Flathead Fish | Kukkar

Introduction

Flathead Fish or Kukkar fish is a cheap, delicious dinner fish with great meat. Steamed, poached, pan-fried, or grilled. Many say it’s the greatest Arabian sea fish for fish-n-chips.

Flathead — Kukkar is eaten with chips and tartare or mayonnaise and has juicy, flaky, and soft sweet meat that tends to dry out with typical cooking methods.

Flavor Profile

Flathead Fish meat is white and delicious, tougher than channel catfish. Like lobster when grilled.

Nomenclature

Flathead (English)
Local: Kukkar
Scientific: Platycephalidae

This sea fish inhabits Benthic locations with sand or coral rubble bottoms as its primary habitat.

Catching Method

Gillnets and bottom trawls catch this fish.

Physical Qualities

This fish is scaled. The head is fairly depressed and the body is lengthy. It has 3 preopercular spines. The vomer contains two patches of teeth.

The sea fish is usually grey or brown with a white body underneath.

Size

The Average Size of this fish is 0.2 kilogram to 1 kg. However, bigger sizes are sometimes available.

Cutting Styles

Slices, boneless fillets, and fingers favor.

Approx. Cutting Yields

Whole: 100%
Gutted: 80%
Headless and gutted: 60%
Slices: 60%
Boneless: 37%

Preferences for cooking

Kids prefer flathead to fried and tempura-style fish n chips.

Health benefits

Healthy for the heart, lowers blood pressure, and boosts immunity.
Strengthens bones
Skin and hair health improve