fish flavours....

S

SomeStrangeMan

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So, this year, the OH (aka PITA) and I have come to the conclusion to have fish for christmas. So far, so good, however....

She thinks a lot of fish taste "gravelly", "muddy" or "earthy", and she doesn't like that. I can't taste that, my tastebuds are shot, hers are overly sensitive. Or maybe she's got the "certain fish taste like rocks" gene. Tonight she had cod that tasted gravelly. So, I guess what my question is:

What kinds of fish - other than the really common ones in the UK - never ever taste gravelly?
 
Cod is generally a pretty "clean" tasting fish. The fish that taste earthy/muddy are usually bottom feeders, like catfish, founder or halibut.

CD
 
If your wife would like to have fish for Christmas dinner then there must be some fish she already likes?

What about a meaty mild flavoured fish like swordfish? Or perhaps (and please no-one shoot me for this) farmed fish, well kept farmed fish have constant clean water and are fast growing so they don’t have time to accumulate that earthy edge.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
If your wife would like to have fish for Christmas dinner then there must be some fish she already likes?

What about a meaty mild flavoured fish like swordfish? Or perhaps (and please no-one shoot me for this) farmed fish, well kept farmed fish have constant clean water and are fast growing so they don’t have time to accumulate that earthy edge.
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There is nothing necessarily bad about farmed fish. It depends on where it is farmed.

Farmed catfish in the US South is actually pretty good, as they are bottom feeders, and fed a grain feed that gives them a cleaner taste than wild catfish from muddy bottomed lakes and rivers.

What gives farmed fish a bad name, IMO, is that so much of it comes from third world countries that have very few regulations, or badly enforced regulations called for by countries like the US. I can buy farmed shrimp from SE Asia for half the price of shrimp caught 200 miles from my home. That has to mean a lot of corners have been cut to make that imported farmed shrimp so cheap.

CD
 
caseydog said:
Cod is generally a pretty "clean" tasting fish. The fish that taste earthy/muddy are usually bottom feeders, like catfish, founder or halibut.

CD
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I love the typo. Got me imagining someone eating the rich, and complaining about Zuckerberg's earthy notes.

We had decided on lemon sole as a possibility, but that's a flounder, so I think we need help coming up with a good idea.

SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
If your wife would like to have fish for Christmas dinner then there must be some fish she already likes?

What about a meaty mild flavoured fish like swordfish? Or perhaps (and please no-one shoot me for this) farmed fish, well kept farmed fish have constant clean water and are fast growing so they don’t have time to accumulate that earthy edge.
Click to expand...
If we were playing it safe it would be the kind of thing that's not special enough for christmas. - cod, pollock, haddock, salmon, trout, tuna - which are all everyday things.
I've suggested swordfish and I got the reply "swordfish tastes like ammonia".
 
caseydog said:
There is nothing necessarily bad about farmed fish. It depends on where it is farmed.

Farmed catfish in the US South is actually pretty good, as they are bottom feeders, and fed a grain feed that gives them a cleaner taste than wild catfish from muddy bottomed lakes and rivers.

What gives farmed fish a bad name, IMO, is that so much of it comes from third world countries that have very few regulations, or badly enforced regulations called for by countries like the US. I can buy farmed shrimp from SE Asia for half the price of shrimp caught 200 miles from my home. That has to mean a lot of corners have been cut to make that imported farmed shrimp so cheap.

CD
Click to expand...

I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with farmed fish, I’d rather that than trawlers dredging the sea beds destroying half an ocean to find a profitable haul.

But it gets a bad wrap so I prefer to pre-empt the gasps of horror 😂

The truth of it is from my POV that quality farmed meat or fish or anything is generally better than wild because it’s bred fed reared and slaughtered at its optimum time for consumption. Wild food isn’t. It’s unlikely I’ll ever eat duck again, old broilers passed off as premium cuts because who knows how long it’s been out there working it’s lean muscle has led me to more than one poor meal.
 
SomeStrangeMan said:
If we were playing it safe it would be the kind of thing that's not special enough for christmas. - cod, pollock, haddock, salmon, trout, tuna - which are all everyday things.
I've suggested swordfish and I got the reply "swordfish tastes like ammonia".
Click to expand...

Haddock is a favorite of mine. I prefer it to cod for fish and chips.

CD
 
SomeStrangeMan said:
I love the typo. Got me imagining someone eating the rich, and complaining about Zuckerberg's earthy notes.

We had decided on lemon sole as a possibility, but that's a flounder, so I think we need help coming up with a good idea.


If we were playing it safe it would be the kind of thing that's not special enough for christmas. - cod, pollock, haddock, salmon, trout, tuna - which are all everyday things.
I've suggested swordfish and I got the reply "swordfish tastes like ammonia".
Click to expand...
Hmm sounds like a bit of a no win situation!

How about fish in a fish in a fish?
It’s obviously a fish take on a bird in bird in a bird and it’s definitely a celebrity thing. Involves a bit of work and has a price tag that belongs at a feast.

I think it’s usually easy to stomach ‘fish’ like prawns haddock salmon too.

I’ve seen them pre-made before as well I just can’t think where.
 
badjak said:
Monk fish maybe?
Or salmon?
Or maybe soaking fish in buttermilk for a bit? I know that's done with eel to get rid of any muddy flavour
Click to expand...

That's also been done here for generations in the American South with catfish. Just soak it for an hour or two in the fridge.

CD
 
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