Smoked fish and its availability in different countries

JAS_OH1

JAS_OH1

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[Mod.Edit. This post and a number of following posts moved tp form a new thread (MG)]

I like mackerel and when I lived in Florida I used to catch it deep sea fishing. I mostly fried it but I had friends who had smokers (I didn't) and if I shared they were happy to smoke it for me :)

I don't recall seeing smoked mackerel in the stores here, however, and it's not a common fish to find fresh or even frozen, either. Mostly the stores in our land-locked state sell salmon, tuna, grouper, swordfish, and the like.
 
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JAS_OH1 said:
I like mackerel and when I lived in Florida I used to catch it deep sea fishing. I mostly fried it but I had friends who had smokers (I didn't) and if I shared they were happy to smoke it for me :)

I don't recall seeing smoked mackerel in the stores here, however, and it's not a common fish to find fresh or even frozen, either. Mostly the stores in our land-locked state sell salmon, tuna, grouper, swordfish, and the like.
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I’m surprised just because it’s something you’ll find in pretty much every supermarket here along with other types of robustly flavoured smoked fish.

It needs to be a really strongly flavoured peppered version to give the extra 💥 kapow 💥

Being land locked I would have thought smoked fish would have made inroads, what with it being a traditional preservation technique 🤷‍♀️

Is strongly flavoured smoked fish not a common thing over the pond?
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I’m surprised just because it’s something you’ll find in pretty much every supermarket here along with other types of robustly flavoured smoked fish.

It needs to be a really strongly flavoured peppered version to give the extra 💥 kapow 💥

Being land locked I would have thought smoked fish would have made inroads, what with it being a traditional preservation technique 🤷‍♀️

Is strongly flavoured smoked fish not a common thing over the pond?
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It's just not popular with the Midwesterners I reckon. It's an oily and strongly flavored fish, so smoking it is a great way to temper that. Whenever I fried it I always marinated it in Italian dressing (taught to me by a fishing boat captain). People up here like mild fish like cod and salmon. As far as smoked fish goes, I don't think I have ever seen any type of smoked fish other than salmon in the regular grocery stores. They might have it at some of the specialty stores, though.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
It's just not popular with the Midwesterners I reckon. It's an oily and strongly flavored fish, so smoking it is a great way to temper that. Whenever I fried it I always marinated it in Italian dressing (taught to me by a fishing boat captain). People up here like mild fish like cod and salmon. As far as smoked fish goes, I don't think I have ever seen any type of smoked fish other than salmon in the regular grocery stores. They might have it at some of the specialty stores, though.
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Well that is interesting 🤔

It’s the sort of ingredient I would have imagined settlers bringing with them. Perhaps in other states?
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Well that is interesting 🤔

It’s the sort of ingredient I would have imagined settlers bringing with them. Perhaps in other states?
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I think the settlers more likely had flour, sugar, coffee, and beef jerky...and hunted venison and grouse while on the trail. If they'd had any mackerel it probably didn't make it on the trail all the way from the coast to Ohio, it got eaten. At any rate, that would have been generations ago (1800s) and it probably wasn't easy to get, so the next generation would have had no idea about it. Plenty of lakes up here to catch fresh fish like crappie, Walleye, and perch (no mackerel of course), but a lot of people who were born and raised in Ohio just don't like fish. Ask TastyReuben about that!

Yes, perhaps in other states. Mackerel is caught frequently in the Gulf of Mexico in Florida but I am not sure about the Atlantic coastal states. I mean, I am sure that the fish is there, but do people fish for it? Dunno.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
I think the settlers more likely had flour, sugar, coffee, and beef jerky...and hunted venison and grouse while on the trail. If they'd had any mackerel it probably didn't make it on the trail all the way from the coast to Ohio, it got eaten. At any rate, that would have been generations ago (1800s) and it probably wasn't easy to get, so the next generation would have had no idea about it. Plenty of lakes up here to catch fresh fish like crappie, Walleye, and perch (no mackerel of course), but a lot of people who were born and raised in Ohio just don't like fish. Ask TastyReuben about that!

Yes, perhaps in other states. Mackerel is caught frequently in the Gulf of Mexico in Florida but I am not sure about the Atlantic coastal states. I mean, I am sure that the fish is there, but do people fish for it? Dunno.
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Yer I kind of more meant that before fridges all methods of preservation were used and the European settlers would have taken that knowledge with them.
Preserved fish (salted or smoked) is what tends to make it inland.

Like in Spain, they are huge fish eaters but due to the fish not being able to stay fresh on the journey inland they ate a lot of preserved fish and still now even on the coast have a very large amount of preserved fish for sale in the supermarkets. Much more than the UK.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Yer I kind of more meant that before fridges all methods of preservation were used and the European settlers would have taken that knowledge with them.
Preserved fish (salted or smoked) is what tends to make it inland.

Like in Spain, they are huge fish eaters but due to the fish not being able to stay fresh on the journey inland they ate a lot of preserved fish and still now have a very large amount of preserved fish for sale in the supermarkets. Much more than the UK.
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I think most settlers who ended up in Ohio came over from the Northeast Atlantic states, and not sure if mackerel is or was a popular fish there. It's probably an 8 hour drive to Ohio from New York, no telling how long it would take to get here by horse and wagon or oxen and wagon. I am sure that they understood how to preserve.

A lot of people here eat chicken, pork, and beef mostly. And venison, lots of hunters, especially in rural areas. The younger generations are more open to trying seafood (and sushi), but a lot of the older folks especially are set in their ways and tastes.
 
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JAS_OH1 said:
A lot of people here eat chicken, pork, and beef mostly.
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I can still remember this grade-school history book I had, with a very simple drawing of a Native American man showing a Pilgrim how to fertilize their gardens by sticking a dead fish head first into ground next to whatever they were growing.

“Yep, perfectly good use for that fish,” I thought.
 
My dad smoked a lot of fish over the years. Most were caught on trot lines in the bay behind or lake in front of the house. Think freshwater fish - catfish, carp, pickerel, walleye. Catfish were the best, just enough fat in the flesh to keep them moist. My sisters and I still search out local fish shops for locally caught/smoked fish unfortunately, these types of businesses are few and far between in recent years.
The mackerel dip recipe looks good, going to give it a go. Thanks for posting, SSOAP !
 
There doesn't seem to be a tradition of smoking fish here, and that's probably because fish caught is fish consumed.
Over the past 10-15 years, however, two items have appeared on the market: smoked swordfish and a big catfish from the Orinoco river called Lau-lau. Mostly for the "gourmet"market, however.
I have never smoked fish. Cuban cigars, yes; fish no.
 
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