Catch and Cook: Stingray with 704 Outdoors

“Pretty daggone good”

Many of us have heard that old wives’ tale of seafood restaurants serving stingray medallions as scallops. We don’t know if there’s any truth to it or not, but we do know that plenty of folks eat stingray meat.

Of course, plenty of detractors are out there when it comes to eating these sea creatures.

The folks at 704 Outdoors teamed up with Dale Collins of Fish or Die Charters to do some bowfishing for the species out of Swansboro, NC. They had a good time shooting some, then Collins broke out the filet knife and talked about cooking them.

“Marinate these in a little Texas Pete,” Collins said while running his knife through the sides of a good-sized stingray. “For about 30 minutes. Don’t wash the Texas Pete off, then roll them in your favorite breader and deep fry it, and mmm, it’s pretty daggone good.”

Once back at Dudley’s Marina, Collins finished up the filet work, then cuts the fillets into manageable chunks, making it easier to bread and fry.

Collins said he’s heard the same story of seafood restaurants punching “scallops” out of stingrays, then serving them to unsuspecting diners, but he said he doesn’t believe it. One look at the meat, which appears to be full of natural cuts or segments throughout, shows why.

“They say they make scallops out of them, or punch scallops out of them,” he said. “I just don’t see how they do that, if you look at that. I don’t believe it.”

Watch the full episode of “How to filet & process stingray w/Dale Collins of Fish or Die Charters” at youtube.com/@704outdoors. ■