Off the Hook - Pt. II

With the first season of Off the Hook officially over, I thought I would share what I found to be my favorite haddock preparation after weeks of trying different recipes.  What follows is deceptively simple, fast and fiendishly good.

Sherwood St. Haddock

Ultra-fresh haddock
Butter (unsalted)
More butter
Capers
Kosher salt & pepper (throw that table salt out already!)
White flour

Wash & dry the haddock fillets.  Season both sides with salt, and let stand for about 5 mins or so to let the salt penetrate into the flesh.  Over medium heat, melt a couple tablespoons of the butter until it foams.  Dredge the fillets in the flour, shaking off the excess, and place in the pan.  Cook for a couple of minutes, until the bottom is starting to brown.  Flip and cook the other side for a couple of minutes.  Give the fish your undivided attention because it is really, really easy to overcook the fish.  Keep checking the inside by gently separating the flesh, the moment it's cooked through take it out.  Remove the fish and cover while you prepare the sauce.  Add a couple more tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt, scraping up all of the nice brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Continually stir while you let the butter cook until it just starts to brown (this won't take long).  Add a tablespoon of capers to the pan, along with another tablespoon of the caper brine.  Wisk it in to combine and then serve the fish, topping the fillets with the sauce (this sauce, in case you were wondering, is buerre noisette, or brown butter).

Serve with your favorite vegetables on the side (I chose braised local cucumber in the picture).

You couldn't prepare a box of kraft dinner in this amount of time.

Off The Hook!

We are half-share shareholders in the inaugural season of "Off The Hook", Atlantic Canada's first community supported fishery (CSF).  Off The Hook is a cooperative that connects it's shareholders directly with several families of fisherman in Digby, Nova Scotia.  Their catch is sustainably caught hook and line groundfish, and every week we receive our "share", usually about six pounds of haddock.  The quality of the fish is incredible - the boats typically come in on a Wednesday evening or Thursday morning and we pick up the fish Thursday afternoon in downtown Halifax.  Bracingly fresh, this is the best quality haddock a retail customer can get their hands on. 

Our weekly share.

Being whole forces you to learn how to fillet a fish.  How is it we've never done this before?

And being whole also means you get the heads and bones for making stock.  Try as you may you can't find fish heads at any of the grocers or fishmongers in the HRM (which makes me wonder if they really are filleting any of that fish you see on ice in the display case?)

Nothing like having loads of homemade stock in the freezer.  Makes for an amazing fish chowder.

Having six pounds of fresh fish to deal with every week requires a little creativity.  I'm sure on week one of Off The Hook there were plenty of households around Halifax enjoying some beautifully and simply prepared haddock fillets, sauteed in butter with a little salt & pepper.  But by week three, you start looking for different and interesting ways to use your fish.  Some of the more adventurous preparations to date at our house:

Ceviche

We've made ceviche twice now, and each time it gets better.  Marinate the haddock (first seasoned with salt) in enough lime juice to cover it for a couple of hours, then use your imagination and what's on hand.  This one was prepared with valley peaches, mango and jalapeno, cherry tomatoes and cilantro from the garden.

Black and White Sesame-Crusted Tuna Haddock with Miso Broth and Noodles

My interpretation of Chef Michael Howell's (Tempest) Black and White Sesame-Crusted Tuna with Miso Broth and Noodles, substituting haddock and pine mushroom as the Asian corner store was out of enoki.  This turned out really, really nicely.  (Recipe is from Michael Howell's cookbook "atlantic seafood", buy it now!  It's fantastic!)

Tom Yum

Several batches of Tom Yum soup have been prepared using the haddock stock and whatever flesh we can pick off the bones after making the stock.  Absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy.  Make sure you find an authentic recipe and don't omit the kaffir lime leaves (you can get them at Pete's Frootique).

Salt & Vinegar Crusted Haddock

Haddock in a crust of salt and vinegar potato chips, as recommended by a co-worker and fellow foodie.  Not as much of that tasty salt and vinegar flavour made it through to the finished dish as I would have liked, but it was still interesting and quite good.

There you have it.  In supporting Off The Hook:

• you're supporting local fisherman who believe in sustainable fishing practices
• the fisherman receive a much better price for their catch as it's not being sold to a middle man for processing 
• you're paying about the same as what you'd pay for haddock fillets at the grocery store
• you're eating fish so fresh you'd have to catch it yourself to be any fresher

The second season of Off The Hook starts Sept 23.

www.offthehookcsf.ca