Masgouf

[Hassouni]

On 12/12/2020 at 4:57 PM, Violin_guy said:

 

This is the best I could do, and my first attempt at Masgouf, and it was fantastic! I caught a small carp (about 5lbs), stunned it and immediately bled it by cutting the gills and near the tail (this is a crucial step), then chilled it on ice. Without scaling it I split it down the backbone and removed the innards. After a quick wash, I salted the cavity with fine sea salt and cooked it in front of the fire about a foot away. Just before serving I put the fish scale side down on the fire. It was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! !عفية عليك

[Violin_guy]

On 12/14/2020 at 11:41 PM, liuzhou said:

 

Arbroath smokies are butterflied haddock cooked/hot smoked hanging in exactly the same way and I've seen carp being cooked this way in China, too. Not unique.

 

 

They are also often eaten by hand.

Arbroath smokies are in no way related to Masgouf. Masgouf is a large freshwater fish (usually carp) that is grilled in front of a live fire, crisping the skin. Arbroath smokies  are saltwater fish (haddock) that after gutting are salted whole, then hot smoked (indirectly)  in an enclosed container (barrel or kiln) for a period of time.

[Violin_guy]

On 2/20/2015 at 3:15 PM, Nicolai said:

Masgouf is an Iraqi dish through and through.

 

Masgouf is a butterflied Carp impaled on vertical hooks over an open wood fire.

 

I usually eat fish from the sea and dislike soft water fish except the Iraqi Masgouf.

 

It is a Carp (fresh) which gets a butterfly cut and spread with a mix of spices. The spices are varied and depends on the area and the person preparing the fish. The spicing is very light to almost negligeable as the fish is served with side sauces of either Tamarind based or Tomatoes based with a vaying degree of heat.

 

Masgouf is kind of unique in the cooking as it is impaled on a hook or spit and the strange part which is against all rules of fish cooking, it is not the skin which faces the fire but the inside meat. You have to note that Carp is a fatty typle of fish a la Salmon and the fire burns all the fat out which drips down and leaves the beautiful taste of the fish. When ready, the fish is laid on the ambers skin side down to char it quickly before serving.

 

Our way of eating Masgouf is with the fingers and no bread.  We squeeze on the fish cut Nanaerj which is in a similar family of Seville Oranges. These Nanerj are sweet to taste and do not have the Lemons or Oranges sourness. They marry beautifully with the fish,

 

In the pictures, you will see our hands squeezing the cut Nanerj on the fish and you will see the typical Iraqi bread.

You will also see two dishes which do not belong there and are not part of the Masgouf. These tomatoe based dishes are Bamieh which is Okra and Fassoulieh which is white beans. I simply like these two dishes too much and the restaurant has them prepared for me.

 

The Masgouf comes also with pickles which makes use of green and dried Coriander giving the pickles a very unique taste and this type of pickles is served in both Iraq and North Syria. One of the other pickles specialties is Pickled Mangoes which have nothing whatsoever to do with Chutney. It is an entirely different prep with lot of sourness and heat. We eat it mixed with chopped fresh tomatoes giving us the elusive Umami.

 

Enjoy the pic and make sure to Google Masgouf to learn more about the dish.

 

Do you know Masgouf? Have you ever tried it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are those sour oranges like Seville oranges?

[Hassouni]

1 hour ago, Violin_guy said:

Are those sour oranges like Seville oranges?

 

Yup, same thing

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, Violin_guy said:

Arbroath smokies are in no way related to Masgouf. Masgouf is a large freshwater fish (usually carp) that is grilled in front of a live fire, crisping the skin. Arbroath smokies  are saltwater fish (haddock) that after gutting are salted whole, then hot smoked (indirectly)  in an enclosed container (barrel or kiln) for a period of time.

 

I didn't say they were related. Merely that the way they are hung is similar. Being impaled on a hook is far from unique.

As I also said, I've seen carp being treated in the same way here in China.