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Opah
Opah Flavor Scale
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Fresh Opah, also called Moonfish, has transluscent pinkish flesh and beautiful multi-colored skin.  Chefs-Resources' Opah page shows when fresh Opah is available, what it’s flavor profile and taste is like, the butchering yield % so you can determine your yield percentage for plate costing purposes.  You’ll also find a Opah nutrition table, the Flavor Scale, and links for further research.

Opah Flavor Profile

The tender top loin of Opah is a light salmon-orange or pink-rose color and is often used for sashimi.  The flavor of the top loin is sweet & lean with a texture somewhat like tuna. 

The side and lower flesh of Opah is the same light salmon-orange color at the top but fades to a paler color at the bottom and is too fibrous to be used for sashimi but still becomes very tender after cooking.  It is higher in fat than the top loin and also has a flavor similar to tuna or swordfish.

The cheek meat is dark red.  And the breastplate flesh is bright red.  All the flesh turns white after cooking except for the breastplate which turns brown.

Alternate Names

Moonfish, Havaiian Moonfish, Sunfish, Kingfish, Redfin Ocean Pan, Jerusalem Haddock

Opah (Lampris guttatus) Description

Opah have large disc shaped bodies with blue and a deep red-orange upper body fading to a rosy color on the belly, with white spots covering the sides and bright redish-orange fins.  Opah can weigh 150 pounds.

Opah
picture (Lagut_ua.jpg) by Mincarone, M.M. 

Opah-raw
photo by www.honolulufish.com

Typical Wholesale Products

Whole, Fillets, Loins.  The top loin is used for sashimi.

Fresh Opah Availability

Fresh seafood availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green show limited availability, gray indicates not available fresh.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
                                                                                               

 

Opah Yield Percentage and Recovery

Item To Skn/On Fillets To Skn/Off Fillets Notes
Whole Head/On gutted 38%     
Whole Head/Off gutted      
Skin/On Fillets      

 

Range & Habitat

Opah are often thought of as being a Hawiian fish.  But they are also found from southern California to the Gulf of Alaska, eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Opah Range & Location
AquaMaps     Data sources: GBIF OBIS

 

Opah Recipes

Visit our recipe database page and search our favorite seafood recipe sites.

Opah Sustainability Info

This window is a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program info on Opah.

 

Opah Nutritional Information

based upon a 6 oz (171 grams) raw edible serving

* Calories/Calories from fat 192
* Protein grams 40.5
* Fat grams 3.3
* Saturated fat grams n/a
* Sodium milligrams n/a
* Cholesterol milligrams n/a
* Omega-3 grams .69
 


Did you notice something which is missing on this page? If you have additional information about Opah please add a comment and include detailed specifics. Our goal is to have detailed information which is relevant to professional chefs and foodies. Visit our seafood indexes which list over 40 fresh fish species and 130 oyster varieties.

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