There is a Jekyll and Hyde fish that has been swimming through restaurant menus for years. The fish is escolar, and its good side is handsome indeed. The rich, succulent ivory-white meat is delicate and absolutely delicious. Its high oil content gives it a luscious, buttery texture and makes it a versatile fish to cook with.
But as with many things that seem too good to be true, there is often a price to pay with escolar. The oil that imparts such a wonderful flavor is exactly where its personality turns.
The oil in escolar is a strong purgative called gempylotoxin, found in the Gempylidae family of fish that includes snake mackerel and oilfish. Although it doesn’t constitute a health hazard, the FDA classifies the oil as a “natural toxin” that is difficult, if not impossible, for the human body to digest.
Whereas most digestible fats are made up of only three fatty acids, the fat in escolar has many, in a longer chain. The human body doesn’t have the enzymes to break down such large molecules. So for many people, depending on portion size and preparation, as well as their own physical constitution, the oil will pass through their systems unabsorbed, allowing the fish to act as a laxative. Definitely something to be aware of.
Escolar, sometimes nicknamed “white tuna,” is found around the world in most temperate and tropical seas. Abundant in the South Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, it’s something fishermen catch inadvertently when they are long-lining for tuna. For years it was either kept locally for food, its laxative properties well known, or discarded.
I first tried escolar in the mid-’80s in Mexico. It was brought in from a fishing boat and talked up by the locals as a real treat. The portions were very small and grilled simply with lime, salt and pepper, and the taste was out of this world. But no one was shy in revealing its split personality, and some even sought out that very property that others wished to avoid.
Early in the ’90s, though, escolar found its way to food-crazed, big-city restaurants. The seductive white flesh and satiny texture were an instant favorite with chefs, especially in New Orleans and San Francisco, where the fish was more locally available.
But with the popularity came the complaints. In the early ’90s the FDA advised against importing the fish, but because the diarrhea it can cause is temporary and doesn’t usually cause pain or cramping, the agency now leaves the decision up to the consumer.
Many in the seafood trade have put the blame on escolar’s cousin, the oilfish, which is sometimes sold as escolar to unwitting buyers. But although oilfish may have an even higher concentration of these indigestible oils, that doesn’t let escolar off the hook.
Risky fish
The FDA does keeps an eye on escolar, though for a different reason. Another trait of the snake mackerel family, as with tuna, is that lack of early refrigeration can promote a bacterial reaction that raises the histamine in the fish to a dangerous level, causing scombroid poisoning, a much more serious illness. Perhaps because it was a by-catch of the tuna fishery, and was occasionally an afterthought for selling, escolar has always been more suspect for delayed refrigeration than tuna. Knowing the reputation of your purveyor is key.
Wholesalers, insulated from any diner complaints, have fewer reservations about selling escolar. If you want it, they will provide it. According to Clayton Brown at Clearwater Fisheries in Chicago, escolar is a consistent seller: “At least a couple hundred pounds a week.” Not every diner is sensitive to the fish, Brown says, but still, “We warn the chefs and the people who sell it and hope that they educate their people as well.”
For retailers, it’s a different story. Whole Foods offered it recently but quickly pulled it after complaints. Seafood coordinator Jeff Roos says that although the chain prides itself on staff training, there is always a chance that a customer may not be made aware of escolar’s side effect. “And do we really want to have to warn the customers?”
Representatives for retailers such as Whole Foods, Burhop’s, and Issacson and Stein all said they would be happy to order escolar, but they choose not to stock it. More and more restaurants, on the other hand, seem to carry it as a special, and sometimes on the regular menu. It can be found year-round, but this spring it was in particular abundance, popping up all over town.
A delicate topic
Although the FDA has informed the National Restaurant Association of escolar’s effect and asked that the information be passed along to the people who serve it, not everyone will get the message.
Some waiters are reluctant to take pre-dinner conversation into the area that escolar demands. The language tends to become as delicate as its taste. “High oil content” is almost always mentioned, leading to “very rich” and “buttery.” Follow that with “absolutely delicious,” and what began as a polite warning has become an endorsement. How can a diner be expected to interpret such information? Other fish with a “high oil content” have a high content of digestible oil.
Even speaking with chefs and retailers on the subject sets off a collection of euphemisms. Its “lubricating factor” and “cleansing properties” are fairly easy to translate. But when its “playful side” is mentioned, its dual nature becomes less clear.
Experienced chefs
Whether chefs serve it may depend on their own experience as well as the reaction it gets. Chef Ted Cizma at Grace serves it occasionally as a special and has never had a problem with it.
“If it’s something I’ll eat, I’ll serve it in the restaurant,” he says.
Chef Alan Sternweiler at Harvest on Huron has the same approach: “I’ve never had problems with it.” He serves it as a special, leaving the choice to the customer. “The texture has such a great consistency and it has a good affinity with Asian flavors.”
Others choose to avoid it. Seafood restaurants Oceanique and Shaw’s Crab House, for instance, won’t serve escolar. Chef Michael Altenberg at Campagnola in Evanston doesn’t offer it, stating plainly, “You can’t digest it.”
And while chef Paul Katz at McCormick & Schmick’s sings escolar’s praises, he also chooses not to sell it.
“It has a beautiful color and the meat is wonderful,” he says about Jekyll, adding that he served it often in Los Angeles, where it is popular. “But it’s a problematic fish,” he concedes about Hyde. “They eat, go home, and think we did something wrong. Why take the chance?”
The answer, from those who love it, is because it’s delicious. And there is always the argument that people will sit down to other rich food, perhaps a lobster and drawn butter, knowing well that it may affect them later. They make the choice and they’re prepared for the consequence.
ADVICE FOR THE DARING
Whether you’re trying escolar for the first time or you’re already one of its fans, keep a couple of things in mind.
– First is portion size. Three or 4 ounces is ample, and 6 is probably the limit. The less you eat, the less you’ll be affected.
– Second is cooking method. Grilling allows some of the oil to escape in the cooking, a definite advantage. Depending on your constitution, the effects of a 4-ounce piece of grilled escolar can go unnoticed. Be the most cautious with sauteed fish, especially if the pan oil is incorporated into a sauce. And if the serving size of the sauteed fish happens to be a half-pound or more as well, as I recently witnessed in a local Italian restaurant, the greater the chance you’ll be truly moved by this delectable fish.
– Which brings up a final thing to keep in mind: What’s on your agenda tomorrow? If you have, say, a trans-Atlantic flight or a golf game planned, or that big, important meeting, I would recommend the salmon.
