Last updated: 16 December, 2024 @ 14:40
Have you ever noticed that your red mullet sometimes taste a little, well, different? If so, there may well be a very good reason for that.
With a healthy market price, rich flavour and pretty appearance red mullet has grown in popularity in recent years, and is now a regular sight on the slabs of fishmongers, particularly in southern England. Indeed, in 2021 some 41t of red mullet was landed to Cornish ports, with a value of £374,000.
Red mullet isn’t just a good-looking, high value fish – it’s also easy to prepare – you can even descale it using your fingertips. Additionally, it’s simple to cook, and possesses a liver that is divine when flash-fried or grilled.
However, sometimes a red mullet can taste a little different, a touch muddy even – keep reading to find out why.
The true red mullet: Mullus surmuletus
There used to be only one species of red mullet in UK waters, the Mullus surmuletus. This fish is the ‘true’ red mullet if you like, the one that tastes as good as it looks.
The fish’s beautiful red-to-rose, head-to-tail, coloured skin is traversed by brilliant yellow bands running along the length of its body. The vibrancy of the bands is also a good indicator as to the freshness of the fish – if they’re slightly faded, then so is your red mullet.
In fact, as Alan Davidson notes in the excellent book Mediterranean Seafood (read the Fish Face Seafood Blog review), red mullet fever once gripped wealthy Romans, who took morbid enjoyment from keeping the fish in captivity purely to watch its colour change as it slowly died.
Another of the ‘true’ red mullet’s distinguishing features are the stripes on its dorsal fin – which add a touch of cool to an already wonderful looking fish.
The ‘other’ red mullet: Mullus barbatus
Now, here’s the thing. There’s also another species of red mullet appearing in UK waters – the Mullus barbatus.
Both Alan Davidson, writing in 1972, and Dr Peter Henderson – who compiled the excellent Identification Guide to the Inshore Fish of the British Isles (available on Amazon) – published in 2015, state that the ‘false’ red mullet doesn’t venture into UK waters.
However, this appears to have changed. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Mullus barbatus (the ‘other’ red mullet) is found in the Eastern Atlantic, distributed from the British Isles (occasionally Scandinavia) to Dakar, Senegal.
The IUCN document, citing a report by H Heessen, states that ‘a recent, rapid increase in the catch of Mullus barbatus in the UK has been attributed to global warming’.
Of course, we shouldn’t be looking solely at locally-caught red mullet, as the Mullus barbatus could also be imported into the UK – although as of yet we’ve been unable to find any definitive evidence or data to confirm this.
Red mullet – a good fish either way
What we can confirm is that the slightly less handsome, untidier looking Mullus barbatus isn’t quite at the same level as is more prestigious cousin Mullus surmuletus.
It’s still a good fish, with its almost prawn-like tasting meat – albeit a touch duller all round when compared to the ‘true’ red mullet.
It should be said that identification of the different mullet species isn’t easy – as this Natura Mediterraneo forum discussion proves – and we’re by no means suggestion the fish is being intentionally mis-sold.
However, next time you’re at your fishmongers, take a closer look – are you buying a true red mullet or its less illustrious cousin?
Further reading: Fish Face Seafood Blog guide to red mullet
Find out more about the beautiful red mullet(s) in our beginner’s guide.
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