Search...
Home Subscribe
Pie
Home Subscribe
Recent topics Flagged topics Hot topics Best topics
Search...
Search within cooking Search permies
Advance search Google search
Register / Login
Better Wood Heat DIY Rocket Mass Heater DVD Free heat movie Building a Better World Book with earth bricks Free Rocket Mass Heater Plans IC.org
  • Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
GMC website IC.org Better wood heat kitty purple Shovel black and white permaculture bootcamp design with leaf
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Let's talk "white bait"

 
Judson Carroll
author & pollinator
Posts: 1203
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
414
I like...
food preservation cooking medical herbs writing homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Who eats it, and how do you cook it?

"White bait" was once a common dish in America and Europe... still seems to be in various regions of Asia... not sure beyond. It goes by various names, but whit bait was most common say pre-1960 in America. It is, essentially, bait fish... minnows or small fish. Traditionally, they were not even gutted, but the one modern cookbook that had a recipe (by Jacques Pepin) stated that un-gutted, they could be bitter. These were usually simply breaded and fried, but sometimes made into soups or stews. Apparently, white bait was considered a true delicacy at the rare restaurant that served them and kind of a staple around lakes and rivers. I wonder if our modern obsession of sport fishing for big, trophy fish caused them to fall out of favor?

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

 
John C Daley
pollinator
Posts: 5347
Location: Bendigo , Australia
477
I like...
plumbing earthworks bee building homestead greening the desert
posted 2 years ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
love wait bait, and just bread them and lightly fry.
The Greek community have a lot of it.

John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
Benefits of rainfall collection https://permies.com/t/88043/benefits-rainfall-collection
GOOD DEBT/ BAD DEBT https://permies.com/t/179218/mortgages-good-debt-bad-debt

 
Judson Carroll
author & pollinator
Posts: 1203
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
414
I like...
food preservation cooking medical herbs writing homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

John C Daley wrote: love wait bait, and just bread them and lightly fry.
The Greek community have a lot of it.



I have never eaten Greek white bait.  But, I know one thing for sure:  Greeks can freakin' COOK!   I have never had a bad meal in a Greek owned restaurant or home.

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

 
Olga Booker
pollinator
Posts: 653
Location: South West France
254
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Love them!  I just toss them in seasoned flour and shallow fry them.  Delicious!  Just talking about it makes my mouth water.  You can still find it served  sometimes in some UK restaurants, also in France but it is becoming quite rare.

Love is the only resource that grows the more you use it.
David Brower

 
Judson Carroll
author & pollinator
Posts: 1203
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
414
I like...
food preservation cooking medical herbs writing homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Olga Booker wrote:Love them!  I just toss them in seasoned flour and shallow fry them.  Delicious!  Just talking about it makes my mouth water.  You can still find it served  sometimes in some UK restaurants, also in France but it is becoming quite rare.



Very cool!  Any idea what species the fish are, or is it just sort of the catch of the day?

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

 
Olga Booker
pollinator
Posts: 653
Location: South West France
254
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Usually it is the catch of the day.

When I was 10 or 12 I used to go fishing in this little stream in the South of France and the water was teeming with life.  Every 5/10 minutes, we'd catch a small gudgeon, occasionally a young roach.  By the end of the afternoon, we had a bucketful.  Sadly, this was about 60 years ago, the streams nowadays are polluted and lifeless.
.

Love is the only resource that grows the more you use it.
David Brower

 
Judson Carroll
author & pollinator
Posts: 1203
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
414
I like...
food preservation cooking medical herbs writing homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Olga Booker wrote:Usually it is the catch of the day.

When I was 10 or 12 I used to go fishing in this little stream in the South of France and the water was teeming with life.  Every 5/10 minutes, we'd catch a small gudgeon, occasionally a young roach.  By the end of the afternoon, we had a bucketful.  Sadly, this was about 60 years ago, the streams nowadays are polluted and lifeless.
.



Very cool!  My family tradition is to use them for a bouillabaisse type of soup, only a bit more rustic.  Country folks int he American south didn't have saffron or fennel... even garlic (other than wild) until the 70s or 80s.  But, we used onions and celery, tomatoes, any herbs on hand... sometimes corn or okra and peppers, shrimp or crawfish with the shells, butter or pork fat.  It depends on what is in season.  I like the idea of frying them with some fries/frites and a mayo-based sauce  

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

 
Olga Booker
pollinator
Posts: 653
Location: South West France
254
posted 2 years ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Sounds delicious!  I suppose what you call crawfish is what we called crayfish.  That very same stream was also alive with them and we loved catching them - and eating them!

Love is the only resource that grows the more you use it.
David Brower

 
Douglas Alpenstock
master pollinator
Posts: 4991
Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b
1352
posted 2 years ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
How would you process minnows? Gut, head, and major fins? Or would you fry them "as found" and gnaw on them like a chicken wing?
 
Judson Carroll
author & pollinator
Posts: 1203
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains
414
I like...
food preservation cooking medical herbs writing homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:How would you process minnows? Gut, head, and major fins? Or would you fry them "as found" and gnaw on them like a chicken wing?



There is some divided opinion.  Some jsut fry them whole, others gut them with a small knife.  THe head is left  on

"Them that don't know him don't like him and them that do sometimes don't know how to take him, he ain't wrong he's just different and his pride won't let him do the things to make you think he's right" - Ed Bruce (via Waylon and WIllie)

 
Michael Cox
pollinator
Posts: 3845
Location: Kent, UK - Zone 8
704
I like...
books composting toilet bee rocket stoves wood heat homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:How would you process minnows? Gut, head, and major fins? Or would you fry them "as found" and gnaw on them like a chicken wing?



My experience of eating whitebait is that they are small. As in, pop a whole fish in your mouth in one go. A portion is 20 to 30 fish. There isn't really any gnawing to be done.

Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/

 
The overall mission is to change the world. When you've done that, then you can read this tiny ad:
A rocket mass heater heats your home with one tenth the wood of a conventional wood stove
http://woodheat.net
reply
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
Boost this thread!
Similar Threads
More...