Fish (edible divison): Search and Destroy

(Throatful of Bones ... Now THERE'S a title ...)

I say good proper Haddock and chips by the sea, from the paper and not from a polystyrene tray - marvellous. Mind you I had battered shark (bronze whaler) in Australia and that was awesome.

Otherwise, I like most fish, but for some reason I don't like cod, and generally prefer red fish (trout, salmon) to white.

Agree with red sauces usually being SICK AND WRONG when it comes to fish. (Tuna may be an exception coz more meatlike.)

There are some thinner fish I like. Arctic char, especially. It tastes a lot like salmon, but different. My parents have made a lot of Pompano and Red Snapper, which are sort of medium-thickness, and I'll eat these but am more indifferent to them. I like some African/Caribbean fish dishes that use really thin fish, which are sometimes breaded, and where the point is more the stuff you put on the fish.

Generally, the quality/freshness of the fish is what's going to matter most. If you're eating in a good sushi place, you're going to be getting fish that's fresh and good enough that it doesn't need cooking. Even with cooked fish, I like mine rare (well-done tuna, for instance, is going to be pretty bad). Good sushi places on the UES - Sushi of Gari (expensive), a place owned by a former chef there on 1st and 65th I think, and the two places on the East side of 1st between 74th and 77th.

About salmon, particularly, most of what we eat in NY is farm-raised 'Atlantic' salmon, which contains lots of the fats that make salmon so good (and these are very-good-for-you kinds of fats). There are several species of Pacific salmon, which are less fatty than Atlantic salmon, producing a different taste that is especially good when grilled. Some of the lesser species aren't as good as Atlantic salmon. But some of the better species - King (or Chinook) and Sockeye, maybe Coho (or Silver) - when fresh, are basically the best food of any kind anywhere. Getting pacific salmon outside the PNW is not always easy. What you see marked as King Salmon in stores may be mislabeled - either it's Atlantic, or it's a lesser variety of Pacific salmon. However, for a few weeks each summer you can get the real stuff in stores like Fairway, Zabar's, Eli's, Citarella, etc. It will be advertised as "wild", or "Alaskan" or "Copper River" salmon. It won't necessarily be great, though. It has to survive the shipping process and the store and you have to pick out good pieces.

generally, i don't think good fish needs sauce. all that needs to be added, if anything, is a light glaze like lemon or lime (or one of these mixed with butter). maybe a little ginger/garlic/soy for, e.g., tuna, tho if the fish is good soy could detract. broths, esp. vegetable, can be good accompaniments for, e.g., halibut. light cream sauces with sorrel and/or ramps are also classic.

Yeah, I've been tempted to go there but I'm daunted by its aura of exclusivity and expensiveness. Supposedly all the really good stuff is off-the-menu (elitist schmucks).

I agree that fish doesn't need much sauce. You never want to smother a piece of fish, but a good sauce will bring out the natural flavor.

So what I'd recommend would depend on where you live, and what's available fresh -- for me, that's what made the difference (I've ordered fish a few times visiting my folks, and nope, it's no good).

One place here in DC does "stuffed mussels" -- a misnomer, surely, because they appear to be broiled on the half-shell, topped with garlic butter and parsley or some other green. They're listed on the menu as an appetizer, but for me, with a glass of wine and some bread they make a fine meal.

Yeah, I've been tempted to go there but I'm daunted by its aura of exclusivity and expensiveness. Supposedly all the really good stuff is off-the-menu (elitist schmucks).

Well, it is sort of strangely trendy/beautiful ppl for the UES. But I mostly ignore that. I've only been there with my parents, not exactly trendoids (and neither am i), and once ran into one of my high school teachers there.

I'm not sure what you mean by the off-the-menu thing. Does this refer to something other than an "omakase" (chef's choice, i.e. the freshest stuff, perhaps not on the menu, but you knew that?) dinner? That will be more expensive than ordering a la carte (well, maybe). If you go a la carte, you could probably get out of there cheaply (tho maybe hungry). It's pretty inventive sushi, and very good, but my taste in sushi creativity is slightly different.

What was the French restaurant, btw?

Actually, no, I didn't know that.

What was the French restaurant, btw?

This one. I ordinarily don't go to French (or any other "fine") restaraunts, but I've been making a point to sample all my local restaurants in a methodical manner.

I've utterly failed to sample most of my local restaurants, which are the same as yours. However, I highly recommend Beyoglu at 3d/81, if you haven't been yet (though it lost some of the charm it had when it moved downstairs from the second floor). I really want to try Etats-Unis, which seems like the definition of my kind of restaurant, but haven't had a special occasion yet to spend the money.

second stevem's suggestion of tuna -- especially slabs of fresh tuna done like steaks. (Only problem: has a tendency to become a bit dry -- any good tricks here, people?)

How are you cooking it? Really good fresh tuna should only ever be seared. Depending on thickness, you should only put it on the grill for maybe two minutes on each side, when the fire is pretty hot. Maybe even less than that, but I like fairly thick steaks.

Search: salmon, tuna, catfish, flounder
Destroy: anything with the head still on it

When I catch a fish, I cook it whole. If its smaller I pan fry it. If its bigger, I like to cook it in a sauce composed of soy sauce and orange juice. The usual species I catch are speckled trout, redfish, and jack (jacks are considered inedible by most people - I like their oily-fishy flavour) The reason for cooking it whole is that the cheeks are simply the tastiest part of the fish.

Sushi-wise, I love mackeral, again, because of it oily-fishy flavour, but it absolutle has to be utterly fresh.

I also like pickled fish. I make it from time to time myself.

When i cook whole fish, I put the fish in a fish cooking pot (its long and skinny), then put in the the sauce and whatever with it and cook it in the oven.

I am not really that expert, I am have like three fish recipes that I know I can do and thats it.

catfish should ONLY be fried. otherwise, it tastes like mud.

The problem w/ eating fish in the South is that 99% of the time its deep fried, which gets old very very fast (actually, 99% of everything is deep fried in the South). A good local non-fried specialty is smoked mullet - yum.

Daddino: if youre on the UES, forget Sushi Gari.. the best sushi in all of america [no kidding] is Sushi Hatsu on 1st avenue and like 60th or so? its a block north of that merchant NY place. It's tiny, usually open til 2am, usually only japanese people there, and have an incredible selection of fish - but even the standards are incredibly fresh. bring yr american express, cuz they dont take visa/mc.

Pan-Seared Peppercorn Crusted Ahi PHWOAR

Roasted Rainbow Trout w/ Red Pepper Aoli GROWR

Served wif jasmine or basmati rice & asparagus or spinach or something strong and green, YOU CAN DO NO WRONG. Mmmm, fiiiish... < /homer>

Sometimes I eat raw fish but I'm not much keen on it.

I as well, but have you ever seen one whole? Or better yet, watched the Iron Chef where they butcher some on camera.

http://oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/hagfish/hagfishathome.html

Gumbo. Pretty much any kind of seafood tastes just dandy in gumbo.

Smoked or blackened salmon (fillets over steaks, if the latter, cause I like the skin). Blackened tuna or redfish. Seared tuna with wasabi or very sharp mustard. Smoked bluefish cakes, which I've only had in this one Cuban place near Boston (I think it was Cuban, it's been a long time). Crab cakes, the kind that contain only just enough non-crab-material to hold it together -- not the kind that's 70% breadcrumbs and moistener. King crab legs with butter and garlic. Well-seasoned boiled crawfish. Tilapia, ruby trout, redfish, catfish, or orange roughy coated in Tep's Blend(1) and pan-fried until crispy, served with a biscuit, spicy mustard greens, and Tep's Tartar(2). Fried clam strips, but only when I'm in the mood, and only because they remind me of the Connecticut coast when I was a little kid visiting my grandparents. Oyster dressing. Jumbo shrimp, marinated in Tabasco sauce and tequila, grilled until they change color and then sprinkled with lime juice and salt. Crab salad sandwich -- hot crab freshly picked from the shell, a little coarse mustard, a little lemon juice, a little tabasco, a little chopped scallion, tossed into a warm pistolette. Crackermeal-fried catfish or trout sandwiches, with nothing but lemon juice and tabasco and maybe some lettuce. Pasta with a tomato sauce flavored with anchovies, capers, and roasted onion.

(1) Tep's Blend: coarse salt (it makes a better crust) blended with ground green peppercorns, black peppercorns, pink peppercorns, yellow or brown mustard seeds, black sesame seeds, and paprika (hot or sweet, smoked or regular). Sometimes a little crackermeal to help make the coating.

(2) Tep's Tartar: mayo, sometimes mixed with sour cream, with chopped up pickled garlic, a little salt, a little minced carrot, and sport peppers (the yellow peppers that come packed in a jar with vinegar).

Pay for the plane ticket from FL to up there and I'll go.

The muddiness of other freshwater fish depends a lot on where it's from and what sort of fish it is, but it's nothing compared to the muddiness of catfish from a murky lake.

See the good fish guide 'species to avoid' at the Marine Conversation Society website.

Smoked black peppery mackerel flaked into lemony creme fraiche is v good on chunky pasta like fusilli.

or shallow fried (coated with egg and cornflour) with similar ingredients plus sliced chinese mushrooms and oyster sauce omgwtfyummyumami

Bryan's post from last year brought back happy memories of fishing in northern Manitoba (I was much further north than him - around Beaver Lake north of Flin Flon). Needless to say he is totally OTM about Pickerel and Pike, although I prefer the former. Both are just dandy pan-fried in a little butter and lemon right over the camp-fire (or Coleman stove). Lake bass is yucky - we threw them back.

Perch is indeed excellent battered and fried, and I'm big on the Mackeral, Trout and Cod as well. But if I have the chance to get it, I do like some of the more 'exotic' fish - Mahi Mahi, Swordfish, and Blue Marlin (which I had last weekend and was yum).

Also agreed about the sauce thing - less is more. In fact, some of the best fish I've ever had (in a restaurant) was served whole (that's with head and tail folks) grilled with nothing more than a little sea salt and lemon. Yum! And pulling the head/spine/tail off is kinda fun. Looks just like in the cartoons! (or Fishbone t-shirts)

I can't eat Marlin after seeing a programme on parasites, see also Swordfish.

Mahi-Mahi (dolphin) is gorgeous, especially blackened.

Please don't tell me about that programme - I love those big, pointy-nosed fishies...

Also, destroy all tinned Tuna. Yuck. I don't mind tinned salmon though. I used to freak out friends when I made salmon sandwiches as a younger lad, because I LOVED the soft bones that usually came in the tin. Most people chucked them along with the extra skin, but my mum would give them to me as a treat, which I loved (and still do). It was the first thing I went for after opening the tin. The Salmon mixed with some homemade mayo, pepper and lemon on brown bread is yum. Best of all, have the sandwich with some sweet bread-and-butter/yum-yum/whatever-you-call-them pickles!

But last night we had homemade smoked haddock and mussel fisherman's pie in a parsley and lovage cream sauce, and started with my Extreme Garlic prawns. Lunches have been bog-standard supermarket prawns sprinkled into spicy ramen noodles, with spring onions and bok choi.

Razor clams burrow - and they're only £4.50 a pound in Chinatown this week!

Oh, I wouldn't do that

cheap?? not in my bloody supermarket they're not. king prawns are still semi-expensive.

as alarming as that article is, i've learned that you can pretty much name ANY foodstuff (animal or vegetable), and somewhere out there is an article in a respectable publication that details how it is bad for you, socially irresponsible, etc etc. seeing an article about how peanut butter causes cancer put me over the edge on this issue.

Rob, it's like that fake headline 'LAB RAT DEATHS CAUSED BY SCIENTISTS'.

phew, i was worried for a while that link was pointing to a story about prawns being actually made from filled condoms, or something.

it was requested.