How do you cook fish ?

[garya]

great work guys.. loving the new forum.

All the pictures are making me think about trying to trail a line and some bait to catch somthing next time I am out.

Any chance of some ideas on how to cook fish or recipes for wild camping would be great

Some stuff on simple cheap kit to get started from my sea kayak or Open boat, and what to do once I get a tug on the line would be nice too.

Gary A

[snapper]

To do what we do properly you want to be looking at a proper angling kayak set-up, ie a decent sit on top with accessories and kit plus a bunch of knowledge on general fishing. That said, if you just want to catch a few fish to eat while paddling around then a string of feathers on a handline dropped down with a decent weight or large dexter wedge will suffice for mackerel and pollack, perhaps bass and some other species while moving or by drifting and jigging them up and down. You want clear water and they are generally around in the warmer months. As an idea of what you can then do with them here's an extract from an overnight we did in north norfolk in August:

I figure there may be some attraction coming from that pot buoy over there and decide to have a last go near it before heading in. It’s flat calm now, oily, inky. Wonderful. I get close and it’s 6 on a string! I pass again, another 5, then again ;D I’m happy. 1 more on the way in and I’m home and dry with dinner, 19 mackerel to my credit!



It’s dark when I land and so we head up the top of the shingle bank by the car park to get on. First task is to get these mackerel ready for the kitchen – sabattier knife in hand the heads, tails and guts go flying (ending up sleepin’ wiv da fishies) while the mackerel go into a catch bag and get a thorough rinsing in the sea. Then it’s back up to get the fire going.

We had some smashed up pallet wood in the warehouse and I’d loaded it into my van to use on my barbecue a few days before. This would be ideal and with a few more bits from my garden and some more that Tony brought we had a very good fire available. A pit was dug and thick pieces went around the perimeter that would allow grill trays to stand on for cooking and then I set to work..
First up was the starter. Sashimi. I opted for shimi saba – this is mackerel cured in mirin and rice vinegar. I began by filleting 3 plump mackies and marinaded them before thinly slicing bone-free slivers which were set aside.



Next came the nori seaweed strips which were laid out on a plank of wood. The shimi saba strips were laid on these, topped with pickled ginger and finished with a smear of wasabi.



A dip of Japanese soy finished this and we tucked in. First time for Si and Tony…



Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I was smoking some fillets for a smoked mackerel pate. This consists of mashed hot-smoked mackerel, salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and mascarpone. Delicious!



The smoker was duly placed atop the fire next to Si’s jacket spuds.



Then it was onto the main course. This was to be a curry inspired by Cambodian and Vietnamese cuisine but was to be of my own ‘design’. So more fillets were prepared then halved for the curry.

Two onions were halved and sliced. A good piece of root ginger was chopped. Half a bulb of Chinese garlic was chopped then crushed by Paul who did the same with the two lemongrass I diced.



3 chillies from Si’s garden were duly sliced and this was set aside while, devoid of my can opener (ok, I couldn’t be arsed to go to the van!) I hacked my way into the tin of coconut milk with my rescue / bait knife…



The first load of ingredients went into Si’s wok, lined with olive oil, to brown.



The kitchen was a hive of activity…



It would be with my idea of campfire food on an overnighter ;D



So, the pan’s contents were browning nicely, time to throw in the coconut milk with a load of palm sugar, nam pla (fish sauce), kaffir lime, shrimp paste, squeezed lime, concentrated tamarind, salt and pepper. Then to let it simmer.



Paul took over stirring while we set about the gravy.



Gotta have gravy.

Then it was time for the mackerel pieces. They don’t need as much cooking as the rest; fish is easy to overcook.



In it went for a few minutes and then, with a handful of chopped coriander and some crushed peanuts it was ready to serve.

It looked like flatfish, so well did it blend in!



It may look like puke but it was anything but. Paul doesn’t eat fish. I persuaded him to try a tiny morsel and eventually he did. I asked him what he thought:

“Fucking fantastic!”

He had a serving as well ;D



It went down a treat and we didn’t even have space left for the smoked mackerel pate – lucky really as I gave it to my youngest daughter when I got home as she expressly demanded some!

If you really get into it then get some good books - two I recommend are Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey and Rick Stein's Seafood though there are many others of course (these two are my staples though).

Good luck - or tight lines as we say!

[scottdog007]

great work guys.. loving the new forum.

All the pictures are making me think about trying to trail a line and some bait to catch somthing next time I am out.

Any chance of some ideas on how to cook fish or recipes for wild camping would be great .....................

Gary A

I hope your not thinking of eating salmon!!!