Tight lines: Eating ugly burbot: Close your eyes and say 'mmmm'

    Editor's note: This column originally ran March 19.
   
    There is more than one reason I practice catch-and-release fishing. It benefits many, but not all, fisheries. Plus, I don't particularly like the taste of fish.
    My wife has to ask "are you in the mood" when she plans salmon or halibut for dinner. My aversion to fish is as much a mental thing as a taste-bud thing. Must have had a bad experience as a kid.
    The teams participating in the Frostbite Challenge Barbecue Cookoff at the International Sportsmen's Expo last weekend in Sandy had their work cut out for them when I sat down at the judge's table.
    Twelve of us gathered at the South Towne Center to sample flank steak, beef ribs and burbot, those eellike fish that are supposed to taste like cod.
    Most of my fellow judges had one advantage I did not: They had never seen a burbot before. I've written about burbot and seen pictures, a vision I tried not to imagine while lifting the fork to my mouth.
    "Those things are even more ugly than I imagined," one passerby stated after stopping to look at a couple of burbot Division of Wildlife Resources officials had brought to the event. The idea to include burbot in the BBQ contest came from Brian Brinkerhoff, host of the Backcountry Radio program and a friend of mine, who helped organize the event.
    The intent was to publicize the need to fish for - and to keep - burbot at the Gorge. There are two ways to make that happen: convince anglers that burbot are a fun fish to catch and that they are good to eat.
    The six samples of barbecued burbot came between the steak and the ribs. The pieces not covered with sauce or battered looked like walleye or perch, two of my favorite fish to eat, so I was optimistic.
    The other judges went to work and I finally picked up the first sample. Not bad, but I couldn't even taste the fish. I figured burbot must be pretty bad if a chef had to hide the taste so much. Sample two had no sauce or breading on it. The fish was firm and mild, and there was a light smoky taste that I immediately liked. Knowing I was risking filling up before we got to the ribs, I took another bite.
    We had been asked not to make audible or facial expressions showing our preference one way or the other for the samples, but I couldn't stop myself.
    "MMMMMM."
    Only one other BBQ team had let the taste of the fish speak for itself, and I enjoyed that entry almost as much as the first. The others were good, but masked the flavor of the meat.
    Turns out burbot is good and it doesn't need to be dolled up like some fish to make it palatable.
    After we had turned in the burbot evaluation sheets, one of the other judges joined me at a cooler to look at the fish.
    "You were right," he said. "I'm glad I didn't see them before I tasted them."
    brettp@sltrib.com