School of Fish

A Journey to the
Northern Atlantic Coast
Fishing Industry

Baked Haddock with Fresh Lemon Juice
Poached Lemon Sole Picatta
Pan Seared Hake with Herbed Butter
Broiled Acadian Redfish with Cilantro Lime Butter

 

Class begins at 6:00 am sharp in Boston. The rain is pouring down as we walk from our hotel parking lot to the Foley Fish Plant next door where things are already bustling. Fish is being sold, fish is being bought, fish is being processed. This is the start of a two day adventure taking us from boat to auction, auction to processing plant, processing plant to shipment. Myself and twelve other food professionals have been invited by one of the oldest most reputable fish companies in the country to view their process and to teach us about fish quality, preservation, management and sustainability.

Foley Fish boasts the highest fish standards in the country. It starts with the quality of fish bought at auction. It is extended through the extremely clean efficient (very chilly) processing plants. And then shipped to the restaurants and retail outlets in cold conducting metal containers they have been using for over a 100 years. There are no middle men, no time for the fish to be lying idle. They sell the fish, buy it in the morning, process it through the day and ship it at the end of the day.

Similar to my experience in Washington visiting the Double R Ranch, the experience of learning first hand where your food is coming from is so eye opening. We forget, as we gaze at the beautiful fish fillets in the display case, that a lot of people are involved that are very passionate about the quality of fish they are catching, processing and packaging. Their goal is to bring to the consumer the finest and freshest fish available.

A common question we get at the fish counter is “When did the fish arrive?” That is a very important question but the even more important question is “When was the fish caught?” And followed up by that, “How was the fish maintained between when it was caught and when you ate or purchased it?” Fishing vessels can be out at sea for one to eight days at a time. The fish is stored surrounded in ice in the hull of the ship. The cost of the fish varies depending on when it was caught. The last day or two of catches are obviously more expensive. So like many things, the price does directly relate to the quality when it comes to fish. Most wholesalers purchase fish at the dock, sell it after they purchase it and then use a distributor to get it to the restaurant or retailer. Foley’s buys only what it sold that morning and only buys the freshest catches. Then they ship it directly to their customers. They have four buyers at four auctions (Portland, Boston, New Bedford and the West Coast). They’re at the auctions by 4:30 am, with the day’s orders in hand.

In class we were taught how to visually grade the fish. How to tell how old the fish was, had it been injected, had it been properly stored. Given samples of various fish with various degrees of quality, we learned to use the five sensory test to evaluate the fish: Smell, Touch, Eye, Taste and Temperature.

The following morning we were boarding our van at 4:30 am headed to the Whaling City Fish Display Auction in New Bedford. We arrived at 5:30 am before the buyers arrived (except for the Foley Fish Buyer, he was there). From what we had learned, we were able to tell how old the fish was. Only one halibut had arrived that morning (they said it was a quiet day at the auction). I got my picture with that beautiful halibut. When I arrived home the next day, my halibut had just arrived in the store!

Now it’s up to me to maintain that fish for you. It arrives iced. We then inspect every fillet, re ice it and place it in coolers inside our walk in cooler. The display case is maintained at 32 degrees (just above freezing), keeping the fish at the optimal temperature for freshness. Now it’s your turn and you’re taking it home. To keep that perfect temperature going, place it in the back of refrigerator on ice. You can’t get any fresher than that!

I learned so much I could just go on and on. I’ll have to share more in another article. But, the one thing I did want to share with you was the wonderful varieties of wild caught fish available to us from the Atlantic Coast. Our accessibility to the east coast allows us to get wild caught fish within two days. The waters of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Banks and the Bay of Fundy are home to Haddock, Lemon Sole, Acadia Red Fish and Hake. The convergence of two distinct tidal flows bring an abundance of phytoplankton (fish food). The stocks are abundant and economical. Incorporating fish into you’re week day menu doesn’t have to break the bank. I wrote a recipe for each fish that is simple to do.