Taking a coarse fish for the pot

[Andy Macfarlane]

I can't believe we're even still talking abut this. Do any of you actually go to fish wholesalers? Apart from the addition of bream for some reason that I cannot fathom (must a Polish thing I'm guessing...look awful anyroad), the vast majority of fish on sale are still the exact same species housewives have been cooking for decades. Cod, haddock, whiting, the odd flattie, mackerel and sardines. It's the same old, same old, same old and the average housewife, who actually does the majority of the shopping and cooking whether we men admit to it or not, will stick to what they know.

 

It has been shown several times actually, on TV, that people actually preferred the taste of fried pollack over the usual cod and haddock but as soon as the word pollack was mentioned, it was all, "Ooooh who'd have thought it? I thought it tasted like shoes before but this tastes like something only God himself would have" and off they toddle to fishmarket a week later only to find nobody selling pollack anyway because it's muck as far as most people and trawlerrmen 'know'.

 

Will the chippy suddenly start buying in pollack though?? No, because he'd have the bring the price of a fish supper down from 6 quid to £2.50 overnight and he'd end up out of business, so Mr. Fish Frier Of The Month might know pollack is perfectly palatable but he ain't changing anything for anyone, no matter how many people ask for it. He's going to continue selling the priciest fish he knows people want because he'd be mad not to and the same goes for the supermarkets. If I started up a chippy, by heck I'd be selling Cod and Haddock too. 6 quid for a fillet and a cut up potato?? He's laughing and I'm thinking about it myself now.

 

The Hugh's and the mushy pickers and the new model army of homegrown munchers make up a negligible number added together. The vast majority of fish is still bought from places like Tescos and again, it's more or less the same old crap that's been offered for decades.

 

I refuse to believe that waters are suddenly going to be overrun by people wanting to catch their own fish for the pot.

 

We, as anglers, admit we return most of what we catch. I barely meet anglers on the banks as it is, unless it's well known pike fishery or a commercial and neither of those two are there to provide food.

 

Where are all these 'foodies'? I don't meet them. I don't see them. It's a lot of talk about nothing. Budgie had it spot on when he said the Hugh's of this World probably watch his programme with an M&S TV dinner on their lap.

 

People might sign his petition, because it the 'right' thing to do, just like people sign e-mails from WWF to Save The Tiger. How many people are actually out there saving tigers though? About 4 I'd imagine, with an army of trained locals in army outfits who are probably killing as many tigers as they are poachers anyway. The same goes for Hugh's petition. People will sign it after feeling disgusted for 2 minutes watching his show and then a week later at Asda it'll be,

 

"Can I have 4 fillets of Cod please"

 

People are lazy and stupid. If something is pre-wrapped and looks a bit alright once it's been flung in the frying pan, they'll buy it. WWII is over. People aren't queueing up for whatever's left on the fishmongers table. They're buying whatever is convenient.

 

Fishfingers for God's sake. The housewives favourite because it's all their army of weans will eat apart from whizzed up chicken brains in breadcrumbs. It's made a cod. Cod...for children?? What? They smother everything in beans and ketchup anyway. If you moulded some turd into a handy bite sized chunks, froze it solid and prepacked so Mum could have it ready in 10 minutes, the kids would eat that as well but there's no value in turd, so cod it is.

 

Cod for kids??? Give me strength. They wouldn't know the difference between a bit of cod and bit of dog. As long as there's breadcrumbs on it it's going down the hatch.

 

 

 

I'm bored. I think I'll go make some putty and steal a few sea-trout.

[Worms]

I'm bored. I think I'll go make some putty and steal a few sea-trout.

Now there's a tasty fish........but don't tell anybody, 3 million anglers wil be out catching them all for the pot

 

Good post Andy!

[Andy Macfarlane]

Oh no sea-trout...tastes like a bedwetter's week-old pyjamas. I wasn't going to take them for myself, when there's perfectly good fishfingers at Asda for goodness sake. I was going to use the sea-trout to make a pair of snazzy shoes for the local 80s disco night.

[chesters1]

I can't believe we're even still talking abut this. Do any of you actually go to fish wholesalers? Apart from the addition of bream for some reason that I cannot fathom (must a Polish thing I'm guessing...look awful anyroad), the vast majority of fish on sale are still the exact same species housewives have been cooking for decades. Cod, haddock, whiting, the odd flattie, mackerel and sardines. It's the same old, same old, same old and the average housewife, who actually does the majority of the shopping and cooking whether we men admit to it or not, will stick to what they know.

 

It has been shown several times actually, on TV, that people actually preferred the taste of fried pollack over the usual cod and haddock but as soon as the word pollack was mentioned, it was all, "Ooooh who'd have thought it? I thought it tasted like shoes before but this tastes like something only God himself would have" and off they toddle to fishmarket a week later only to find nobody selling pollack anyway because it's muck as far as most people and trawlerrmen 'know'.

 

Will the chippy suddenly start buying in pollack though?? No, because he'd have the bring the price of a fish supper down from 6 quid to £2.50 overnight and he'd end up out of business, so Mr. Fish Frier Of The Month might know pollack is perfectly palatable but he ain't changing anything for anyone, no matter how many people ask for it. He's going to continue selling the priciest fish he knows people want because he'd be mad not to and the same goes for the supermarkets. If I started up a chippy, by heck I'd be selling Cod and Haddock too. 6 quid for a fillet and a cut up potato?? He's laughing and I'm thinking about it myself now.

 

The Hugh's and the mushy pickers and the new model army of homegrown munchers make up a negligible number added together. The vast majority of fish is still bought from places like Tescos and again, it's more or less the same old crap that's been offered for decades.

 

I refuse to believe that waters are suddenly going to be overrun by people wanting to catch their own fish for the pot.

 

We, as anglers, admit we return most of what we catch. I barely meet anglers on the banks as it is, unless it's well known pike fishery or a commercial and neither of those two are there to provide food.

 

Where are all these 'foodies'? I don't meet them. I don't see them. It's a lot of talk about nothing. Budgie had it spot on when he said the Hugh's of this World probably watch his programme with an M&S TV dinner on their lap.

 

People might sign his petition, because it the 'right' thing to do, just like people sign e-mails from WWF to Save The Tiger. How many people are actually out there saving tigers though? About 4 I'd imagine, with an army of trained locals in army outfits who are probably killing as many tigers as they are poachers anyway. The same goes for Hugh's petition. People will sign it after feeling disgusted for 2 minutes watching his show and then a week later at Asda it'll be,

 

"Can I have 4 fillets of Cod please"

 

People are lazy and stupid. If something is pre-wrapped and looks a bit alright once it's been flung in the frying pan, they'll buy it. WWII is over. People aren't queueing up for whatever's left on the fishmongers table. They're buying whatever is convenient.

 

Fishfingers for God's sake. The housewives favourite because it's all their army of weans will eat apart from whizzed up chicken brains in breadcrumbs. It's made a cod. Cod...for children?? What? They smother everything in beans and ketchup anyway. If you moulded some turd into a handy bite sized chunks, froze it solid and prepacked so Mum could have it ready in 10 minutes, the kids would eat that as well but there's no value in turd, so cod it is.

 

Cod for kids??? Give me strength. They wouldn't know the difference between a bit of cod and bit of dog. As long as there's breadcrumbs on it it's going down the hatch.

 

 

 

I'm bored. I think I'll go make some putty and steal a few sea-trout.

I like fish fingers and fish cakes ,i think being born when rationing was still just about you got used to eating whatever you were given (non if this crap i hear when mothers ASK their bloody kids would like in the supermarket!) you ate it or went hungry simple ,i remember picking out mouldy beans from a pan (no fridge then that was a luxery) with my mum so they could be reheated (dad was in the navy so pretty poor) probably several days after they were originally cooked.

Not sure if i'm just weird but i like plain food ,i'm happy with just a plate of pots and gravy or cabbage and gravy .

My Mrs doesn't remember the rissoles of the 60's (ears, eyes and arseholes) they made turkey twizzlers look like restaurant fare ,you ate them you can eat anything believe me .The difference today mainly is choice and money without either you would tuck into carp and like it or simply starve ,i'v tasted worse .......2 carp

fish is expensive even coley which was cat food when i was a kid has reached some food status it shouldn't have ,when bloddy fish from fooking africa is cheaper to buy than stuff from our shores then something is wrong ,fish for us is a treat just as fish has always been and probably just as expensive as its always been over the last 50 years ,we maybe stripping the fish from the seas but they aint being eaten in my house most probably sold to foreigners for more profit.

Edited January 21, 2011 by chesters1

[Dick Dastardly]

Good posts Andy.I especially liked "a bedwetter's week-old pyjamas"

[Andy Macfarlane]

I like fish fingers and fish cakes ,

 

That's because they're made of cod. Who doesn't like fishfingers? I didn't say they tasted bad. I said they were convenient yet expensive and mostly eaten by kids who wouldn't know the difference by the time they're bastardised the damn things with Heinz beans.

 

i think being born when rationing was still just about you got used to eating whatever you were given (non if this crap i hear when mothers ASK their bloody kids would like in the supermarket!) you ate it or went hungry simple ,i remember picking out mouldy beans from a pan (no fridge then that was a luxery) with my mum so they could be reheated (dad was in the navy so pretty poor) probably several days after they were originally cooked.

 

Like I said Chesters. WWII is over. It's 2011 and there's no need for eating whatever you can.

 

Not sure if i'm just weird but i like plain food ,i'm happy with just a plate of pots and gravy or cabbage and gravy .

 

So do I. It's the general population that make up the majority I'm talking about.

 

My Mrs doesn't remember the rissoles of the 60's they made turkey twizzlers look like restaurant fare ,you ate them you can eat anything believe me .The difference today mainly is choice and money without either you would tuck into carp and like it or simply starve ,i'v tasted worse .......2 carp

 

Let's not start on turkey. I like turkey.

 

fish is expensive even coley which was cat food when i was a kid has reached some food status it shouldn't have ,

 

It's still not half as expensive as Cod or Haddock and I was told the very same thing as a kid. I've since eaten loads of pollack and I see no reason why it shouldn't have reached the status it should have. It's still nowhere near as popular as you're making out. You can catch them from any pier in the UK but do people take them home? Nope because they still believe what you and I were told and you're at least 8 times older than me.

 

when bloddy fish from fooking africa is cheaper to buy than stuff from our shores then something is wrong ,

 

I don't know about that. I find fried Cichlids quite appealing.....lol....no really, I've eaten Smoked River Cobbler (from Asia or wherever the hell it's from) and it's fine. If it's cheaper to eat that than smoked Haddie, then so be it. That's our problem for not taking advantage of other species of fish because we're generally all stuck in the same old rut

 

fish for us is a treat just as fish has always been and probably just as expensive as its always been over the last 50 years ,we maybe stripping the fish from the seas but they aint being eaten in my house most probably sold to foreigners for more profit.

 

Fish.....a treat......lol......that's because you're eating Cod, like you've admitted. Try eating something cheap like Conger steaks and don't tell me it tastes crap because I've cooked more types of fish than Rick Stein. Just about any fish tastes OK when it treated properly.

[Worms]

Pollack is one of my staple fish foods, a cleaner taste than cod in my opinion. Conger is delicious, try it baked with a herb crust and a fresh tomato sauce or salsa. Ling, weever, the much maligned pouting, gurnard (one of my favourites) black bream (another one), haddock, bass, rays, doggies (a pain to skin but make a great fish pie or, marinaded in the juice of a couple of oranges and lemons and then grilled/griddled for a few minutes....bloody lovely. Oops, nearly forgot mackerel!

 

Oh yes, cod too, off down to the Bristol Channel after them tomorrow....might knock up some fish fingers

[chesters1]

QUOTE (chesters1 @ Jan 21 2011, 10:05 AM) *

I like fish fingers and fish cakes ,

 

That's because they're made of cod. Who doesn't like fishfingers? I didn't say they tasted bad. I said they were convenient yet expensive and mostly eaten by kids who wouldn't know the difference by the time they're bastardised the damn things with Heinz beans.

 

Cod who mentioned that ,i said i liked cheap

 

i think being born when rationing was still just about you got used to eating whatever you were given (non if this crap i hear when mothers ASK their bloody kids would like in the supermarket!) you ate it or went hungry simple ,i remember picking out mouldy beans from a pan (no fridge then that was a luxery) with my mum so they could be reheated (dad was in the navy so pretty poor) probably several days after they were originally cooked.

 

Like I said Chesters. WWII is over. It's 2011 and there's no need for eating whatever you can.

Some people dont have a choice theres relatively poor people at all times

 

Not sure if i'm just weird but i like plain food ,i'm happy with just a plate of pots and gravy or cabbage and gravy .

 

So do I. It's the general population that make up the majority I'm talking about.

 

My Mrs doesn't remember the rissoles of the 60's they made turkey twizzlers look like restaurant fare ,you ate them you can eat anything believe me .The difference today mainly is choice and money without either you would tuck into carp and like it or simply starve ,i'v tasted worse .......2 carp

 

Let's not start on turkey. I like turkey.

no turkey in rissoles unless they have ears

 

fish is expensive even coley which was cat food when i was a kid has reached some food status it shouldn't have ,

 

It's still not half as expensive as Cod or Haddock and I was told the very same thing as a kid. I've since eaten loads of pollack and I see no reason why it shouldn't have reached the status it should have. It's still nowhere near as popular as you're making out. You can catch them from any pier in the UK but do people take them home? Nope because they still believe what you and I were told and you're at least 8 times older than me.

 

pollack is "fish" you need to pay extra for cod or haddock ,i can eat smoked pollack but its not a tasty fish in any sense i wouldn't buy it deliberately when i could afford haddock (or whatever is equivalent to it today from dodgy sources) you buy "fish" for cats you buy cod or haddock for humans

 

when bloddy fish from fooking africa is cheaper to buy than stuff from our shores then something is wrong ,

 

I don't know about that. I find fried Cichlids quite appealing.....lol....no really, I've eaten Smoked River Cobbler (from Asia or wherever the hell it's from) and it's fine. If it's cheaper to eat that than smoked Haddie, then so be it. That's our problem for not taking advantage of other species of fish because we're generally all stuck in the same old rut

 

unfortunately if i wanted to eat freshwater fish then i would eat african fish ,i dont! if i had to because sea fish were to expensive to eat then i would eat UK freshwater fish for nothing.

 

fish for us is a treat just as fish has always been and probably just as expensive as its always been over the last 50 years ,we maybe stripping the fish from the seas but they aint being eaten in my house most probably sold to foreigners for more profit.

 

Fish.....a treat......lol......that's because you're eating Cod, like you've admitted. Try eating something cheap like Conger steaks and don't tell me it tastes crap because I've cooked more types of fish than Rick Stein. Just about any fish tastes OK when it treated properly.

 

i eat when its reduced at the moment mackeral are £3.20 a kilo we will stockpile it .I said you can eat anything i didnt say you must

if you covering rubbish fish wih some sauce to make it taste like something else why bother buying fish and chuck the sauce over a bit of bread?

unfortunately i eat whats reduced at sainsburies i don't have the option of a freindly fishmonger who sells it cheaper anywhere else ,infact his cat food fish are more expensive than supermarket human fish.

i have no problem eating fish off all descriptions i have bags and bags of sardines (50p a kilo) a drawer of mackeral £3.20kilo at sains right now ,some strange stuff made from something or other covered in err things (ok at a push) some herring more herring but ALWAYS we will eat the haddock or cod first because they taste nice without effort and if you tasted my mrs cooking when she's left to her own devices i'm sure you would too.Price before anything else though so cod and haddock are a treat just as theve always been

Edited January 21, 2011 by chesters1

[Andy Macfarlane]

If only the nation was as 'European' in their tastes as you are Worms. I'll have a slice of ling (amazing things and fight like stink) at your house anytime.

 

The only fish I cannot abide is Hake. Woolier than a tweed jacket but with twice the amount of urine.

[chesters1]

but will you eat carp ?