Leather Jacket (Irani Paplet)

Introduction

Possibly one of the most underrated fish in the sea, leather Jacket – Irani Paplet make excellent eating, with very few bones and sweet delicate flesh.

For many people, it seems they just don’t know about leather jacket – Irani Paplet fish. Trust us, once you try it, you won’t be letting any other fish into your kitchen. Just remember that with any leatherjacket you plan to buy, you will lose half of the fish in the form of head and guts during cleaning.

Flavor Profile

Most of the time our customers want it to be skinned and headless, but still on the bone. “Easy to fillet, the flesh is mild flavored and has an almost ‘chickenability’ in regards to how you can cook it.

Nomenclature

• English Name: Leatherjacket, Unicorn leatherjacket
• Local Name: Irani Paplet, chappal
• Scientific Name: Aluterus monoceros

Habitat

LeatherJacket is a Sea fish that mainly lives in Semi-pelagic regions on the continental shelf.

Catching Method

LeatherJacket is caught using bottom trawls and gillnets.

Physical Attributes

LeatherJacket fish do not have scales on the body. The body is moderately deep and compressed. They have smooth leathery skin. The snout profile is straight to convex. The anal fin is with 47–53 soft rays, and the pectoral fins are with 15 soft rays. The rudimentary pelvic spine is plate-like which tends to disappear in large fish.

Color

They have a uniform or mottled greenish-grey body with distinctive bright orange fins. The skin is tough and leathery, giving it the name ‘Leatherjacket’.

Size

On average, the leatherJacket fish size range is 500 – 2000 grams per fish. However, larger sizes are also occasionally available.

Cutting Preferences

Superb in curries, the leather jacket also excels when baked, grilled, and even deep-fried. We suggest it to be “cooked on the bone, where they remain soft and juicy and absorb the rich flavor of the bones.

Approx. Cutting Yields

• Whole: 100%
• Gutted: 70%
• Headless and Gutted: 50%
• Slices: 50%
• Boneless: 35%

Cooking Preferences

Because of its small size, it is most suitable to use as a whole for baking, pan-frying, and steaming. The flesh is soft and breaks apart randomly rather than in orderly flakes, and isn’t firm enough to use in soups or stews.

Health Benefits

• Heart friendly
• Lowers Blood Pressure
• Improves Immune System
• Strengthens the bones
• Improves Skin and Hair health