The Inner Fish (Shellfish, Mollusc) Is Sweetest

[MiguelCardoso]

Spanish, Portuguese, French and Japanese cooks (not to mention Ukrainian canners) have always valued certain fish organs (livers/ tomallies; sperm sacs; coral/eggs etc.) as being particularly delicious, whether fresh or carefully preserved. Either that or they'll insist on eating the whole fish, specially if it's fried or boiled up in a stew, including the crispy or gelatinous skin. Fish cheeks are specially prized - they're undoubtedly the best part. The tragedy, of course, is that, with most fish processing around the world, these delicacies are generally discarded (whether on board or when landed) or turned into fish meal.

I recently came across an American study which is looking into the nutritional goodness inside a cod (though more sensitive readers might be put off by the stark photographs of its innards) and was reminded of an article Joan Merlot published in June 2003 about the growing number of Madrid restaurants which are honouring fish's organ meats (in Spanish).

In Portugal, apart from red mullet, monkfish, cod and sardine livers, as well as the much-loved "ovas" of hake, grouper and "mero", there has always been an unfortunate tendency to discard viscera, unless the fish is particularly tiny (horse mackerel, sardines) or delicious (Dover sole, turbot). Cuttlefish are eaten with their ink and innards but, stupidly, squid are too often cleaned and only the outer flesh eaten - though the ink and viscera are just as delicious. With shellfish, everything is eaten (specially the delicious shrimp and gamba "brains" and every single drop and chunk, bar the lungs, of langoustines, spiny lobsters, spider crabs, etc - although often (lamentably) mixed up in the shell with bread crumbs, malagueta chiles, beer and mustard).

I was wondering what, outside sushi houses, are the best restaurants in Spain today for tasting fish livers and other innards? And which are the best canned products and where can you procure them? (I only know of El Corte Inglés's Gourmet sections and Delicatessen).

Also, outside Spain and Portugal (specially in Northern and Eastern Europe, not to mention the whole Far East, of which I'm ignorant) what dishes and canned products (caviar apart!) should I look out for?

[vserna]

Most of these products are too perishable to be effectively canned. In Spain you'll find a few kinds of roe, of which only grey mullet (mújol) eggs are canned industrially AFAIK. The Corte Inglés Club del Gourmet is indeed one of the best sources. In the US, the very good LA Times article already mentioned below had some useful info: http://www.latimes.com/la-fo-spain03dec03,1,7022260.story .

As for restaurants, the best are mentioned in my colleague Joan Merlot's article; I'd place Can Fabes (three Michelin stars) as No. 1 nationally, and the Europa restaurant locally in Madrid. But of course Kabuki's fantastic (and rare) monkfish liver goes well beyond the average sushi house fare...

[MiguelCardoso]

Thanks for the information, vserna. I'll definitely look out for the grey mullet roe - I love the Italian bottarga. We used to have good mojama in the Algarve ("moxama") but nowadays it's practically impossible to find, so we buy the excellent Andalusian version in the good old Corte Inglés. Another sadly declining tradition, as the old expert smokers have died off, is the superb smoked swordfish ("espadarte fumado") which we can only get frozen now and isn't as fatty, translucent and light.

My Ukrainian reference, btw, was not due to any travel experience. We have a high number of recent Ukrainian immigrants (all much-loved and amazingly speaking superb Portuguese) and they have their own supermarkets where lovely home-smoked fish (mackerel, lemon sole, herring, anchovies) and canned products (cod livers, smoked anchovies, salmon eggs) are cheaply available.

In Portuguese markets, fish sellers will often try to sell their monkfish without the liver, unless you're well-known or make a scene, keeping them for favoured customers. You can't make a decent "caldeirada" (fish stew) without them. I'm really curious about Kabuki - my favourite sushi house here in Lisbon (Aya 2, presided over by master Yoshitake) serves it very, very lightly boiled and shocked, with an even-lighter-than-usual ponzu.

[pedro]

Guys, you have to team up with vmilor and write a series of articles in Daily eGullet about the mysteries of seafood and fish. Really make me feel as an absolute beginner on the topic. Probably because I am.

[MiguelCardoso]

Pedro: speaking of things one would like to know (but, in my case, the ignorance is real) I've never understood the American and Canadian meanings and nuances that attach to the word "seafood". I have many American cookbooks (some very specialized, focussing on shellfish foraging on various American coastal areas) and yet I'm still at sea, as it were, about the generality of that word. As most cooks and food writers, you say "seafood and fish". But sometimes "seafood" refers to all fish and shellfish and sometimes only to shellfish. I can't tell you how often, in the U.S., I've visited a "seafood" restaurant, only to find they serve fish only - not even oysters.

Can you - or another kind soul - explain what, exactly, "seafood" includes and excludes? In Portugal and Spain, "frutos do mar" (fruits of the sea, for any non-Spanish speakers) tends to mean the same as "mariscos" (crustaceans, goose barnacles, bivalve and univalve molluscs) and this, I think, is the source of confusion, at least for us Portuguese.

Many thanks beforehand for any help in this matter.

[MiguelCardoso]

Btw, many thanks for the vmilor reference. I'm new to eGullet and am now enjoying his contributions immensely.

[docsconz]

Pedro: speaking of things one would like to know (but, in my case, the ignorance is real) I've never understood the American and Canadian meanings and nuances that attach to the word "seafood". I have many American cookbooks (some very specialized, focussing on shellfish foraging on various American coastal areas) and yet I'm still at sea, as it were, about the generality of that word. As most cooks and food writers, you say "seafood and fish". But sometimes "seafood" refers to all fish and shellfish and sometimes only to shellfish. I can't tell you how often, in the U.S., I've visited a "seafood" restaurant, only to find they serve fish only - not even oysters.

Can you - or another kind soul - explain what, exactly, "seafood" includes and excludes? In Portugal and Spain, "frutos do mar" (fruits of the sea, for any non-Spanish speakers) tends to mean the same as "mariscos" (crustaceans, goose barnacles, bivalve and univalve molluscs) and this, I think, is the source of confusion, at least for us Portuguese.

Many thanks beforehand for any help in this matter.

"Seafood" in the US can mean anything that comes from the sea. There is also the "seafood" diet - see food and eat it I know that is an old one... but seriously, "Seafood restaurants" in the US generally carry fish and a number of crustaceans, most frequently shrimp and lobster. Clams, oysters, mussels and other delicacies should certainly be on the least, although they frequently are not. This is especially true of the chain type restaurants such as Red Lobster. Coastal or sophisticated urban seafood restaurants tend to have a more varied menu of items from the sea. Then again, this is inversely proportional to the tourist level of the restaurant. Basically, the general approach to seafood in the US is not nearly as sophisticated or varied as it is in Europe, although it is improving, especially at the high end. We have nothing like the Boqueria market here.

[vmilor]

I will gladly admit that I am no more than an enthusiastic amateur. When I am in Turkey and in the island near Istanbul I reside in summer I sometimes hang out with non professional fishermen--mostly writers, journalists. The seafood knowledge of these people is simply stunning. The main drawback is to wake up at 4 am to go fishing with them which prevents me from further deepening my knowledge

I was intrigued to learn about grey mullet roe in Spain. Turkish love pressed grey mullet roe. As far as I know, Italian bottarga is from the tuna fish. I like them equally well. I had very good bottarga in Sardegna as well as Blu Lanterna in Imperia. If you want to buy high quality bottarga in Istanbul I can tell you where and how to appraise the quality. Just drop an email if anybody is planning a trip to Istanbul.

Last August in Giglio island, in a non Michelin mentioned restaurant favored by locals, Arcobalena, I had a memorable seafood pasta dish combining generous serving of monkfish liver, hot pepper flakes and sweet pears. To be honest, had I not known that I was eating monkfish liver, I would have been confused and may have mistaken them for some internal organs from something else. If you like, say lamb brain, you will love monkfish liver. Turbot liver is popular and eaten in Turkey but we simply prepare them in meuniere style.

US is catching up too. We had a dinner on December 20th at the French Laundry which is a good restaurant. The chef served the Atlantic Cod fish with the sperm sacs in a light cream sauce. Otherwise US is lagging far behind in making use of internal organs of either fish or meat.

I would be most interested to hear from MiguelCardoso about his favorite Lisbon seafood restaurants. I suspect Portugal should rank very high in the quality and variety of seafood available anywhere.

[Bux]

I've never understood the American and Canadian meanings and nuances that attach to the word "seafood".

That's why we have so much good poetry in English and so few good treaties. It may also be why we have so many lawyers in the US.

[Bux]

By the way, "seafood" as I understand the term in the US would include shellfish, but not necessarily exclude fish. A "seafood stew" should contain shellfish or shellfish and fish, but should never be just a fish stew. Of course Fats Waller wasn't referring to anything that came from the water when he sang "I want some seafood mama."

[pedro]

Pedro: speaking of things one would like to know (but, in my case, the ignorance is real) I've never understood the American and Canadian meanings and nuances that attach to the word "seafood". I have many American cookbooks (some very specialized, focussing on shellfish foraging on various American coastal areas) and yet I'm still at sea, as it were, about the generality of that word. As most cooks and food writers, you say "seafood and fish". But sometimes "seafood" refers to all fish and shellfish and sometimes only to shellfish. I can't tell you how often, in the U.S., I've visited a "seafood" restaurant, only to find they serve fish only - not even oysters.

Can you - or another kind soul - explain what, exactly, "seafood" includes and excludes? In Portugal and Spain, "frutos do mar" (fruits of the sea, for any non-Spanish speakers) tends to mean the same as "mariscos" (crustaceans, goose barnacles, bivalve and univalve molluscs) and this, I think, is the source of confusion, at least for us Portuguese.

Many thanks beforehand for any help in this matter.

Miguel, I'm spanish, so I learned (or hinted) there was a difference between seafood and fish looking to eGullet posts and the dictionary. I believe I don't qualify to establish a standard here, but as you said, my interpretation is that seafood stands for "marisco" and fish for, well, fish.

[torakris]

The Japanese hate to waste any part of the animal and fish is no exception.

A trip to a supermarket in Japan will reveal the passion the Japanese have for the normally garbaged fish parts.

The roe or eggs from almost any fish are considered a delicacy, they are sold still in the sacks (like tarako= cod roe, mentaiko= cod roe seasoned with chile, kazunoko, herring roe, etc) or they are sold with the eggs all separated (ikura= salmon roe, tobiko= flying fish roe, etc) or they are sold still attached to the fish ( shishamo= pregnant smelt, ko-mochi karei= flounder with egg sacs still attached). Then there are other popular dishes like shirako (cod sperm sacs) and the livers of fish like the monkfish (ankimo) and eel (unagi no kimo) that is often served skewered and grilled or in a clear soup. Crab innards (kani miso) are used as sushi toppings, added to sauces and sucked straight from the shells, other fish are fermented with their innards like the popular food shiokara, most commonly seen as squid (ika no shiokara) or bonito (katsuo no shiokara). Some fish are grilled with the innards intact and enjoyed while eating the fish, sanma (saury pike) is normally eaten this way and sometimes the innards are removed, mashed to a paste, rubbed all over the outside of the fish and then grilled.

other parts of the fish enjoyed in Japan incluse the head (atama), eyeballs (medama),

the skin (kawa), fins (hire) and bones (hone).

[MiguelCardoso]

vmilor: I've been needing the gentlest push to finally visit Turkey and you've given it to me - thanks! I will e-mail you, if I may, as soon as I've made my travel arrangements, so I can know what's in season. I've also culled a valuable route from your many experiences in Italy and Spain. Needless to say, I'd be more than glad to e-mail you my suggestions for a seafood hunt in Portugal.

Just to show what one learns on eGullet I had no idea that the Italians made tuna bottarga! I know... a simple googling opened up a whole new universe. I've loved Bottarga di Muggine, the grey mullet variety, for ages - but had no idea that the tuna variety also existed, despite having been twice to Sicily...

May I share a prejudice with you? Here in Portugal, grey mullet (which we call "taínha") is considered an unspeakable fish. It's very rare you find it for sale (only in the very poorest areas at very, very low prices - about a dollar per kilo) because it is so maligned. Grey mullet is a fish that thrives on waste, oil, mud and other unmentionables when found near big cities. Fishermen know that, if you move out a little farther off coast, you'll find clean grey mullet - but the prejudice remains. It's a case of hatred, almost. It's one of the many cases of piscine stupidity you find in Portugal, brought about by over-abundance, perhaps.

I'll never forget, when I was about 12 and my brother Paulo 11, we saw grey mullet for sale in a cheap supermarket (for 5 cents a kilo!) and, thinking that one or two zeros had mistakenly been subtracted from the price, invested in them, hoping that we might fool the cook and pocket the difference. We were bawled out by her and, later, by my father, who went into all the disgusting details of the poor taínha's life-style.

Now I'm glad I since overcame the national prejudice and was able to enjoy grey mullet bottarga. Otherwise, I would have now leapt straight for the tuna variety and missed a great treat.

Has anyone here ever tried both? What are the differences?

P.S. I often have peppery, bright-red cod's roe generously speckled over thin strips of cuttlefish (like linguini) in my favourite sushi house here. I wonder if there's any Mediterranean equivalent?

[vmilor]

Translation of Atlantic and Mediterranean fish to English is tricky business.

Turkish make bottarga from kefal. I thought it is gray mullet in English but have never seen kefal in the States.

In English the translation of rouget is red mullet. Can anybody with a straight face claim any resemblance?

The closest to tuna in Turkey is called orkinos. When I asked the question of why its roe is discarded I have never gotten a satisfactory answer. I guess there is some path dependency at work...

This thread is generating new knowledge, at least for me. Thanks for the notes on the Japanese practice too. It came on the heels of watching some masterpiece movies from Yosijuro Ozu(made mostly in the 50s) and now I am dying with the desire to visit this great country.

[vserna]

Dried and salted fish is a great tradition of Spain's southeastern coast, on the Mediterranean, and indeed the masters of the Andalusian 'almadrabas' (open sea tuna trap) off Cádiz are usually from Alicante. Pressed roes ('hueva') from other types of fish than grey mullet are made semi-industrially and available in good specialty shops in Spain; particularly tuna (the most appreciated one), herring and maruca (ling). The dried tuna meat (mojama), called 'the Jabugo ham of the sea' is the star of this semi-industry of 'salazones', i.e. salt fish and fish parts. Roe and dried tuna feature in many recipes (including very modern ones) by Spanish chefs, particularly on the Mediterranean and southwest (Atlantic) coasts. Another 'innard' made very fashionable by Santi Santamaria of Can Fabes is codfish 'tripe'.

Kabuki's monkfish liver is simply marinated - but I don't know the secrets of the marinade!

[Bux]

P.S. I often have peppery, bright-red cod's roe generously speckled over thin strips of cuttlefish (like linguini) in my favourite sushi house here.  I wonder if there's any Mediterranean equivalent?

In New York City, we have a local sushi restaurant often maligned by connoisseurs for the same reasons it is loved by many not attuned to the finer points of sushi--the pieces of fish are much too big. The fish nevertheless is absolutely fresh and if one is less a connoisseur, one can eat raw fresh fish relatively inexpensively. Ignorance, they say is bliss. Anyway, they offer a dish they translate as Ika-Uni special. It's a small bowl of seaurchin, strips of cuttle fish or squid and salmon roe.

From time to time, I wonder if this discussion is not getting too far from being centered on Iberian food and if it belongs in the general board.

vmilor: I've been needing the gentlest push to finally visit Turkey and you've given it to me - thanks! I will e-mail you, if I may, as soon as I've made my travel arrangements, so I can know what's in season.  I've also culled a valuable route from your many experiences in Italy and Spain.  Needless to say, I'd be more than glad to e-mail you my suggestions for a seafood hunt in Portugal.

It's not my place to discourage e-mail or private message contact between members who have common interests, but it is my job to encourage members to share as much information about food and restaurants as they can in the public forum. eGullet covers a lot of ground. Unfortunately, beyond the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, the posts are very thin and the rest of Europe together in a single forum entitled Elsewhere in Europe is not as active as this board. It is however, always interested in new topics and discussion.

[pedro]

I'm just landed from our customary Christmas dinner at Viridiana, with my sister in law, her husband, my wife and I. One of the dishes that Abraham García, chef and owner, presented to us, was defined by him as "Casquería del mar" (butcher's shop from the sea?). It was a dish consisting of raf tomato, with sole roe coated in flour and lightly fried, with monkfish liver marinated in Nouilly Prat vermout with salt and pepper, and put to boiling water for a very short period of time. The sole roe was said to be the second best after the sea bream's one, and the texture of the monkfish liver was quite similar to that of a seared foie.

I swear I didn't planned to have this tonight, but I couldn't find it more appropiate .

[Bux]

Sadly, many of these dishes are ellusive to even the adventurous gourmet tourist. Either we don't recognize then on a menu or are so clueless as to how they might taste that they don't get ordered as a full course in a restaurant. One of the reasons I like tasting menus is that I hope there will be something I would not think of ordering. Tapas bars serving local specialties are good too as you can point to whatever looks most unappetizing. It's usually just a few bucks and you can leave it over if it tastes as bad as it looks. Seriously, the bars are good because you can try a lot a things. Given the Spanish affection for canned goods, we've made some supermarket selections of canned goods to bring home. Our results haven't been successful to date. It may be because we've shopped in ordinary markets and purchased inferior brands, or it maybe that we've selected lesser varieties of roe, but the ones we've tried weren't that interesting, at least not canned.

Our one successful foray into an unknown roe, was in Sanlucar De Barrameda. Huevos de chocos, although by far the less expensive than the langostinos, cigalas, gambas and cañaillas (sea snails, bulot in France?) we also ordered, were a real treat for us, both because we enjoyed them and because we had never seen, let alone had the chance to eat them. These are cuttlefish (or squid?) eggs and served cold in olive oil. At nine euros a kilo, they were also a fraction of the price of the shrimp and prawns which is not unappealing. Then again, white bread dipped in a little seawater might taste fine if I had a fresh bottle of Manzanilla to wash it down as we did in Sanlucar.

We've yet to have the opportunity to sample monkfish liver or any other fish liver in Europe and have only had it in Japanese restaurants in NY. In Spain and in Brittany, we saw it for sale in markets, but I don't recall it on a restaurant carte. A while back, a few New York restaurants featured it, but never when I was there.

[vserna]

"Casquería del mar" (butcher's shop from the sea?).

Actually, in British English, the translation would simply be "offal from the sea". "Offal" (in this case, of land animals) is a term routinely used by British restaurants, but I never see it in American restaurants. Too unappealing?

[Boris_A]

Also, outside Spain and Portugal (specially in Northern and Eastern Europe, not to mention the whole Far East, of which I'm ignorant) what dishes and canned products (caviar apart!) should I look out for?

Well, in Switzerland and Germany a renowned delicacy for seafood (lakefood, to be precise) is the liver of sweetwater cod:

English: eel-pot, burbot, French: Lotte de riviere, Italian: Lotta, Spanish: Lota.

Burbot

Gastrosophes back to Roman empire have been asking for this delicacy.

I prepare it like fryed foie gras. It's vanished from restaurants menu lists, but in a lakeside restaurant you can ask for. I get it from time to time from my local fisherman.

I adore seafood, but having a lake 20m in front of my home, I prepare mainly sweetwater fish.

[Katherine]

"Casquería del mar" (butcher's shop from the sea?).

Actually, in British English, the translation would simply be "offal from the sea". "Offal" (in this case, of land animals) is a term routinely used by British restaurants, but I never see it in American restaurants. Too unappealing?

"Variety meats" is a term used in America, but so infrequently that it, too, is misunderstood.

A while back I visited a newly remodeled supermarket and saw, in the distance, a long glass-fronted case with the words "Variety Meats" high overhead. Most supermarkets have, maybe two feet (.5 m) of shelf space devoted to offal, at the most. I got closer and found it was their new name for the deli case.

[vserna]

Spanish: Lota.

I'm not saying the fish doesn't exist, but the name is unknown in Spain.

[pedro]

It looks like a "barbo" or some kind of "carpa" to me, Víctor (seeing one of the pictures).

[MiguelCardoso]

According to reliable old fishbase it is called "lota do rio" or "donzela" in Portuguese, "lota" in Spanish. No, I've never heard of it either, but now I'm interested. There's also a seawater version, called "Bolota" in Portuguese. Just write "lota" in the search box and be overwhelmed!

[MiguelCardoso]

Torakris has started a fascinating thread over on the Japan forum, with lots of interesting comments and some great photographs as well. Among other things, it reminds us of the succulent deliciousness of the outer fish (skin, mmmm!) and the inner-inner fish (deep-fried fish bones, mmmm!)

Speaking of which, there seems to be a fashion now in Europe for serving fish on a bed of its decorative scales or even, like Alain Passard at Arpege, line-caught Dover sole fried with its scales (please go to page 2 of the Autumn/Winter menu).

Well worth checking out - a newbie's apologies to Bux if this creates some sort of unwelcome circle jerk. But the Japanese are the masters, after all! :)