Fiish-y Stew, Just 4 You

I noted, in a posting on Facebook, that I had made a fish stew, a bit of an "appetizer", on Thanksgiving Day. Perhaps it was more of a Turkey Alternative, as I knew of the inevitable leftover bird dishes that awaited us.

The stew was good, good according to more than just me. And, I had a few requests for the recipe, a result of the Facebook post. And, since I had promised, in the beginning, to regularly post recipes on this blog, here goes.

As with almost everything I cook:
"First, You Take an Onion".
In ths case, you'll need a couple medium to large ones. I like sweet yellow onions, Vidalias when I can get them. But, pick whatver kind floats your boat.
Do I need to tell you to peel it? I hope not.
Slice the onions  into quarter-inch thick "wheels". Do not separate, or split up, the circles as you would if you were making onion rings. You want the onions to look like thick slices of salami that would go onto a sandwich.
Next, wash, then slice medium to large red potatoes the same way you did the onions. Do not peel the taters....the skin is good and it's good for you. Just wash them well.
With skinless filets of fish, you should "chunk" them into half-inch wide pieces. What kind of fish? You can use a variety. I like speckle trout, stripers, red fish (aka puppy drum, red drum, reds). If you catch them, so much the better. If you have to resort to the fish market, either a "real" one, or the ones at your local supermarket, take a look at the eyes of the fish before opening the wallet. If they're glassy, move on. If the fish has a strong fish-y odor, move on. If you push the flesh with your thumb and it has no "life" to it, move on. You MUST start with a good quality fish.
Like I stated, I like my fish skinless. Makes the stew less greasy. If you don't know how to skin one, have the fish market do it. I'll post an article, soon, on the art of skinning fish.
Ok, back to the stew.
I use an 8-qt stock pot. Seems to be enough room for most of my stews. I do have a 16 quart pot in case the stew, soup or chili is going to be the main course and it's for a big group, but that's usually a bit of overkill.
Go ahead and fry some bacon. Yes, I know. "Bacon"? Good for seasoning and stuff. And, as long as you don't eat it every day...like my late 92 year old grandmother did...you should live a long and healthy life.
Fry it until it's crispy. When it cools, crumble it up.
Now comes the "layering" process.

• Place a layer of tater wheels on the bottom, followed by a layer of onion wheels, followed by a layer of fish chunks.
• Salt and pepper to your liking.
• Repeat until you're about three inches from the top of the pot.
• Add two cans of chicken stock.
• Add enough water to just cover the ingredients.

You now have a choice. If you like your dishes "seasoned" (that usually means "spicy"), you can add finely diced peppers of your choice. I like a mixture of sweet banana and jalapeno peppers. Remove the seeds from both, and remove the white "veins". You'll retain some "heat", and lots of flavor. You can sprinkle this on top of the last couple layers. Too much, and you'll overpower the stew.

• NEVER, EVER even THINK of stirring the ingredients during the cooking process!      Just Don't!

On a stove, start out at medium-high. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to allow for a slow simmer. It's a good time to cover the pot, but don't just cover it and walk away. If it starts to boil, you'll likely have a stove that's gonna be a mess to clean up. So, watch the pot, and if it starts to boil up, uncover it, then reduce the heat a bit.

Depending on the amount of stew, your pot, and the stove you're using, cooking times will vary from a half hour to an hour, or so. Using a fork, check a potato after 30 minutes. Once that potato is fork tender, your stew is (almost) good to go. At least, this phase is ready.

You still have another option. If you like shrimp or crab meat (real crab meat, not that stuff they call imitation crab), you can add some to your stew. Remember, shrimp doesn't need much cooking. Drop a handful in, and let them turn pink. Don't let them hang out in the hot bath too long or you'll be chewing on leather. Same goes for crab meat. I like fresh claw meat, but don't put in too much. It's not needed. 

But. You're not ready to serve it, yet.

Here's the kicker. Once everyone is assembled, bowl-in-hand, start cracking and dropping in eggs. What!?! Yep, drop in a half dozen, or so. They will poach in the hot concoction. Give them 2-3 minutes of cooking, then...for the first time, you should stir, gently, the stew. With a stout ladle, dip from the bottom of the pot, making sure to get a good mixture of all of the incredients. Gently ladle it around to mix it up, making sure to leave the floating eggs intact on the surface.

That done, dip out a bowl of stew, then add a poached egg to the top of the bowl. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

Have salt, pepper, and hot sauce available for those who want it.

Great any time, but really good when there's a nip in the air.


This just in...
...a good friend, and my "other" boss, Bill Tarplee (Tideline Marine in Jacksonville NC) sent this e-mail detailing what sounds like another good stew recipe. And, you can bet I'll give it a whirl, as soon as he and I go find some fish:

Raeford,
   As I said before the fish stew was great. Another similar but slightly defferent result comes from the way an old friend taught me -- incidently, his family lived on the east side of Pamlico sound north of Adams Creek  and survived a Hurricane in the 30's on the roof of their house, followed by disassembling what remained, transporting by skiff to Oriental, and rebuilding.
  In a large skillet fry some bacon until crisp - pull out the bacon and save. Add chunks of "ice" (irish) potatoes to the hot bacon grease and brown - don't try to cook- just brown the outsides. Remove potatoes to a stew pot with water to cover. Add salt and black pepper to taste. bring to light boil, then turn down the heat.  Back to the skillet - if you have enoug grease proceed, if not fry some more bacon. Add slices of onion to hot grease and brown. Removeand save. if you have enough grease continue, if not fry more bacon. In the hot grease brown chunks of fish - drum,  red or black or mullet are preferred because they are a little coarser textured than trout or flounder but you can use whatever is available.  When fish are done ( the potatoes should be done by now - check them and cook longer if necessary). Dump fish and remaining grease in to the potatoe pot. Dump in the browned onions. Break up the crispy bacon and add to the mixture. Stir and simmer until onions are fully done.
  All this takes quite a while and I don't know if it is the beer that often accompanies the preparation or the good friends that are usually participating in the event but it has always come out great!  The only complaints I have ever had dealt with the amount of pepper!
BT