Species such as Butterfish, Blue Cod, Perch, Kahawai, Groper, Warehou, Terakihi, Moki and Ling are plentiful in the inshore waters of Kaikoura, New Zealand.
Mike’s Catch of Day – Moki, Butterfish
- Scale, gut and clean the Moki, (or a large fish of your choice).
- Lay on a large sheet of aluminium foil and bring the edges up to contain liquid.
- Stuff the cavity with whole fresh mussels, cockles, 4 wedges of lemon, a sprig of fresh tarragon (or ¼ teaspoon of dried tarragon), a small finely chopped onion and a knob of butter. (It’s all right if some of the shellfish spill out.)
- Pour a little good white wine over it and season with rock salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Seal up the whole fish in the foil and cook slowly on a flat hot-plate on your barbecue.
- Test the flesh occasionally to see if it is steamed right through.
- Serve with steamed rice.