General Chat

Do you think it makes a difference what colour the salmon was? I think ours was not very red being caught inland up the River Clwyd. And red is very expensive. But does it taste better? :-S

An awful lot of trout and salmon now seem to be farm-reared here in UK now.

You're quite right with that SueMaid. Best ever.

Julia in Derbyshire

I've seen salmon presented like that, Julia. I think once you've had fresh salmon you don't want it any other way.

When I was doing Silver Service Waitressing over 40 years ago, a poached salmon was always the centre piece of the wedding breakfast table.
After it had been poached and cooled, it was skinned. Then is was covered with wafer thin slices of cucumber, to represent fish scales.

Julia in Derbyshire

PS, I love pached salmon, and also poached trout.

SueMaid Yumm!!! The idea of eating fresh salmon in open air in Hobart would be on my "10 things to do before I die" wish list.

We had our wedding reception near Denbigh in N Wales over 33 years ago. My father in law went missing from the early hours of that Saturday. Turned out he was fishing (probably poaching ;-)) for a salmon in the Clwyd river upstream of St Asaph.

Presented hotel with huge salmon which they dressed and served. Food was very good, but everybody only remembered the salmon :-D

I have a son who lives in Hobart - lots of lovely fresh salmon there. One time when we were visiting his partner bought a whole salmon and baked it in foil on the barbeque. Very simply with lemon. It was one of the best meals I've eaten. We just served ourselves by breaking off pieces of salmon which we ate with a very simple salad. Heaven :-)

When I was at Uni in Bangor, one of lads on my floor used to dive in the Menai Straits every weekend and come back with a live lobster. Had this huge pan of boiling water and just dropped it in.

Loads of squealing, which I am told was the air expelled from shell (lobster died instantly, I was told?????). Then he sat with a big lump of bread and ate it. Not a thought for any of us having a taste :-( :-( But smell was quite nice as rest of us ate our toast covered with Welsh farmhouse butter and baked beans (a million housewives every day, pick up a tin of beans and say - beans Meanz Crosse and Blackwell). And listened to Beach Boys "Good Vibrations" and Percy Sledge "Try a Little Tenderness" - simple pleasures of youth.

Yes it is lovely - you can even watch the boats come in if you want to be up early enough to do so. The market opens at 8 am. Nothing nicer than buying fresh prawns at 8.30 am and eating them for lunch a few hours later.

SueMaid Drool.... 20 years ago, a lot of our fish was caught on vessels that were out at sea for months. Fish was filleted and frozen at sea and remained in freezers (apart from a few hours in Grimsby or elsewhere in ambient temperature lying around in boxes on quay waiting for 7am auction.). It could be over 12 months from death to plate.

Fresh taste didn't seem to be there, however it was cooked. Don't know if most fish is still "frozen at sea" today.

But how lovely to be able to choose your fresh fish from a harbour market like that :-) :-) Drool, drool.

As I live on the coast I buy fish and seafood from our harbour market. I wouldn't consider buying fish from our local supermarket as much of what is there is imported and frozen.

We have a local butcher and I always buy meat from them. It's a little more expensive but it's good quality.

Scozz Ask your local butcher for "some crocodile, and make it snappy". He should fall over with amusement. Make sure he doesn't put his finger on the scales.

A butcher in a company I worked for had 6 fingers on each hand, like Anne Boleyn. Wonder if one day a customer found a couple of her sausages a bit gristly. :-0

Lot of these supermarket groups started as farm cooperatives or linked in with the farming community.

Asda was Associated Dairies and was certainly a farm cooperative when I started in retail in 1964. And Tesco really got going during WW2 for 2 reasons
1. They got their Jewish customers in these North London suburbs to hand in their bacon coupons. And you could therefore always get bacon in Tesco in war. 2. They bought farms in Essex (in Goldhanger area, from memory) and had fresh produce when other small chains struggled for supply.

It would be great to see more fresh meat at affordable prices again. And more animals back in countryside.

We live in a very small town, but we have a butcher.

We don't get meat from him all the time (the supermarket is cheaper), but if we're having guests we go to the butcher. He also has "different" meat....... crocodile, buffalo etc.

I do know what to ask for. My Mum was a very fussy shopper, I learned from her!

I think the problem may be cost,we have a nice butchers in our village but hes very expensive compared to the supermarkets,and while i agree that the meats better,not everyone can afford to feed a family from a butcher.
JOY
sent me a load off meat over to Angelsey will you,its so cheap at your end :-D

I've just looked my local farm shop up on the net.
I'm thinking stocking up for Christmas, in the next 2/3 weeks. Lordy,lordy, I'll need a bank loan LOLOL

Julia in Derbyshire

We are lucky to have an extremely good family (3 generations) local butcher,who sells best Northumbrian meat,you might pay more but worth it.

We also have Morrison's supermarket, where the butcher will prepare any cut of meat for you and give any advice should you ask.

I sound like the advert for....is it...Lidl? :-D
edit:...just looked good old Google ...Aldi:-)

Mau

That may be Julila, I didn't think about people being embarrassed.
I suppose I'm recalling my own experiences of standing in queues at butchers (since childhood) when I've overheard customers asking for, and being given, advice and customers asking/taking advice from each other before they get to be served by the butcher, so I've always accepted it as a normal thing to do......a bit like me taking my car to the garage mechanic - I don't know what I want or need so take his advice no matter who is within earshot. If I can't afford it I have to tell him I'll 'think about it' or some such thing. :-)

Karen

Yes K, but some people may be embarrassed for many reasons, to have to ask the butcher for advice.

Julia in Derbyshire

Interesting. But I'm not sure I agree with the theory that the reason people don't go to a butcher is because they don't know what to ask for.

A proper butcher knows all the cuts of meat, what dishes they can be used for, and is happy to advise, ie if you wanted to cook a stew all you have to do is ask the butcher what meat you need and he'll tell you.
Or are there no PROPER butchers any more? :-S

Karen

:-D Island

'Real' butchers may sell superior meat, however with pre-packed supermarket meat you know how much it is going to cost before deciding to purchase it.

Although we have a farm butchers (genuinely breed and arrange slaughter of their own livestock) we only visit it towards Christmas for that 'special' joint.