Bar Rockcod

When Caught

Year round

Important Features

Wild/Farmed: Wild; Aquaculture trials are in progress in northern Australia for some rockcods.
Habitat: Saltwater and estuarine, Caught mostly near reefs
Recovery Rate: Fillets: 47% from whole rockcod (gilled and gutted)

Bar Rockcod Research

FRDC provides a comprehensive search of the latest research papers and images on Bar Rockcod

Remarks

The sizes of rockcods vary con-siderably. Several species are very large, with one reaching about three metres in total length and 400 kg in weight. Marketed individuals are usually 30 120 cm in length and 0.5 25 kg in weight.

Despite its name, the blacktip rockcod (pictured above) sometimes has dark red tips on its dorsal fin rather than black.

Imports

India, Myanmar, Namibia:: frozen head-on gilled and gutted and fillets

Common Size

60-100cm

Overseas Names

GB: sevenbar grouper

Grading

Rarely graded

Bar Rockcod (Epinephelus ergastularius)

Photograph by CSIRO

Nutrition Facts

per 100g of raw product

Kilojoules	na
Cholesterol	27mg
Sodium	na
Total fat (oil)	0.6g
Saturated fat	35% of total fat
Monounsaturated fat	16% of total fat
Polyunsaturated fat	49% of total fat
Omega-3, EPA	13mg
Omega-3, DHA	152mg
Omega-6, AA	25mg

Cooking Ideas

Bake	Boil	Deep Fry
Grill/barbecue	Poach	Raw
Roe	Roe & Milk	Salted
Shallow Fry	Smoke	Steam/microwave

Note: Cooking Ideas identified by dark bold text are relevant to this species

Popular for their low oiliness and juicy, thick flakes, rockcods are worth experimenting with for hearty menu items. They are especially good fried, barbecued or steamed as fillets or steaks. Grilled rockcod steaks are excellent served with pepperonata or tapenade. Try baked in a rich vegetable provenÁale, or salted, for a unique taste.

A traditional Greek preparation is to flake poached finfish such as rockcod, mix in an egg batter, deep fry the fritters, and serve with skordalia and braised beets.

Rockcods can also provide good flavouring for stocks and soups and are excellent in curries and casseroles. Heads of large individuals are sought after for the cheek flesh, which is used in soups and stocks.

Live rockcods are popular in some Asian restaurants. They are also superb raw, particularly in a Tahitian salad.

Flavour: Mild, Sweet flavour; The flavour varies with size (smaller rockcod tend to have more flavour) and capture area (ocean-caught rockcod can have a cleaner taste than estuary-caught rockcod).
Oiliness: Low
Moisture: Medium to Moist
Texture: Firm; Flaky
Flesh Colour: White to dark, Saltwater rockcods have white flesh whereas the flesh of estuarine rockcods is darker.
Thickness: Thick fillets
Bones: Some pin bones, but these are large and easily removed.
Price: Rockcods are medium-priced finfish. Larger rockcods command higher prices.

Suggested Wines

With food styles such as rockcod baked provenÁale, with the basic flavours of onion and tomato and the wild herb aromas of southern France, the compatible wine style needs to be dry and reasonably forceful, with blends of chardonnay, semillon or other wine varieties.

In this Section