Yorkieabroad

Nope, reckon you got it covered there!

Pulaski

I might have. It depends which side of the pond I am on.

As Lynyrd Skynyrd said "American by naturalization, Southern by the grace of God." Or something like that.

Yorkieabroad

That's getting horribly close to the old "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" bumper stickers...

Steerpike

Speaking of Fish ... I just got my blood test results tonight from my annual physical. My Cholesterol is the lowest it's been in 10 years - 191, down from 236 in 2005, and my 'ratio' is now at 3.4, which is considered very good. My LDL ('bad') cholesterol is also at its lowest, 119 down from 161 in 2005.

Back in 2005, my doctor told me I'd have to go on medications if I didn't get it down, so since then I've been working on diet and lifestyle changes ... seems to be working! The great thing is, I feel better and enjoy what I eat now more than in 2005.

Beaverstate

You and I are the only ones to list halibut. It must be a west coast thing, I wonder if fresh halibut is even available beyond the pacific coast from central California to Alaska? A magnificent fish.

Bob

We can get it here...but it's usually frozen and/or horridly expensive.

Yorkieabroad

I've never really been into halibut - I think that is what Mam used to get from the Fish Van every Tuesday, then she would grill it until every last ounce of moisture had been banished and serve it with peas (not mushy) and mash. She was a great cook in general, but something went seriously haywire when she got near fish.....

BubbleChog

This thread, and possibly the autumnal weather (ha I can't even type that without laughing) has given me a hankering for smoked haddock poached in milk.

Lx

Pulaski

Pulaski

The first time I had halibut was at a Spanish-style brasseria in Gloucester where the "menu" was a chilled display counter with steak, lamb, pork, and a variety of seafood. You never knew what was going to be in display counter, and one day a sizeable part of the space was taken up with a whole halibut, with a big piece already cut out- it was almost round, and about 3ft across. It was cooked perfectly, baked in foil IIRC, and perhaps the best fish meal I have ever had, it was moist, tender and just wonderful.

My mother tried to replicate the experience at home a few weeks later with a halibut steak she bought, and it was both overcooked and simultaneously "watery", and all-round unpleasant to eat.

fsm

With a couple of poached eggs on top. Alas my local source only has the kippers in stock, no smoked haddock.

sir_eccles

Kedgeree

Yorkieabroad

Today's luch,North Yorkshire style......

Steerpike

While the quality of all 'food types' (fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, etc) varies, I believe that fish quality varies the most, and the effect is the most noticeable. With meat, at least there's a standard rating system - select, choice, prime - that lets you know at least 'something' about the product. A standard 'select' steak from Safeway is going to be way, way inferior to a prime steak from a high end source (and less than half the price), for example.

So when it comes to fish, I will only buy it from higher-end sources (Whole Foods, etc), even though I know they are rip-offs in terms of pricing. The halibut I posted a picture of above, for example, was $27/lb - that's an outrageous price (I would normally have just picked an alternate type of fish but this was for a special request). I've tried picking up a piece of salmon 'on sale' at Safeway, for example, and it was utterly disgusting. And my success with any frozen fish has been less than stellar.

I think that for those getting their feet wet with fish, it's worth at least starting with expensive sources ... at least until you have established a 'baseline' for what good fish should taste like.

I would bet that Costco fish is very good, and they have a lot of selections these days, but I just can't deal with the quantities. While commercial freezing may treat fish well, home freezing is another story - results in 'wet' fish for me.

Michael

I grew up eating UDSA Select (called USDA Good prior to 1987) steaks so I like the taste and texture much more than USDA Prime or Choice. USDA Select isn't as tender due to the lack of marbling but that lack of tenderness is what I like about USDA Select steaks (I don't like steaks that come apart because of the marbling and reminds me more of a pot roast than a streak).

For the longest time I couldn't figure out how to cook a New York steak properly. I like my steaks medium but when I cooked them on a BBQ grill, they were seldom sealed properly, often dry, and were either overcooked, undercooked, or unevenly cooked.

Then one day I decided to pan fry a New York steak and it cooked perfectly and since then I have never incorrectly cooked a New York steak.

For the longest time I thought that was odd since everybody talks about cooking steaks on a BBQ but then I noticed that on many food shows, they often pan fry their steaks even though they have a grill on the cooktop.