- Thread starter drSix
- Start date
Have you seen any sea food?
I never buy anything directly. Always have a Dominican to negotiate. Luckily I have the wife and she is excellent at bargaining. No matter what price she is given initially its way too high. I have to laugh at her. I cannot even buy an avocado from a street vendor without a hassle. They will refuse to sell to me except at the big price. I have learned its hopeless and do not even waste my time anymore.
Meanwhile, inland someone lands a couple 25 pound catfish..
[video=youtube;R-gMefzMXfY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gMefzMXfY[/video]
[video=youtube;R-gMefzMXfY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-gMefzMXfY[/video]
Yeah man, but that's actually the norm in most makeshift "farmers/seafood" markets around the world. Personally, I think it's kinda fun going back and forth with the Dominicans and Haitians on their fruit carts, and I like both getting a deal and helping out the local farmer or fisherman.
drSix, we liked to buy directly from the boats as they came in but with varying success. Finally, one boat owner said to tell him the evening before what we want and he'll make sure. Never a problem from then on and a terrific price. (price was good because of my Dominican wife).
Dominicans are not very accurate when it comes to labeling fish, there is not much attention to detail in general. This is why, for example, people's names will constantly get spelled wrong and newspapers cannot be trusted to print anything correct.
Seabass = Mero = Grouper
Crayfish = Langostino = (small) Lobster
These are basically incorrect but thats how the words are used here.
Seabass = Mero = Grouper
Crayfish = Langostino = (small) Lobster
These are basically incorrect but thats how the words are used here.
Coachman, well put. We've decided to term that trait as "free spirited" and try to roll with it. My wife actually has less patience with it than me.
of course they are caught locally.
I personally love Mero, nice juicy, noting of the dry stuff.
we get the "accidentally" when bottom fishing for Chillo/Red Snappers, as you of course always get some non targeted ones on the hooks.
DRSix,
all your mentioned species are easy to do ones, no Chef experience necessary.
the freshest you can get for your guests,
is You purchasing the stuff directly from the incoming boats and freezing them yourself, til the soon day you wanna cook for your friends.
where ever else you purchase, like at the supermarkets(mostly nothing local but imported frozen lowest quality of the species) or at the local fish seller near the road(what they dont sell today they still offer you in a week, their in-between-freezing is usually shytty, so the quality of the product is lowest of the whole chain), you will not get great quality.
by your different items at the different spots where the boats bring them in Fresh and you can freeze the stuff, so you are assured it is properly frozen fresh and only frozen ONCE.
Mike
the guy on the road may not always offer a dorado from the same day.
what was left on sales the prior days been maybe just in a fridge oer night, after a day long offered on the road, and then again offered for a day on the road where of course it is not cooled/any proper kept.
you can get lucky with those guys to get one which died only 5-8hrs prior to yoru arrival, but for very most street sales that doesn't apply.
Mike
a Mahi/Dorado is colorful when you take him out of the ocean, just 15 minutes later the firat part of colours is gone, a coue hours later the colours are all gone.
if a boat fishes for just ba short 6hrs day, the fresh to the docks brought Mahi may already be 3 hrs dead. then the boat gets cleaned up, ready for the next day, many let the fish lay out on the docks/beach during that time.
then its brought to the last Seller who is willin to by the left overs of the days, the street seller.
the fishes sold on the streets are many many hours dead and usually not been properly stored anywhere, they are the left overs the boats couldn't sell the proper/usual way, which is when they come back in, they call their usual Vendors like resturants and fish selling businesses, whom of course take their fishes right away upon arrival from the docks.
what is sold on teh streets is for most parts what those Vendors did not take, due leak of quality or because the boats brought ore than the local businesses been willing to purchase.
they are "old" before they show up to be offered roadside, and if not sold that day, they spend the night in a normal fridge or just on half pack of ice in a old cooler, to be offered again next morning.
Mike
Tripple Tail.
but it is a whole wide range of fishy family called Mero here.
someone mentioned above Mero Criollo, my personal favorite nd the most common one caught on Bottom Fishing aside the targetted Red Snappers and numerous hooked Queen Snappers and alikes.
Mero is cheap, from the species caught on bottom fishing one of the cheaper species, and still one of my favorites.
Mike
ask your wife what the specific product costs, and thats what you have as "knowledge" when haggling a price yourself for the thing.
thats the only way to "learn" to purchase anything on a local market.
to haggle the price is normal here on such.
your wife tells you the price she can get it for,
with that knowledge you can do your own thingy and find out if your spanish is good enough to purchase a avocado on the street, lol
Mike
yes, of course.
you tell your offer, he tells a out of this world counter offer,
leave your biz card on his table and walk out.
in case of a car dealer you most likely will not reach your car to drive the 50 meteres to the next car dealer aside, before you get a "call".
Mike
the only places, where the fish guaranteed been sitting on ice/been appropriately frozen from the beginning,
are the supermarkets, but of course they sell the usual imported stuff like the fishies served at those numerous AI Resorts, nothing of any real value nor quality.
to e assured t get really fresh stuff, means you get in touch with the fishermen, exchange phone numbers with crews on boats and let them know what you want, so you will get a call and can watch your fishy to be unloaded at a dock/beach in the freshest manner possible.
once the stuff been frozen, no way to really "see" how often or appropriate/inappropriate it was frozen.
to purchase such products from someone, without buyng right from the catching boat,
would be a thing of big trust.
honestly,
i would never trust the word of a street vendor not even on the purchase of a cellphone charger.
Mike