[Sca-cooks] Re: Whole Fish was Christianity

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnnae commented:
> >   oh, and the reproving looks
> > they have gotten from a baked fish with its head still on.
>
> The problem that I encountered with whole fish as a diner is that
> very few people know what to do when presented with a large whole
> bone in fish that is supposed to serve the entire table.
Yes, I can believe that. I'm not really sure that *I* know how to 
really handle a whole fish presented to just me, much less one 
(probably larger) that is presented for several people.
> The fish arrives and sits there on the platter because few people
> know how to debone and then serve pieces from a whole fish. Also
> few diners have the proper sort of knife at hand to handle a whole
> fish.
Yes. I guess with some warning I could come up with an appropriate 
knife. But I'd probably have to read the info about the feast menu 
before the night before the feast. It looks like my barony may be going 
to pre-paid feast reservations only, so I may have no choice but to 
become more prepared earlier. We've been selling feast tickets 
first-come, first served at the last few events, but this time there 
were a number of folks, and complaints, who got to the site and found 
all the feast tickets sold.
>
> I went up and down a row of tables one evening at a feast, deboning
> several platters worth, so that people could or would eat the fish
> course.
>
> My feeling was that it would have gone back to the kitchen untouched 
> had
> someone not done it.
Would they not touch it? Or would it simply have gotten butchered in 
the process?

I'm willing to do what little I can to solve this problem. If someone 
wants to write me an article for the Florilegium on cutting up a whole 
fish for multiple people, I'd be willing to consider it for the 
Florilegium. Since I can handle photographs, taking a series of photos 
or drawing some diagrams to show the process might help folks visualize 
the techniques.

The same offer goes for other carving or food preperation techniques. 
Removing the bones from the whole (or mostly whole) chicken or duck 
comes to mind. Or cuskynoles?

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****