Can You Eat Ladyfish?

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Last Updated on May 14, 2025 by Paul Clayton

Can You Eat Ladyfish?

Behold the ladyfish, a creature of grace, a spectacle of the sea, but can you devour this marine marvel? The question echoes through the salty sea breeze, leaving many pondering – Can you eat Ladyfish?

Key Takeaways:

• • Yes, ladyfish is edible, but not a commonly consumed fish.
  • Ladyfish has a mild, slightly oily flavor and a somewhat mushy texture.
  • A significant drawback of ladyfish is the presence of numerous small, delicate bones, making preparation tedious.
  • Some online sources report that ladyfish can taste mushy and oily, which some dislike.
  • Limited data exist on mercury levels in ladyfish, but North Carolina guidelines list it as a high-mercury fish, suggesting cautious consumption.
  • Due to its less desirable qualities, ladyfish is commonly used as bait for other fish.
  • Specific recipes, such as pressure-cooked ladyfish (to dissolve bones), ladyfish cakes, and ladyfish rava fry, can make it more palatable by incorporating other flavors and altering the texture.
  • Adequate preparation often involves filleting, skinning, and meticulously removing as many bones as possible, sometimes by scraping the meat.

It’s an inquiry that has intrigued many, from casual seafood enthusiasts to seasoned anglers. This article delves deep into this pertinent question, revealing truths and dispelling myths. We will dive into the shimmering depths of fishing lady fry and present insights into the art, or rather the sport, of casting your line to fish for ladyfish.

Prepare to embark on a culinary voyage, where we explore the ethics and the epicurean aspects of consuming this elusive creature. Ladyfish isn’t a dish that you’ll see on the table often. Likely, you’ve never tried ladyfish.

Well, is ladyfish worth a try? Moreover, can you even eat ladyfish?

Let’s find that out!

Is it Worth Eating Ladyfish?

The quick answer to this question is yes, you can eat ladyfish just like any other regular edible fish. The cooking process of ladyfish is similar to that of other fish, and if you’ve dealt with fish before, you shouldn’t have any issues.

That said, there are a couple of things to remember about ladyfish. While the basic cooking is simple, this fish isn’t like others.

With a flavor profile uniquely its own, the Ladyfish offers a taste that is neither too oily nor overly fishy. It carries a subtle hint of the ocean’s depth in each bite.

But beware, my friends! The Ladyfish, also known as the bony ladyfish, is a labyrinth of tiny, delicate bones, an obstacle course for the unseasoned eater. So, if you choose to fish for ladyfish, be prepared for a culinary adventure!

It is worth it, only for those brave enough to navigate its bony landscape.

If you surf the web, you will find two major complaints about ladyfish – it has too many bones and tastes mushy and oily. Not only that, but you have to remember the mercury issue in fish.

Too many Bones in Ladyfish

“Too many bones” doesn’t mean most fish are made of bones. However, the number of bones in a ladyfish is enough to become quite noticeable.

And it’s not that you have to deal with a thick spine or many other large bones. It’s just that there are many more tiny bones in this fish than in some other edible fish species.

As a result, getting rid of all the bones to prepare the fish for cooking can be very tedious. And given the amount of meat you get from ladyfish, you may think removing all the bones isn’t worth it.

Ladyfish aren’t small, but for the effort you put into the preparation, you’d probably expect something more from this fish.

If you feel up to it, you may try to remove those tiny bones manually. Otherwise, a couple of tricks can make it relatively easy.

Mushy and oily taste

The second thing that some people appear to have had issues with is the taste of ladyfish. Ladyfish is oily and mushy, which many people didn’t like about this fish.

Regarding the feel of the meat, ladyfish has quite a gentle and crumbly meat. It doesn’t melt in your mouth but is much more fine-grained than you’d expect from fish.

This probably won’t be an issue for everyone. Moreover, there are probably plenty of people out there who will like the softer feel of ladyfish. However, plenty of people also like fish to be more textured and crumbly; if you are one of them, you may dislike ladyfish.

Most people will probably dislike the oiliness. Fat can be overwhelming in taste, not in a good way. Besides, the oiliness may contribute to the ladyfish’s mushy and textureless feel.

With that said, taste is highly subjective, and what may be disliked by you will be loved by others. Aside from that, how the ladyfish tastes depends on the ingredients and cooking techniques you use.

Mercury in fish

Human activities like coal burning or iron mining can contaminate water sources with mercury, which fish readily absorb.

There appears to be little data on mercury levels in ladyfish. We’ve found only the guidelines of North Carolina’s Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology branch, which list ladyfish among fish high in mercury.

At the same time, the US FDA doesn’t seem to have data on mercury content in ladyfish. The FDA Monitoring Program (1990 – 2010) report also did not mention ladyfish.

The North Carolina Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology branch recommends consuming only one meal of high-mercury fish per week. At the same time, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children under 15 should not eat such fish. According to the FDA fish recommendations, one adult serving equals 4 ounces.

The mercury content data in ladyfish appears incomplete, but you may still want to be a little more careful about consuming this fish. As a basis, the FDA fish recommendations suggest eating fish only once weekly if no advisories are available in your area.

This video has been included to clarify the topic. Credit goes to VISUAL-LY

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How to Prepare And Cook Ladyfish

Using a special recipe to prepare any fish is a great idea. Everything you add to the fish could significantly contribute to its taste, making it a much more delicious dish.

That said, you may need to take more care when cooking ladyfish.

Ladyfish is quite an unpopular food item, and it seems to be much more commonly used as bait to catch other fish. As a result, few people can tell you what kind of food ladyfish is and whether it is good.

Since most people appear not to like ladyfish, you may want to use ladyfish as a base for a recipe of your choice. You won’t necessarily dislike the mild and oily flavor of ladyfish, but mixing ladyfish with other ingredients may be very beneficial for the fish’s taste.

Below, we want to introduce you to 3 recipes we’ve encountered online. There are many more ladyfish recipes out there for you to find, so these three recipes barely scratch the surface of what you can do with the fish.

You may find many other recipes on YouTube, so we suggest you check that platform.

Besides, if you have a favorite fish recipe, try it with ladyfish—with its distinct flavor, ladyfish may complement your recipes much better than other fish!

The recipes below are given nearly in the form they were originally published. We’ve added a few details here and there to hopefully make the recipes more straightforward for you. Take these recipes as a basis, but feel free to make any changes you think will improve the dish for your taste.

Click here to read Can you use a Jet Ski for fishing?

The pressure cooking method

This is a reasonably interesting recipe from this WordPress blog. It’s not the most conventional recipe, but if you have the equipment, you may want to try it.

For this recipe, you will need two things:

• A smoker or grill.
• A pressure cooker.

Here is the step-by-step preparation and cooking process:

1. Fillet and skin the ladyfish.
2. Chop the fish into smaller chunks. The original recipe suggests 3-inch chunks, but depending on your preferences and available space, you may go larger or smaller.
3. Put the meat into your smoker or grill.
4. Cook the fish for 2 hours with the wood of your choice.
5. Put the meat into canning jars. Top off the fish with water. Add some salt by preference.
6. Shut the lids of the jars and place them into your pressure cooker. Add water to a few inches above the jars. There is no need to cover the jars entirely with water—you can leave the water at half their height.
7. Pressure cook the fish for about an hour. The extreme heat should be able to eliminate the bones present in the fish.
8. Remove the jars from the pressure cooker and let them cool.
9. Drain the jars and pour the meat out into a bowl.
10. You can add spices or flavors to your taste. The original recipe suggests mayo, chopped onion, sweet relish, black pepper, sour cream, and dill.

The main idea of this particular recipe is to get rid of the bones by using pressure cooking.

We suggest removing as many bones from the fish as possible before placing it in your smoker or grill. Remove as many bones as you can without destroying the meat. If you do this, you should be able to ensure that pressure cooking indeed eliminates all the bones.

Ladyfish Cake

For the recipe of ladyfish cake, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• An egg.
• Lime juice.
• Celery stalks.
• Olive oil.
• Salt and pepper.

This is how to make a ladyfish cake:

1. Clean, gut, and fillet the ladyfish. Don’t forget to remove the scales.
2. Scrape the meat off the bones and skin with a spoon. Do put the effort into removing as many bones as you can.
3. Place the meat into a bowl.
4. Mix the mayonnaise, egg, and lime juice. Finely chop the celery stalks and add them to the mixture. Then, add fresh parsley.
5. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
6. Put the flaked fish into the mixture and blend everything.
7. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and let it chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Take the mixture out of the refrigerator and make patties from it.
9. Scatter breadcrumbs onto a plate and carefully dredge the patties in the breadcrumbs.
10. Turn your stove to medium heat and heat oil in a frying pan.
11. Place the fishcakes into the pan.
12. Cook the fishcakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Keep the fishcakes on the pan until the cakes are thoroughly cooked and the crumbs are golden-brown.

Ladyfish Rava Fry

This one is also an interesting recipe that appears to be from India.

To make ladyfish rava fry, you need the following ingredients:

• 2 ladyfish.
• 1 plate of semolina.
• Refined oil as required and to your taste.
• 1 egg.
• 1 tablespoon of corn flour.
• 100 grams of red chili.
• 2 teaspoons of ginger garlic paste.
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice.
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or as much as you like).

To prepare this dish, follow these steps:

1. Clean, gut, and fillet the fish. The original recipe recommends cleaning the fish, but it probably implies that you must also gut and fillet it.
2. Take care to remove the bones from the meat. Again, you may use a spoon to scrape the meat off the bones.
3. Boil the red chilies in water. Strain them and grind them into a thick paste.
4. Add the egg, corn flour, ginger-garlic paste, lime juice, and salt to the chili paste.
5. Apply the mixture to the fish. Let the fish marinate for 30 minutes.
6. Coat the marinated fish in semolina.
7. Deep fry the fish until done.

Should You Give Ladyfish A Try?

If you’ve ever encountered ladyfish, you’ve probably wondered whether it’s edible and how it tastes.

Well, we’ve already answered these questions. Not only that, but we’ve looked at a couple of recipes you could prepare and cook ladyfish with.

Then comes another question – should you give ladyfish a try? Is this fish even worth it?

We can’t say that it’s a must-have or the tastiest fish that has ever existed. Claiming that you have to try it would probably be an overstatement. Ladyfish may not be the most delicious if plenty of other fish are in your area.

With that said, we think you should try ladyfish at least.

You will probably like ladyfish if you like less crumbly and textured food. It’s pretty gentle and does not require special cooking techniques.

If you like your food crumblier, we suggest that you at least try ladyfish. How to cook ladyfish is up to you, but if you like meat with texture, you may want to use some of the techniques we’ve discussed above.

Aside from that, if you happen to be in an area with plenty of ladyfish and not too many other fish, then know that you could make a delicious dish with it. It may take more effort than other fish types, and you might not get as much meat as you had hoped, but ladyfish can serve as a decent base for different meals.

Ladyfish isn’t the pinnacle of fish, but it’s worth a try. And who knows, maybe it becomes the one fish dish you can’t live without!

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