos involving seafood record sushi chefs with master level knife skill. Mr. Gomes works with near sushi chef precision and I respect that. "So This is the cap. Normally it would be tossed over the side of the boat." WHAT!!!? Why do people disrespect and disparage beautiful animal fat in such a way. I bet a sushi chef would use that in a roll to create something incredible. Did I mention that I enjoyed this video?

[@cotyfields1888]

Amazing!! You know your fish and with NO waste!!!

[@the503creepout7]

i'd never tried opah before moving to hawaii(no longer live there) but i was so impressed. i'm a career F&B worker & i can honestly say that opah(also called "moon fish") is one of the most delicious, versatile, & underappreciated fish on the market. i have a special appreciation for opah belly. i'm one of the minority who appreciate a rich, oily, "fishy" flavored catch like mackerel or herring, but most ppl seem to prefer a more mild flavored fish. the beauty of opah belly imo is that it's oily & rich w/o having an overpowering "fishy" flavor, so just about anyone who eats seafood will enjoy it. unfortunately, now that i live in the pac-nw(portland) - i never see opah in the local markets. PS - if there's anyone up in Seattle who knows if opah can regularly be found at Pike's or any other fish mongers in the area, i have family up there & would love to treat them to an opah dinner.

[@siddharthkumargogoi8942]

Sir my reverence to you.. people need to learn from you... Epic job sir🙏🙏

[@ToxicRainStorm]

Opah is easily my favorite fish

[@Forklore_Tales]

Thanks for making such a great and meaningful video. I don't know how long it takes for you to catch this fish. For me, 5 years is probably not enough.

[@buoy77micmacmark]

Had it once fried in Oahu on a sandwich and it did not disappoint

[@jasonthomas7414]

Thank you for the video! Great delivery!

[@evacasas9681]

Todo un experto sus cortes son impecables, da gusto verlo cortar el pescado, nunca he comido ese pescado pero por lo visto es un pez muy especial. Si puede hacer una demostración y enseñarnos como se prepara, gracias por su video.

[@fakegucci2244]

Jesus Saves ❤️!

[@stickyfinger122]

This video is perfect...

[@ChefEpic]

Thanks!

[@pmackchokz]

Nice vid. Here in the Philippines it is called Dayana. Its meat may look like pork or beef.

[@animalian01]

Nice looking meat from that fish.

[@juanitajones7169]

Sushi-Ready!🍴🍵🍣🍣🍪

[@jaywatson8720]

Pro af

[@hienbay2612]

nice Chef

[@cuauhtemocramos2674]

What a beast of man!!!!!!!!!!

[@ChefEpic]

Tommy Gomes is epic!

[@mogunloye]

Love this video salute Fam!

[@kymparker4922]

Is this fish considered a clean fish to eat?

[@caspercotton]

Most interesting fish autopsy I've ever seen

[@zooplanton]

How is the fat content compared to bluefin, bigeye and yellowfin?

[@ChefEpic]

It depends on the fish, but on the whole the belly is almost as fatty as toro. The loin is more like Hamachi in texture and flavor in my opinion.

[@zooplanton]

@@ChefEpic Thanks for the info. Then this fish deserves a serious development of aquaculture so that we don't overfish it to the brink of extinction.

[@PatriotMango]

im about to cook some right right now. if i had to guess, its the belly area. at least i know how to pick out the different cuts now. thanks

[@ChefEpic]

Sounds great!

[@drdizzly]

Wow a warm blooded 🐠. Awesom video. I subbed.

[@ChefEpic]

thanks for subscribing. This fish is super amazing and delicious.

[@Corelifts]

Ive always wanted to try opah never had the chance

[@boostedsaleen6146]

Wow

[@IanMaitner]

😎👍

[@eduardosaavedra.2547]

Crees que pueda hacer filetes capeados con salsa valentina ?

[@getehrwolf6111]

Chale que pedo

[@NilupulMalinda]

Great content, but I found the background music to be too loud and distracting.

[@justagaymer8193]

"Don't use your fingers it'll damage the meat" proceeds to use fingers lol

[@clifflee5404]

Was the fish not bled properly?

[@ChefEpic]

The commercial guys probably don't have enough time to bleed out every fish perfectly since they are stacking them on ice as fast as they can.

[@hendrixbatistag946]

Wao, is my first time seeing the big fish, is like a cow.

[@ChefEpic]

it's huge!

[@scottmendes4075]

Waow!

[@ChefEpic]

Thanks!

[@ernestof.pinzon1735]

what is the name of the instrumental?

[@ernestof.pinzon1735]

the first intrumental

[@ChefEpic]

It's called Run All Night by Blossom Learning

[@fakegucci2244]

Jesus Saves ❤️!

[@natureboy6410]

Very nice prep job. My family, which is from the South Pacific Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii, however call this fish a sunfish. The fish they call opah has a similar shape as this one but it has no fins on top bottom or tail. Just too leathery flippers, one on each side. They are probably one of the ugliest fish I have ever caught or seen for that matter LOL.. but they have no bones except for their sharp beak that they use to eat kelp unless the water is quiet and they're floating on their sides and eating jellyfish or man of war. The only way to catch them is to snag them. 90% of the meat is pure white with the exception of a little around the gills. The skin is extremely thick it can be blanched and cut and cooked like false scallops and the primary meat in my opinion is as good if not better than snow crab or lobster. But the Oprah I grew up with is a very ugly fish. This fish is a sunfish and is very pretty.

[@NickWeissMusic]

You might be remembering the names in reverse, this pretty fish, Opah, is commonly known as moonfish in some places. Mola Mola is the huge ugly “ocean sunfish,” with the 2 huge fins. Like I said you could be remembering wrong, or they could have different names in Tonga and Samoa, very common to have different names in different areas, but in Hawaii the fish in the video would be called opah or moonfish in my experience (I’m there about once a year).

[@natureboy6410]

@@NickWeissMusic nope. Just a few years ago I caught a 85 lb opah. Actually, my father-in-law Tiolo caught it and I caught him by the back of his belt before he went into the drink as he held tight to the Gaf, lol. Tiolo didn't want to go through the hassle of cleaning it, so he let me have it. That weekend when him and Sione fired up the umu for the family gathering, I made one of the best and largest batches of chowder I've ever made in my life. If I could just get one or two of these a year, I would gladly clear out my freezer.

[@valuvivao3434]

This fish is better than a tuna..

[@ChefEpic]

I wouldn't say better, it's just different flavor and has different applications depending on the cut of meat. It's a bycatch so it is a good sustainable alternative to tuna

[@bigdata9605]

Who came from TikTok?

[@thomasneal9291]

NEVER EVER say "underutilized". That's what they said about angel sharks off California in the 1980s, and so they opened a commercial fishery for it... and literally reduced their populations by 90% in less than 5 years. Just... don't.

[@emmyt5784]

And if you live in a desert with no local fishermen, never eat fish! 😒😭

[@timo58]

I'm so glad he eventual scrapped off the remaining meat off the spine and head. I thought he was going to waste it all

[@oppo0998]

I AM HUNGER

[@the_jackal_dmz]

He sounds like Donald Trump. BLAAAAADE 😂😂

[@themeta2482]

Great video but can’t get over the fact he sounds just like trump

[@Clai88]

Lol he very subtlety sounds like trump

[@ernestoponce1241]

Did this nigga say chicharoni?? Lmao

[@sethmoran2443]

Japanese and Korean are much much better