Culinary Poll #010: Name Your Poisson

[Daniel Rogov]

On the wine side of the forum last week, we did a poll about naming your poison. This one will be devoted to naming your poisson – that is to say, your favorite fish.

I am well aware that many of us would select several different fish as our favorites so let's put it this way – given your choice of any single fish on which to dine today or tomorrow, what would that fish be and how would you prefer it prepared. (Oh yes---remember please that we are talking "fish" and not "seafood" here)

Because the potential list is so long, we'll leave this one as an open poll, letting each of us name the fish of our choice. Scout's honor, I'll sum up the totals as the poll runs down. And my thanks to Matilda for suggesting the poll and its title.

[ChefJCarey]

Petrale "sole" or Rex "sole" or sand dabs - simply sauteed in clarified butter, after being dredged in a little flour. Squeeze of lemon.

[Michelle Nordell]

Grilled sardines with a little sprinkling of crushed juniper berries

or

A big plate of fried smelts with a douse of lemon juice

[Robin Garr]

A big plate of fried smelts with a douse of lemon juice

If you're not going to eat all that, may I have some?

[James Roscoe]

My default fish is salmon as the farm raised stuff is inexpensive here and I really like a lot of different preparations. However, a number of other fish are popping up on the market at about the same price and we are branching out now that the children are grown and gone. Unfortunately price is a major determining factor.

[Patti L]

A nice piece of walleye, that I pull fresh from Lac La Croix in the Boundary Waters.

That's the first fish I ever caught, and I'd like it prepared the same way now as it was back then. Dredged in flour, cooked in a old frying pan over a campfire. My dad did the cooking back then, but this time it would be my turn. It probably wasn't the best fish I ever ate, but it certainly was the most satisfying.

Served with an ice cold beer pulled from the natural "beer cooler" we found on the north side of the island on which we were camping.

[Ian Sutton]

No favourite. There just isn't one fish that I always consider first. We're lucky being near decent sized fishing ports, that there is often quite a lot of variety and fresh at that

Sea Trout has been very good; Swordfish has been a favourite, but all too easy to cook it dry; cod is an old favourite; Sole is very tasty but I have to be in the mood; Barramundi in Oz is very good; Smoked salmon can be divine; plenty more...

NZ range of fish and the attractive prices would make it my favourite place for fish.

Sorry Rogov - I've no idea how you can score this - just put me down as a "don't know"

regards

Ian

[Carl Eppig]

Fillet of fresh caught Bluefish broiled with butter and sweet paprika.

[Bill Spohn]

Sable fish (Alaskan black cod). Lightly smoked, served with beurre and caper sauce.

[Shel T]

Grilled loup de mer, preferably from somewhere in the South of France.

[Ryan M]

Love salmon, and would probably consider it my favorite, but my limited experience with swordfish has been wonderful.

[Matilda L]

Either salmon (grilled to form a nice golden crust) or King George whiting, a delicate white fish that tastes superb prepared simply on the grill, or crumbed. OK - we have to choose one - I will have to go for salmon because it gives more range for different ways of preparing it. It also stands up to my hit-and-miss cooking better. I love King George whiting but I don't cook it very well myself: I'm inclined to dry it out. So if I was on a desert island with only King George whiting, I'd better have a cook with me too. (And perhaps he could also be handsome, intellectual, and a dab hand at mixing brandy alexanders.)

Matilda

[Michelle Nordell]

A big plate of fried smelts with a douse of lemon juice

If you're not going to eat all that, may I have some?

I will be happy to share.

[Daniel Rogov]

My own choice goes to the noble rainbow trout. First of all, I love fishing for them, second because the flesh is so succulent.

If caught and cooked out-of-doors, over an open fire on a hand-made wood spit. As to more formal methods of cooking,
truite aux almonds, truit au bleu, or trout wrapped in bacon and grilled (with the first a Bordeaux white, with the second a Loire white and with the third a Pinot Noir.

Best
Rogov

[Yael L]

My favourite poisson is smoked fish, the way the smoke them in the Scandinavian countries, it's so delicious!!!!! And number 2 is pan seared tuna steak.

[Jo Ann Henderson]

Wow, Rogov, you beat me to it. I love rainbow trout. My favorite way to fix it is lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil (whole fish), stuff the cavity with fennel and lemons or tarragon and lemons and grilled over charcoals. I love pan fried trout with eggs for breakfast or trout almondine with a squeeze of butter and a glass of riesling. Yum!

[Shlomo R]

Fillet of fresh caught Bluefish broiled with butter and sweet paprika.

It's been so long since I had bluefish that I am going to second the vote, although my wife hates the stuff.

[Duane J]

Favorite Fish will be Salmon but I love Rainbow Trout too. The best Salmon that I have eaten was Copper River Red caught fresh out of the river. We BBQed some and fried some. It was great both ways. Seems to me someone bought some Chardonnay and there was a bunch of hash browns to go along with the Salmon too.

[Dave R]

Please mark me down for Bluefin tuna seared rare in black sesame oil and topped with a little sea salt, cracked Tellicherry black pepper and organic micro-greens.

[Robin Garr]

Sushi. An artful and varied collection, a feast for the eyes and the taste, put together by a skilled itamae.

[JC (NC)]

I'm with ChefJCarey on the sand dabs (from Monterey Bay.)

Runners up would be plank grilled salmon, sole meuniere or trout encrusted with crushed pecans. I also like grouper and flounder stuffed with crabmeat.

[Amy_Y_]

This is again a hard one....

Perhaps flounder (it is good smoked as well, as Yael mentioned here above), or turbot...hmmm.... Pike-perch, seabass....my list is nearly endless...

Oh and good quality tuna, yellowfin, linefish in South Africa....salivating here now.

[Dave R]

Daniel,

Do you see more freshwater or saltwater fish in Israel?

[Daniel Rogov]

Do you see more freshwater or saltwater fish in Israel?

I'd say about equal that what is sold is about equal even though there are a greater number of species of salt water fish available. What makes the difference in popularity is largely that the pond-raised fish are far less dear to buy.

Most freshwater fish that are found in local waters trout (rainbow and brown), rock bass, carp, talapia (known here as St Peter's fish or mousht) are pond raised but catfish are primarily in natural waters. Of saltwater fish found in local waters there are white and dusty grouper, sardines, amberjack, croacker (meagre), hake, European seabas (lavrak in Hebrew), lizardfish, shi drum, red mullet, white and spotted sea bream, pandora, dover sole, Spaish mackerel, little tuna (thonine), chub mackerel, grey mullet, rabbitfish, gilt-head sea bream and barracuda.

A good many fish are also imported, and if purchased at the right places, those can be fresh and of very high quality. When bought at the wrong places they can be frozen and/or of low quality. And then of course there is the imported abomination known as Princess of the Nile or Nile Perch - a fish that is not a perch, does not come from the Nile and is proabably at its best when purchased in large frozen blocks either to be used as a deadly weapon or to defrost and feed to the cats.

Best
Rogov