RCJoe
Senior Cook
Except for my mom's father almost all of mine were. But grandad was our gardener, and the brewer of our wine, beer, and vinegars.
Love burbot/eel-pout.My maternal grandma, my aunt. Oh my gosh, could they cook. I like to think I got a smidgen of their abilities. My cousin's daughter sent me a message Friday--her kids caught a burbot (eel pout) up at LOW. The cousin who cooks eel pout is in Florida. She asked me if I knew how to cook it. "You took the loins" "Yup." "Okay...grandma used to poach it in butter and milk." "Okay."But I have heard of people poaching it in Mtn Dew." Her Dad doesn't drink coffee--he has always drank Mtn Dew. I am waiting to hear back from her how she cooked it and what she thought of it (besides that is was really slimy when they caught it and her hubby cleaned it).
Until this year, there was an eelpout festival in Walker, MN. It is not uncommon for ice fishermen to leave eelpout on the ice if they catch them. My cousin poaches it and I have bugging him to catch one for me up at LOW. Sigh. I remember the one time we caught one in the summer...it was so slippery! My grandpa took out the hook and threw it back. I was 4 or 5. He died when I was 7.Love burbot/eel-pout.
I too poach it, but in salted water.It's also very good when cubed, and sauteed in butter, with a bit of garlic. Burbot is the only freshwater member of the cod family, and has a mild flavor, coupled with firm, white flesh. Assuch, it can also be cut in little rectangles, breaded, and made into fish sticks, or into scuare patties for fish sandwiches.
In winter, they are often caught in the Great Lakes, especially Lake Surperior, and Lake Huron, in fairly shallow water, at night. In the summer months, you have to fish very deep to catch them, and I'm talking a hundred foot deep. They like to hang out where lake trout hang out, where the water is cold and dark.
Ok, thats enough of me digressing on burbot.
Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Have I shared the one (and only) time my Mom made lutefisk for Christmas Eve? And the turkey stuffing with bread crumbs? Or the lefse that was like shoe leather?CG, do tell about the "fruit flies in the soup" incident.
My Mom was actually a good cook--the problem was she had to temper all she cooked to my father's tastes. His mother was a terrible cook--no seasoning, everything cooked to death (even though it was already dead). She grew up in a family that had a cook, none of the three girls learned to cook. One married well and she and her husband ate out every night, the other remained single and made things like toast and chicken a la king for supper. I remember my Mom opening the fridge when she came home from work and saying, "oh gad, what day is it? What am I supposed to make for supper?" I get it now that I have been cooking to my father's taste (lack thereof) for almost 4 years. He wants the same thing rotated every 7 - 10 days, no surprises, no changes to "how Mom always made it." When he would be out-of-town (rarely) or gone for the day, or Mom and I were at The Lake, we ate the food we wanted to eat--she gobbled it down. She particularly liked when I made Indian or Middle Eastern dishes.My maternal grandma, my aunt. Oh my gosh, could they cook. I like to think I got a smidgen of their abilities. My cousin's daughter sent me a message Friday--her kids caught a burbot (eel pout) up at LOW. The cousin who cooks eel pout is in Florida. She asked me if I knew how to cook it. "You took the loins" "Yup." "Okay...grandma used to poach it in butter and milk." "Okay."But I have heard of people poaching it in Mtn Dew." Her Dad doesn't drink coffee--he has always drank Mtn Dew. I am waiting to hear back from her how she cooked it and what she thought of it (besides that is was really slimy when they caught it and her hubby cleaned it).