Fish & Chips

[haresfur]

Today's choice was bream. Good texture, no bones. Also had pumpkin cakes that were quite nice.

[haresfur]

My previous encounter with tearing apart my couta to get rid of the bones got me thinking about deconstructed fish & chips. So today I went to the Borough Fish Shop for ingredients.

Paid 40 cents extra to get the couta grilled. It's accompanied by an order of potato cakes, and order of pumpkin cake, and a dollar's chips:

Some other ingredients including salsa made with an over-ripe mango, tomato, and red onion:

My feeble attempt at plating:

And for the kid in me:

The mango/pumpkin cake was better than the catsup/potato cake, no surprise. The grilled fish was really nice.

[ChrisZ]

Although it's not strictly fish & chips in the traditional deep-fried sense, it's still about southern hemisphere fish...

I regularly get a salmon fillet and cook it sous vide for lunch, salmon is something that really makes sous vide shine. The other day I thought I'd try Tasmanian ocean trout instead. It looks just like salmon but is about 1/3 cheaper, and I had some vague recollection that Tetsuya is a fan and almost single-handedly responsible for it's popularity. So I bought a fillet, cooked it simply, and it was delicious.

I'm happy to admit that I could not tell any difference from salmon at all. I'm pretty sure that if I had to taste them side by side I still couldn't tell a difference. But it's a lot cheaper, so from now on it will be ocean trout and not salmon...

[Darienne]

If another Canuck can chime in, my favourite is cod, and then halibut.

Sorry, iainpb, but I can't agree with you at all that pollock is either tasty or a substitute for cod. Perhaps in Australia it tastes? I would call Pollack basically tasteless, as in with no taste to it. Probably why they use it in pretend sea food mixes.

As for 'fish and chips', here in East Central Ontario, we have lots of really good little fish and chips places. I've yet to eat decent fish and chips on our travels from Ontario to the Southwest USA. We've tried all the restaurants(?) in Moab, UT, and all have had atrocious fish and chips, even the pubs. But then we go there for the red rocks and the blue sky.

[haresfur]

Although it's not strictly fish & chips in the traditional deep-fried sense, it's still about southern hemisphere fish...

I regularly get a salmon fillet and cook it sous vide for lunch, salmon is something that really makes sous vide shine. The other day I thought I'd try Tasmanian ocean trout instead. It looks just like salmon but is about 1/3 cheaper, and I had some vague recollection that Tetsuya is a fan and almost single-handedly responsible for it's popularity. So I bought a fillet, cooked it simply, and it was delicious.

I'm happy to admit that I could not tell any difference from salmon at all. I'm pretty sure that if I had to taste them side by side I still couldn't tell a difference. But it's a lot cheaper, so from now on it will be ocean trout and not salmon...

I'll have to try that. I assume the ocean trout is farm raised too. Farmed Atlantic salmon is nothing like fresh Pacific Chinook or Sockeye. Then again it's nothing like Atlantic salmon freshly netted by my coworkers early Sunday morning (um, poached - then grilled).

[ScoopKW]

I think it lost its soul when they stopped wrapping it in newspaper but suspect that's just betraying my age

If another Canuck can chime in, my favourite is cod, and then halibut.

Sorry, iainpb, but I can't agree with you at all that pollock is either tasty or a substitute for cod. Perhaps in Australia it tastes? I would call Pollack basically tasteless, as in with no taste to it. Probably why they use it in pretend sea food mixes.

I know there is a chippy in Barnstaple that still wraps theirs in newspaper, at least as of four years ago. Couldn't tell you exactly WHERE, though, it was after a brewery tour. Just find the chippy near a brewery.

Cod for me, too. I can't think of a fish that tastes better fried. Ideal texture and taste, IMO.

[haresfur]

Although it's not strictly fish & chips in the traditional deep-fried sense, it's still about southern hemisphere fish...

I regularly get a salmon fillet and cook it sous vide for lunch, salmon is something that really makes sous vide shine. The other day I thought I'd try Tasmanian ocean trout instead. It looks just like salmon but is about 1/3 cheaper, and I had some vague recollection that Tetsuya is a fan and almost single-handedly responsible for it's popularity. So I bought a fillet, cooked it simply, and it was delicious.

I'm happy to admit that I could not tell any difference from salmon at all. I'm pretty sure that if I had to taste them side by side I still couldn't tell a difference. But it's a lot cheaper, so from now on it will be ocean trout and not salmon...

I picked up a piece of ocean trout at Costco and it was really good. Thanks for the recommendation. I marinaded it in soy sauce mixed with chopped up candied ginger and some water, and put it all in the oven at 200 C. The ginger bits were really tasty, too.

[haresfur]

I wikied ocean trout and found out that it is steelhead - an anadromous rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Wild steelhead is even better.

[haresfur]

Quiet forum these days, is anyone in Oz/NZ eating anything?

We have pretty much settled into a fish and chips rut. I've changed allegiance to the Borough Fish Shop (old timers still call Eaglehawk the Borough even though it was amalgamated into Bendigo decades ago.) because they have pumpkin cakes, which look like something you would get in tempura if you squint. My DB likes butterfish because it is very mild and I usually go with snapper or hake. A dollar or two of chips, malt vinegar, lemon, and ketchup at home and life is good.

[Snadra]

So these days I live within spitting distance of proper outback (in fact spent last weekend in proper outback where we felt quite justified in driving 150km out to to Broken Hill and back again for a meal). We can get fish and chips here, but the first and last time I tried it at the local club it tasted like a battered and fried kitchen sponge. The menu said flathead, but I think it was chux. Much easier just to have the chicken schnitzel than risk going through that again. And don't suggest I go fish for something fresher. Most fish are carp locally.

[lesliec]

Most fish are carp locally.

Carp - is that an anagram?

The NZ experience (well, mine, anyway) is the possibly-obvious observation that the further you are from the sea, the more rubbish are the F&C. Sometimes this theory falls down; I think the second-worst I've ever had were from a shop in Foxton, which is not at all far from the sea. But getting something other than Chux out in the wops is probably unlikely.

Should any of you fine people be visiting Wellington, the place to go is Supremo in Hataitai. The fish is, I'm convinced, still warehou and is good, meaty and crisp; the chips likewise (OK, not so much meaty).

Give me a call; I'll pop down the hill and join you.

[Ozcook]

I think your best choice, if you are living too far from a reliable fishmonger, is to go to your Coles/Woolworths/Other supermarket and buy the frozen Tassal 'Easy Bake' Atlantic Salmon. It comes in pouches intended to be placed straight into the oven. I've never done that, I just drop one frozen pouch or more straight into the sous-vide for about 50 minutes, depending on my starting temperature. If you want to be able to finish it off in a frypan, I think you will need to set the SV temp to 129F, otherwise it will be too fragile to handle. If you are just going to add sauce (or butter and lemon olive oil) you can of course cook at a lower temp. The result will be far superior to deep fried chux.

If you don't have a sous-vide, you could cook it in your sink or a saucepan but you would have to monitor the temp with an instant read thermometer.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Ozcook (log)

[Snadra]

Most fish are carp locally.

Carp - is that an anagram?

The NZ experience (well, mine, anyway) is the possibly-obvious observation that the further you are from the sea, the more rubbish are the F&C. Sometimes this theory falls down; I think the second-worst I've ever had were from a shop in Foxton, which is not at all far from the sea. But getting something other than Chux out in the wops is probably unlikely.

Should any of you fine people be visiting Wellington, the place to go is Supremo in Hataitai. The fish is, I'm convinced, still warehou and is good, meaty and crisp; the chips likewise (OK, not so much meaty).

Give me a call; I'll pop down the hill and join you.

Lol.

They are European carp, and thus crap.

I'm beyond the line again this weekend. Locals fish on the Darling. Will have to ask what the favourite catch is.

Funnily enough I've had brilliant f&c in Bathurst of all places. If they can ship it fast enough... But if I'm ever in Enzed will be sure to try something decent and local.

[Snadra]

I think your best choice, if you are living too far from a reliable fishmonger, is to go to your Coles/Woolworths/Other supermarket and buy the frozen Tassal 'Easy Bake' Atlantic Salmon. It comes in pouches intended to be placed straight into the oven. I've never done that, I just drop one frozen pouch or more straight into the sous-vide for about 50 minutes, depending on my starting temperature. If you want to be able to finish it off in a frypan, I think you will need to set the SV temp to 129F, otherwise it will be too fragile to handle. If you are just going to add sauce (or butter and lemon olive oil) you can of course cook at a lower temp. The result will be far superior to deep fried chux.

If you don't have a sous-vide, you could cook it in your sink or a saucepan but you would have to monitor the temp with an instant read thermometer.

That's actually a really good idea. Certainly better than the frozen battered fish! I can get frozen Norwegian salmon at the local Foodworks occasionally. I don't sous vide but it grills nicely. Woolies and Coles are 100k away. Of course for my next contemplated move the nearest store that sells more than overpriced basics will be over 200k away. Hopefully the river won't be full of carp!

[haresfur]

Sounds like you are on quite a journey. Maybe you could consider setting up an aquaponics system. I saw one in action and it seemed promising.

[ChrisZ]

I was thinking about this thread recently, its been 3 1/2 years since it was started! Since then my wife & I have settled into a routine and now nearly always buy monkfish as our fish of choice. There's a fishmonger at the end of our street - very handy - and basically if they have monkfish, we get some. We're eating fish once or twice a week. The fishmonger told us it was his favourite too, but that when he was a kid they called it 'stargazer'. I've also heard it was called poor-man's lobster, but I don't think I've ever had a piece that I thought tasted like lobster.

Most of the time I dust them in seasoned flour and shallow fry them in butter - that's my favourite method. Sometimes I marinate them in a mix of soy, grated ginger and sherry and then steam them, and sometimes I deep fry them using Heston's siphon-batter method. I hardly ever fry with crumbs / panko as the process is messy.

Re-reading through this thread I notice that 3 years ago I mention Heston's "perfect" batter as something to consider, but also as something complicated. Now, having mixed it up more often than I can count now, it's actually pretty simple and it does work well. For the 2 of use a 1/2 recipe is fine. The batter is definitely crunchy!

[Keith_W]

Yes i've made that Heston batter as well. I don't seem to have a picture of my last attempt, but it REALLY puffs up - my piece of fillet ended up three times the size, and really crunchy as well - almost too crunchy. I tend to prefer Flathead fillets - I buy it from the local fishmonger at Camberwell markets.

OTOH there is no good F&C shop nearby

[haresfur]

It seems that the best fishmonger here is a single Coles in the centre of town unless there is someplace in one of the more twee areas I don't know about. I haven't really tried them out because cooking fish intimidates me but I may take the plunge if they get flathead in again.

[andyinthebox]

I do a heap of spearfishing so I get to try a fair few species of fish - haven't found anything thats terrible in the 10+ years i've been spearfishing

My favourites are: John Dory, blue cod, kingfish and giant boarfish

Some that people in nz might frown at (but are still awesome) - any of the wrasse family (spotties, banded wrasse, scarlet wrasse etc), Maori chief, rig (in most fish and chips in nz), butterfly perch and pink mao mao.

[lesliec]

Hi Andy. Welcome to eGullet.

I'm impressed - I've never heard of humans eating spotties. I guess there's no reason why not, although separating the meat from the bones would be a bit of a task. I've caught a few in my time, mainly off the launch wharves in Picton as a kid. Cats are certainly very fond of them.

Fish and chips from our local shop are on the menu tonight. I'll see about posting a photo.

[scubadoo97]

Where are you hunting?

It's been 5 yrs since I did a lot of spearfishing but sampled the bounty of central west Florida Gulf coast

[andyinthebox]

it can be quite boney like all of the wrasse family but it has a nice sweet flesh.

Hunting everywhere in NZ mainly top of the south but theres not many places I haven't chased fish in nz.

[lesliec]

As promised:

In my view, that's pretty much how they should be. Chips golden and crisp, with a fluffy interior. A good choice of spud is important. I don't know what my shop uses, but my all round favourite for chips or roasting is Agria. Fish batter thin, also golden and crisp, no spongy bits (which are unfortunately too common in bought F&C). The fish, as I think I've mentioned before, is warehou; a good meaty, juicy mouthful.

And they have to be in newsprint. The box for the fish is unusual, but we were feeding three people rather than the usual two. Maybe it's easier for the shop to handle this way.

[scubadoo97]

Damn, that looks good!

[haresfur]

In my view, that's pretty much how they should be. Chips golden and crisp, with a fluffy interior. A good choice of spud is important. I don't know what my shop uses, but my all round favourite for chips or roasting is Agria. Fish batter thin, also golden and crisp, no spongy bits (which are unfortunately too common in bought F&C). The fish, as I think I've mentioned before, is warehou; a good meaty, juicy mouthful.

And they have to be in newsprint. The box for the fish is unusual, but we were feeding three people rather than the usual two. Maybe it's easier for the shop to handle this way.

My local shops tend to make the chips too anemic for my taste. My favourite place usually uses boxes. I'm not a traditionalist but there is something satisfying about a football size bundle of fish and chips in paper.

I haven't seen warehou/trevalla offered since I was in Tassie. I found it very nice.