Handling and preparing the tastiest ‘trash fish’ in the bay

Bluefish cakes are a perfectly tasty way to preserve some bluefish in a near-fresh quality.

Got more bluefish than you know what to do with? This classic preparation is what you’re looking for.

If you can clean a fish, you can clean a snakehead.

Crispy wok-fried Chesapeake Bay soft shells coated in a sticky, spicy, gingery sauce are a perfect storm of hyper-regional ingredients and imported techniques. This is what food is all about: blending cultures, time and places.

These wraps are great finger food, perfect for summer cookouts or a dinner on the patio overlooking the garden.

If you’re from the camp that thinks the only good thing to do with bluefish or mackerel is smoking it and making dip, this might change your mind.

A classic Virginia preparation for black drum.

The method for grilling softshell crabs is simple: high heat to get the shells crispy, seasoning & some fat. You can use any fat you want, but the butter added a bit of welcome richness, I highly recommend it. As for seasoning, salt and pepper if you want to keep it minimalist. Old Bay if you know what's up.

White perch are a lot of fun to fish for and some of the best table fare there is. They're abundant and aggressive, and once you find them, you can pile them up.

This green curry recipe has become a recurring dish after long and hot days on the water. It’s spicy, creamy without being too heavy, and refreshing yet comforting.

Once you cut through the scales and skin, gar is relatively easy to clean.

It couldn’t be simpler. All you need is a pair of scissors.

These little handheld crab poppers are divine.

Tempura fried and rolled with cucumber, avocado, and old bay mayo, these soft shell crab rolls were light, with a filling crunch, and the most satisfying thing I’ve eaten this June.

Soft shell crabs might be nature’s most perfect food. Fried up, with a slice of ripe tomato and crispy bacon, it’s the essence of summertime on the Chesapeake.

Gas station ingredients, but make it fancy.

This recipe riffs on the classic clams oreganata, but with the twist of country-style Virginia ham.

Somewhere between anchovies and parmesan- salty and full of umami, but with a distinct oceany flavor. Use them in everything.

If you’ve never eaten shell-on shrimp, it's kind of like a softshell blue crab. And if you haven't had softshell crab, well, you're missing out.

A light fish chowder, perfect for those end of summer days.

The perfect midsummer answer to the heat and a surplus of tomatoes.

Kamaboko- you might not have heard of it, but I guarantee you’ve tried it. These are as good, if not better, than the kamaboko you can buy in asian grocery stores.

The fine texture, color and richness of snakehead roe is exceptional. Flavor-wise, it is mildly briny and not fishy at all, with an eggy richness that you only find in good fish roe.