The Reel In

FISHING IS NOT FOR THE WEAK— ESPECIALLY BEFORE SUNRISE IN NEW YORK HARBOR.

- Daniel Boulud

You probably don’t think of New York City as a fisherman’s paradise, but if you know where to go—and have friends with a boat to get you there—you can do very well in the waters around the city.

For a quick summer escape, I like to wake up early and drive out to Brooklyn to meet brothers Gary and Mark Sherman, friends of mine who keep a 20-foot boat moored on Gravesend Bay. City fishing means going for striped bass. Stripers are big and plentiful and, though we mostly do catch and release these days, they’re a great fish to cook with, too.

Bass is a sportsman’s catch, so of course it’s good fresh out of the water and cooked simply in a cast-iron pan. I love to roast just the tail section. There’s so much flavor, fat, and collagen in a fish tail. But this is also a fish that benefits from a little finesse. The main consideration with any type of bass is keeping the fish moist—because it’s not as fatty as salmon, it can dry out very easily. So don’t worry about searing it or trying to roast it too quickly and focus on a slow, gentle cooking. Keeping the skin on helps retain the shape and moisture of the flesh, but I don’t like the flavor, so I discard it once it’s cooked.