Sheepshead

Sheepshead is a distinctive-looking fish with bold black-and-white vertical stripes and a set of teeth that bear an uncanny resemblance to human molars — adapted for crushing the shells of crabs, oysters, and barnacles that make up its diet. This shellfish-heavy diet gives the flesh a sweet, delicate flavour often compared to crab or lobster.

The meat is firm, white, and holds together well during cooking, making it suited to grilling, baking, and pan-frying. It is a popular catch among recreational fishers along the Gulf of Mexico and US Atlantic coast.

Sheepshead is not commercially available in Australia. It is a North American species and is included here for reference purposes.

Wild
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Sheepshead are caught from wild populations using hook and line, typically around jetties, piers, and rocky structures where they feed on shellfish. The fish are scaled, gutted, and filleted. The firm flesh is cut from the bone and portioned for cooking.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 108kcal
Protein 20.2g
Carbs 0g
Fat 2.4g
Fibre 0g Sugar 0g
Mass Distribution

1 fillet is about 238 g — roughly 260 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈5.12kg
Freshwater ≈3515.02L
Land ≈3.72m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

firm white fish fillet

Goes well with
lemon garlic butter cajun spice parsley
Classic dishes
  • Blackened Sheepshead
  • Pan-fried Sheepshead
  • Grilled Sheepshead with Garlic Butter

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromSheepshead, flesh goes well withlemon goes well withgarlic goes well withbutter goes well withparsley
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