The shortfin mako shark or Isurus oxyrinchus is truly a marvel. Clocking in at 35-80 kilometers per hour, these guys are sharp predators with a heat-exchange system and a high metabolism to keep warm underwater where the males grow to be 3.2 meters long, and the females at 3.8 meters long. These are the fastest and largest pelagic sharks in the world! We got a chance to try some at home from the same monger who showed us the blowfish. Remember?
Hunting these creatures is a toss up. Sharks like this one are dangerous to humans. It’s what organizations like the National Marine Fisheries Service call “Managed” in the Atlantic and Gulf waters. They don’t reproduce quick at all. Not all sharks are edible, but Mako is the one most hunted. It’s more popular eating shark in Australia, but the shark here are endangered. CITES even have new laws protecting Mako sharks from trade, unless it’s proven that trade will not harm their chances at survival. The juicy details are all in this article describing the meeting in Geneva. HERE
This is a BIG no-no for pregnant women! Fish have mercury naturally, then get eaten by bigger fish so on and so forth until they are eaten by sharks. Thus, sharks sometimes have insane amounts of mercury in them. If mercury poisoning is detrimental to non-pregnant people, it’s twice as bad if you’re an expecting mother.
As for cooking a piece of Mako shark, you treat it the same as a steak. You may want to use a rub and set it down in a puddle of oil on the stove-top, or try your hand at the grill. We haven’t tried grilling yet, so we can’t give any advice on that yet. I like to use the pan because it’s easy to clean while we listen for the oil to warm up and give us a roaring applause as we set the meat down.
*CRUCIAL TIP: SHARKS PEE THROUGH THEIR SKIN, SO PLEASE SOAK THE MEAT FIRST!*
I may have loved Shark Week as a kid, but this shark didn’t leave a good feel in my mouth once it got onto the plate. It was mealy to me kind of like swordfish. I’m not a typical fan of that unless it’s cooked PERFECT. Shark was more like cornbread than meat, so the texture was an unwelcome surprise. I don’t take points of for flavor, but this consistency scored a big fat 0 in my book. Needless to say, I won’t be eating shark again.
I thought the same way about the consistency, but I would compare it to chewed up oatmeal. I kind of liked the fish-flavor, but the thing we didn’t include is a good sauce. A thick sauce instead of a thin salsa is just what this dish needed. Alton Brown suggests using a salsa verde or a remoulade on his new edition of “Good Eats”. You can find it on the Food Network. He’s fast, but accurate and goes over every last important detail in full about how and why to do things a certain way, with science.
When all is said and done, I won’t order a shark dish either. I have conservation guilt and would fret over how they’re going to serve it. You can eat at an expensive place, but if it isn’t worth bragging, it isn’t worth your money. I mean, this one wasn’t even worth taking pictures, so you KNOW it’s not up to our standards. Here’s an informational video about Mako shark instead…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd8AlQvsOTY