XP: Recipes

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
In case anyone is interested, here is a dish that is seriously good, visually appealing, and easily prepared...

Air Fryer Black Cod with Black Bean Sauce

We used it with an air fryer for sablefish (which actually is black cod) and served the sablefish on a bed of wild rice and sugar snap peas. Excellent left over also.

And very wine friendly (in this case with Louis Michel Montee de Tonnerre Chablis 1er Cru '18).

. . . . . . Pete
 
Pete, I believe that black cod and sable are one in the same. Do you have different information?

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
I believe that black cod and sable are one in the same.
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You are correct. "Sablefish" is the official nomenclature, while "black cod" is considered a term in regional dialect... though it seems like a pretty big region to me.
 
Mark, good catch...

COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS “Black Cod”, “Alaska Cod”, or even “Butterfish”, the Sablefish is not actually a member of the cod family, nor is it the true butterfish. Due to its extremely high oil content for a white-fleshed fish, the Sablefish is renowned for its rich, buttery flavor.
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Original posting corrected.

. . . . . Pete
 
There are a whole lot of great Chinese fish recipes that involve cooking the fish in some manner perfectly interchangeable with any other way you like cooking fish, then slathering it in an umami-bomb sauce. This a version of one although most of them would have about 5-10x the amount of sauce. Where it says water, substitute stock of course, or Chinese rice wine or a combination of the two, for better results. You can also do a spicy one based on chili bean paste instead of black beans.
 
Hi Pete
Have you ever done the miso, sake, Mirin marinated black cod dish that Nobu made famous?
I love that dish so much that it’s my go to whenever we find a nice piece of black cod. It calls for a multiple day marinade but you can do it as just a repeat glaze as the fish cooks with great results if you don’t have time for the marinade.
 
originally posted by Marc D:
Hi Pete
Have you ever done the miso, sake, Mirin marinated black cod dish that Nobu made famous?
I love that dish so much that it’s my go to whenever we find a nice piece of black cod. It calls for a multiple day marinade but you can do it as just a repeat glaze as the fish cooks with great results if you don’t have time for the marinade.
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Marc, I absolutely adore that dish, though ironically I was introduced to it at Hawthorne Lane (a restaurant in SF) in 1999. My wife finds it too sweet, but to me the subtle sweetness offsets the richness of the fish. It’s also a great foil for dry-styled Chenin blanc, in my opinion at least.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Marc D:
Hi Pete
Have you ever done the miso, sake, Mirin marinated black cod dish that Nobu made famous?
I love that dish so much that it’s my go to whenever we find a nice piece of black cod. It calls for a multiple day marinade but you can do it as just a repeat glaze as the fish cooks with great results if you don’t have time for the marinade.
Click to expand...

Marc, I absolutely adore that dish, though ironically I was introduced to it at Hawthorne Lane (a restaurant in SF) in 1999. My wife finds it too sweet, but to me the subtle sweetness offsets the richness of the fish. It’s also a great foil for dry-styled Chenin blanc, in my opinion at least.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Hawthorne Lane was great! Also it was beautiful with all those Crown Point Press prints hanging everywhere,
 
originally posted by Marc D: Hi Pete Have you ever done the miso, sake, Mirin marinated black cod dish that Nobu made famous?
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Marc and Mark, I obviously need to search for that recipe.

We have done miso dishes but can't recall having done that one.

. . . . . . Pete
 
I've made the Miso-Marinated Black Cod a number of times, and it is always delicious. And I do the full 4 day version, though the 1-day quick version is damn good, too.

The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin. Every once-in-a-great-while, I can find decent swordfish, monkfish, or halibut. But because of the long supply lines, even in season the "Wild King Salmon" is awful and never worth the price.

Fortunately, a friend introduced me to a buying "club," more a group of like-minded pescatores, that buys directly from Alaskan fishermen. The fish is flash-frozen on the boat, then shipped to us; with the catch that we have to buy 125lb or more at one time. With so many people eager to own good fish, that limitation has never been a problem.

Their Wild King is very good, their halibut is delicious, but their Sablefish/Black Cod/Whatever you want to call it is outrageously good.
 
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:


The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin. Every once-in-a-great-while, I can find decent swordfish, monkfish, or halibut. But because of the long supply lines, even in season the "Wild King Salmon" is awful and never worth the price.
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One of the great joys of living on the west coast of FL is that I can walk to the best seafood market I’ve ever seen.
I miss the produce in CA but the seafood here is wonderful.
Best, Jim
 
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:

The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin. Every once-in-a-great-while, I can find decent swordfish, monkfish, or halibut. But because of the long supply lines, even in season the "Wild King Salmon" is awful and never worth the price.
Click to expand...

Interesting dynamic and I can definitely see that making the supermarket products depressing. The direct order process you mention sounds like the right type of enterprise for people who are devoted.

But is there also no business model for people to buy directly from the Gulf and bring it back to Austin? Might be a more limited selection, but surely there is good stuff to be had?

(The only way I survive in Chapel Hill NC is with the small businesses that bring fish/seafood directly from the coast. They're usually only at farmers markets/only open a few days a week. But the products are great. And the local supermarket fish/seafood suffers the same dynamic you mention)
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:

The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin. Every once-in-a-great-while, I can find decent swordfish, monkfish, or halibut. But because of the long supply lines, even in season the "Wild King Salmon" is awful and never worth the price.
Click to expand...

(The only way I survive in Chapel Hill NC is with the small businesses that bring fish/seafood directly from the coast. They're usually only at farmers' markets/only open a few days a week. But the products are great.
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True. And a big surprise for me, at least. Many different species (Sheepshead was a favorite) and great quality. There was a fish "CSA" some years back that was amazing, too.
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:

The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin. Every once-in-a-great-while, I can find decent swordfish, monkfish, or halibut. But because of the long supply lines, even in season the "Wild King Salmon" is awful and never worth the price.
Click to expand...

Interesting dynamic and I can definitely see that making the supermarket products depressing. The direct order process you mention sounds like the right type of enterprise for people who are devoted.

But is there also no business model for people to buy directly from the Gulf and bring it back to Austin? Might be a more limited selection, but surely there is good stuff to be had?

(The only way I survive in Chapel Hill NC is with the small businesses that bring fish/seafood directly from the coast. They're usually only at farmers markets/only open a few days a week. But the products are great. And the local supermarket fish/seafood suffers the same dynamic you mention)
Click to expand...

Rahassan,

When I first arrived in Austin more than 13 years ago, there was a guy who showed up every Saturday at the Downtown Farmers Market with great just-caught fish and shrimp straight from the gulf. But he stopped coming more than a decade ago and I haven't found a good replacement. There is a local fish market that claims they also get their fish right off the boat, but I haven't found that claim to hold up under careful tasting. A few of their offerings have been DNPIM, so I gave up buying from them.

As you might expect, I can source excellent beef, pork, chicken, duck and lamb, but with respect to fish, Austin is a desert.
 
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:
...there was a guy who showed up every Saturday at the Downtown Farmers Market with great just-caught fish and shrimp straight from the gulf. But he stopped coming more than a decade ago and I haven't found a good replacement...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm sure it's not an easy business model. I always feel grateful when I find people dedicated to providing great products in conditions that might not allow huge profits.
 
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:
The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin.
Click to expand...

Very surprised, since Austin is an economic powerhouse that other people keep flocking to in droves, you would think that the fish would follow.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
originally posted by Andrew Zachary:
The problem has been that Austin, TX is at the end of a very long supply chain for fish, with the good stuff going first to NY, Chicago, SF or LA, then to 2nd tier markets like Dallas and Houston, and then finally, after its been heavily picked over, to Austin.
Click to expand...

Very surprised, since Austin is an economic powerhouse that other people keep flocking to in droves, you would think that the fish would follow.
Click to expand...

You know that story about Dorothy Parker being challenged to make a sentence using the word "horticulture?"

You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think.

Lots of money in Austin, tons of it in fact. Not sure where the money goes, but it sure ain't spent on culture. Not much in the way of art or culture: no professional opera, symphony, ballet or modern dance company; no science museum and one small art museum; no zoo; one theater company that mostly does rehashes of Broadway plays; no art galleries. While there are exceptions, food culture focuses heavily on BBQ and tacos and not much else.

With the pandemic, there are now (finally!) a few good bakeries, we have (finally!) a major-league sports team (soccer); and with redistricting, we (finally!) have our own Congressional district [From 2012-2020, Austin's heavily Democratic voters were wonderfully gerrymandered among 5 Congressional districts, with 4 of them currently represented by Tea-Party Republicans.]
 
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