[Sca-cooks] Fish at feasts

[Jane Massey]

I live in an area that has a big seafood industry, so it is surprising that we don't often serve the stuff. People on whole generally try to steer away from seafood. Seafood is one of those things that if not handled properly, can make people sick (namely shrimp).  I love seafood but I have gotten food poisoning twice from eating it.  I also don't cook it at home because my husband is deathly allergic to shellfish because of the iodine. I love the stuff and could eat it everyday. 

As for serving seafood at feasts, I have had luck with serving both salmon and perch in the past. Hot smoked salmon makes a great appetizer dish and people tend to like it better than whole baked fish. I would steer clear away from bony fishes, though grilling them tends to make the meat fall off the bone easier. 

If you want to take some of the "fishy" taste out of your fish. Soak your fillets for 2 to 5 hours in milk and tabasco. It helps tremendously. I've only done this with whitefish because that's what I tend to get.

There is also a recipe in John Murrell's, A Booke of Cookerie (A Little OOP), for Stewed Flounder. I've done the recipe twice for feasts and it always gets eaten up.

1 1/4 lbs of medium Flounder Fillets (Perch and Sole and good too!)
4 Tablespoons of Butter
1 Cup of very thin sliced onions (I like the Red ones or Vidalia)
1 cup of White Wine Vinegar
1 cup of minced Parsley
salt to taste
1 tsp of mace
1/2 tsp Crushed Rosemary


You can either boil it in a pot. But for feast, we use disposable baking pans. Layer the fish and add all ingredients, cover tightly with foil. This is easy way to poach a large amount of fish at one time. It takes about 30-40 minutes to bake at 400 degrees.

If you are looking for other seafood type dishes that might go over well. I know that a member of our cook's guild has found a period recipe for crawfish. Basically a cheese and crawfish pie. Very yummy. I have to get the recipe from him! He's serving it at a feast in the spring, can't wait.

Lady Lavender de Morten
Barony of Tir-y-Don, Atlantia