Ingredients
Grenadier
Other Names: Granadero (Spanish); granatiere (Italian); grenadier de roche (French); grenadierfisch (German); isgalt (Norwegian); lagartixa da rocha (Portuguese); langhale (Danish); langstart (Swedish); onion-eye, roughhead grenadier, smooth-spined rat-tail (Canada); shiira (Japanese); siewiernyj (Russian); snarphali (Icelandic). Macrouridae.
General Description: Grenadier (Macrourus berlax, Coryphaenoides rupestris, and others) is a deep, cold-water relative of cod. Ash gray in color, these long, thin fish are taken by bottomand midwater trawlers in Canada, where there is a significant fishery. Processing has been a problem in the past because the scales have ruined knives—today, the
fish are filleted by mechanical means. Other species live in the cold waters of the Southern Hemisphere. Grenadiers feed mostly on shrimp, small fish, and squid, so they have richly flavored meat.
Locale and Season: Grenadiers are found off Labrador, the Georges Bank, and the Grand Banks, frequently as bycatch
of Greenland turbot. Their main season is May to December, but frozen fillets are available year-round.
Characteristics: Grenadiers have large heads, tapering bodies, whiplike tails, and sharp scales and are commonly over 2 feet long. Their tough, inedible skin protects snow-white, firm, and flavorful meat that is sweet and succulent.
The flesh can be as much as 1 inch thick at the head and paper thin at the tail. Yield is 20 percent.
How to Choose: Choose firm, white fillets with a clean, briny smell; choose frozen fillets with no signs of freezer burn.
Storage: Store grenadier fillets 1 day refrigerated; defrost frozen fillets overnight in the refrigerator.
Preparation:
Grenadier stands up well to sauces. Bake, sauté, fry,
or use in chowder.
Suggested Recipe: Creamy Grenadier Chowder (serves 6): In a large soup pot, slowly cook 1/4 pound diced salt pork until crisp. Remove the meat, reserving the fat in the pot.
Add 2 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 cups diced onions, 1/2 cup diced celery, and 1 tablespoon chopped thyme and/or marjoram and cook until the onions are soft. Add 2 pounds diced peeled potatoes and 1 1/2 quarts fish stock or clam broth and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked through. Add 3 pounds cut up grenadier fillets and simmer until the fish flakes,
about 8 minutes. Stir in 2 cups light or heavy cream and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, and serve.
Flavor Affinities: Bacon, bay leaf, butter, celery, chives, cream, lemon, marjoram, onion, parsley, potato, salt pork, savory, shallot, thyme, white wine.
from Quirk Books: www.quirkbooks.com
