Fish!

[ES2]

Now that we could possibly have a wide ranging supply of delicious fish what does the team think about introducing our nation to all the sorts of fish that they possibly eat when on the continent but not over here.

I was impressed a few of years ago when my local chippie started offering hake along with their other fare. Personally I prefer hake to cod and haddock.

Any observations?

[CambridgeCabby]

With the exception of whelks and sea cucumber I love all seafood and fish , my favourite food product , although I do not enjoy fried battered fish (or chips for that matter).

A pan fried or grilled sole with new potatoes and sprouting broccoli is my idea of heaven 

 

[ES2]

Personally, this evening I am having pollock wound up and skewered and steamed with a parsley sauce and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Pollock I find has a similar texture to sole and other flat fish and is a sustainable species.  

[ES2]

I used to buy from Lidl some German delicacy in a tin. They would season and flour the herring fillets and fry them and then pickle them in vinegar and herbs. Its a shame I cannot find them any more as I would love to take a few cans on the boat on my trips. Also, they used to do herrings in a mustard sauce which nobody seems to want so is not stocked anymore.

I have tried to buy fresh herrings and do it myself but as they are so cheap the fishmonger in my local market does not stock them as they can make a bigger profit on other fish.

A nice proper Manx kipper with a crusty wholemeal buttered roll and the essential dollop of marmalade is a wonderful thing for breakfast especially if the juices are saved to mop up with the roll.

 

[ChrisB]

34 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

With the exception of whelks and sea cucumber I love all seafood and fish , my favourite food product , although I do not enjoy fried battered fish (or chips for that matter).

A pan fried or grilled sole with new potatoes and sprouting broccoli is my idea of heaven 

 

Before this covid I would frequent The Recruiting Sergeant at Horstead if I had been down the A11 and was making my way home of an evening. Best Dover Sole for miles, my favourite.

[Chelsea14Ian]

I've  not had Dover sole for years.In the seventies and eighties. We had on the menu all the time.

[ChrisB]

11 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I've  not had Dover sole for years.In the seventies and eighties. We had on the menu all the time.

It is my favourite along with Halibut and turbot. I think not a lot of places do Dover these days because of the raw material cost.  The RS charge £26.95 (risen about £2 over the last 3 years) for a 20 to 24 oz fish, cooking reduces the weight then by the time you take off the head, sketeton and tail you are probably left with half that weight of flesh.

[SteveO]

I love almost all fish and in all forms from sashimi to deep fried in batter, but I do think it is a pity that our less expensive and often more sustainable fish are not promoted and more readily available. A freshly caught pollack is as good as cod or haddock any day. Dabs are wonderful dredged in flour and shallow fried whole in butter, herrings in oatmeal are a delight, barbequed mackerel straight from the sea with orange zest and garlic and, of course, barbecued sardines. Sadly, even though we live on the SE coast the once excellent high street fishmongers have been put out of business by the supermarkets and now all we have are a couple of places on the beach which cater for dfl's and whose prices are astronomical. I can catch mackerel off the beach in Summer but it is a real shame that no-one bothers to sell the cheaper fish anymore. 

[stumpy]

We were once invited to a VFW post in Upper Michigan (next stop Canada) for an 'English fish n chips night'. The fish was delicious little fillets of Lake Perch with french fries (can't have everything) and they were wrapped in newspaper! Don't think it'll catch on over here though. 

[Cheesey69]

Wild fish fingers from the sea of birds eye

[Chelsea14Ian]

Home made fish fingers.  Large chunks of cod or haddock. Flour egg and  panko crumb.Deep fried Toasted brioche bap and home made tartare  sauce.

[SteveO]

Not a lot of people know that Perch is very good to eat as long as it is not draggged out of a muddy-bottomed river. It is in the same family as the Bass and Baramundi - the latter is one of the finest tasting fish I have ever eaten,

[CambridgeCabby]

Yes perch has a lovely flavour , I enjoy the flavour of baked pike too , trouble is ,with fresh water fish, the tiny multiple bones are a nightmare 

[ChrisB]

5 hours ago, SteveO said:

Not a lot of people know that Perch is very good to eat as long as it is not draggged out of a muddy-bottomed river. It is in the same family as the Bass and Baramundi - the latter is one of the finest tasting fish I have ever eaten,

Over and above those I have mentioned, Barramundi, totally agree fabulous tasting fish. Wonderful on the bbq but for me pan fried till the skin is crispy. Like a Dover Barramundi can take cooking.

[ranworthbreeze]

To be honest I am just a Cod & Haddock man Tan preferred Salmon.

 

[snunn]

One of the very few good things to come from lockdown was that here in Cornwall the fishermen had no restaurants to sell to so sold direct to the public 

have had more lobster and crab in the last year than ever before

And one fishing boat has decided that it was so successful selling direct he now is doing it permanently 

so far we have had Monkfish, John Dory , Hake , Cod , Haddock

Pollack , Brill , Turbot Megram Sole and Dover sole and Mackerel 

will start growing scales soon

 

[unclemike]

hake is nothing new, was available in a chippie in basildon in 1965 (funny lot in essex)

[SteveO]

Hake used to be much more widely available here until the fish wholesalers discovered that they could get more £ for it  when selling to our European cousins. Back in the 1980's our works cafeteria used to do hake in batter and also hake fillet in lemon butter sauce - both excellent.  Last time I had it was in the New Inn of all places where they served it grilled on a bed of lightly curried lentils, with crispy shredded onion fried bhaji style on top. A beautiful dish but sadly it was a special and never repeated. 

[snunn]

Hake is the most available fish here in Cornwall always on the menus of pretty much all the restaurants so much so we got fed up with it ,at one point a certain quite famous chef had the same Hake dish in all of his restaurants in Padstow and  even his pub in St Merryn