Simple Fried Shark Recipe (Yes It’s Really Shark Meat) - We Trini Food (2024)

This fried shark recipe is simple to make and the fish has great flavor once you’ve properly prepared it. It tastes like a well-seasoned, mild fish.

To make fried shark, simply wash the slices with some flour, season well, leave to marinate for about 15 to 30 minutes, then batter and deep fry for about 6 to 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the slices).

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Fried shark ingredients

For this recipe, I used:

• shark meat: I used cleaned, skinless shark slices that my local fish vendor cleaned and prepared. Any type of shark will work for this recipe.
• Caribbean green seasoning: this is usually made with blended garlic, ginger, pepper, chadon beni (culantro) and Spanish thyme leaves. You can follow my green seasoning recipe here or find the seasoning on Amazon. Or you can use the flavorings that you love like onion, garlic, ginger, paprika, cilantro, and chives. Blend everything together with a little water to form a paste and use that as your seasoning.
• salt
• turmeric: this is entirely optional but does add a wonderful golden color to the fried fish.
• flour: I use all purpose flour to wash the meat and to batter the seasoned slices.
• lime juice: this is optional for adding flavor to the fish.
• vegetable oil: for frying.

Preparing the shark

Here’s a photo of the shark used in this recipe. I believe it is a smalltail shark.

Sharks urinate through their skin, so when the fish is being processed, it will have a strong urea-like smell. My local fish vendor usually processes the meat for me by washing the shark, removing its guts, and allowing the blood to drain out.

With amazing precision, he deskinned the shark, washed it again and cut it into smaller pieces. Since this one was only two pounds, he couldn’t debone it without causing damage to the meat.

By preparing it this way, the shark had no scent and was ready to be used right away.

Pro tip: The fish vendor suggested to wash the shark when I got home with flour only and not lime. He noted lime makes the shark meat tougher and chewier.

Do Trinidadians eat shark

Although endangered, Trinidadians eat shark meat from smalltail sharks, blacktip sharks, Caribbean and Brazilian sharpnose sharks and hammerhead sharks. The meat is most often battered, fried and served with fry bake, vegetables and condiments like chow, chadon beni sauce, and chutney.

Bake and shark is a favorite meal in Trinidad and Tobago, enjoyed mainly for breakfast or at the beach. The kind of shark used in the bake and shark depends on what is available to the vendor. However, most bake and shark stalls serve readily available catfish and tilapia in place of shark.

Is shark safe to eat

Sharks are apex predators and so can contain high levels of toxins and heavy metals. As a result, pregnant women and young children are advised against eating shark meat. All other persons should eat shark sparingly.

How to make this fried shark recipe

After purchasing the shark meat from the fish vendor, I made this recipe as soon as I got home. Here’s what I did:

Wash the shark meat

Step 1: As per the fish vendor’s instructions, I rinsed the shark meat and mixed in two tablespoons of flour. After a minute or so, I rinsed the flour off.

Season the shark

Step 2: Next up, seasoning the shark. Here I used salt, turmeric and Caribbean green seasoning made with garlic, ginger, pepper and fresh chadon beni and broad thyme leaves from my garden. Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

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Batter

Before battering the fish, I added a teaspoon of lime juice (although the fish vendor said not to). The juice didn’t affect the meat since I added it right before frying.

Step 3: Coat the shark pieces with flour. You can add paprika, garlic powder and other seasonings to the flour if you like.

Fry

Step 4: While battering the fish, place a saucepan on medium heat. Fill it with enough oil for frying the pieces. Leave to heat up.

Step 5: Once hot enough, fry the shark pieces in the oil for 3 minutes. Flip over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. For thicker slices of shark meat, cook each side for about 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Step 6: Remove from the oil and set on thick napkins to soak up the excess oil. Serve hot.

What to eat with fried shark

These shark pieces were small, so you can serve them with fries and other fried treats.

For larger pieces and fillets, serve the fried shark with fry bake, lettuce, tomatoes, and pineapple chow. Chadon beni sauce, garlic sauce and mango chutney are great condiments that go so well with bake and shark.

Fried shark recipe