Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
Alfonsino
A night owl's eye that hates being looked at.
- Fillets, seared skin side down
- Gently steamed, the Japanese way
- As sashimi, very fresh
- In French
- Béryx
- Scientific name
- Beryx decadactylus
- In the water
- Seamounts and slopes of the Atlantic, between 200 and 1,000 metres, in the twilight zone.
- Season & buying
- Landed year-round, but rarely, and the stock is fragile.
- Common length
- ~45 cm
- How to identify it
- Deep, almost rhomboid body
Enormous eye taking up half the head
Deep vermilion red
On the plate
White, firm, fine flesh with a quiet sweetness.
Avoid: Acidic marinades, which cook an already delicate flesh.
In Japan it is kinmedai, the golden eye, a celebration fish served whole at New Year.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
