Our eating habits aboard Aldora revolve around seasonal produce and fishing and hunting seasons, and lucky for us rockfish season is upon us.
“Rockfish” is a genus of fish in the Sebastidae family. The Sebastidae family have over 70 different species of fish within it that make their home in both the intertidal waters and the very deep ocean between Northern Baja and the Gulf of Alaska. Of course there are other countries that rockfish also inhabit but absolutely not in the quantity and variety that our patch of the Pacific offers. Some rockfish, particularly in the colder water of Alaska, can become very large and extremely old. In 2013 a Seattle fisherman caught a 40lb rockfish estimated to be 200 years old!
Now we’re not out there looking for the geriatrics, but we are looking for some tasty species that are abundant in the clean deep water of the offshore Channel Islands. Some favourites of ours are Vermillion, China, Olive, and Gopher rockfish. The texture lends itself perfectly for both ceviche in which it is firm enough and for frying (in tallow of course) in which it is light and flaky enough.
Trevor and I love a sausage almost as much as we love a challenge and we’ve been talking about fish sausages for a while now. Trevor finally caught enough rockfish last week that we felt comfortable experimenting without the fear of ruining all of our catch and looking at empty freezers, which is dire concept to us. We did a fair amount of research but found that many recipes contained added starch or flour, and/or added vegetable oils, both of which we were keen to keep out of the links.
We settled on a Hank Shaw fish sausage recipe as a guide and took it from there. The general rule is a 1:1 ratio of lean fish like rockfish to fatty fish or shellfish like salmon or scallops. We didn’t have any salmon but had 3 frozen lobster tails from the winter which we thought would do the job nicely. We supplemented the fatty part of the ratio with some wild caught frozen shrimp, which feels a lot like cheating but needs must. As far as seasonings went we settled with a subtle sweet Italian profile, thinking that the fennel would complement the fish and chili would make them peppy.
We used lamb casings instead of hog, which we usually use for meat sausages but we find the casings so tough. The lamb casings are slimmer, more like breakfast sausage size but they are ever-so-tender and simply melt in your mouth. I don’t think we’ll look back!
The end result is an exquisite and light sausage, bold enough to be a hotdog and tasty enough to stand alone with a simple summer salad. If you really had no idea what you were talking about and only ate at Wendy’s you could say these taste like chicken… but I’m here for the taste of the briny ocean that is most certainly not lost in these. It’s there, and its beautiful.
Makes 40 5” sausages.
** All fish needs to be thoroughly chilled before grinding, and the fatty fish/shrimp must be frozen
You will need:
A food processor or meat grinder
A sausage press/maker
30ft of lamb casings (we used these)
1500g of fresh, skinned, descaled and deboned rockfish fillets
1500g of frozen fatty fish or shellfish (we used lobster tail and wild-caught shrimp)
Crushed ice
45g of salt
12g of pepper
12g fennel seed
6g chili flakes
6g dried onion powder
6g dried garlic powder
Zest of a lemon
Fresh chives or other soft herbs
Method:
Begin by soaking the casings as per the instructions on the bag. Ours needed to be rinsed under warm water then soaked for at least 45 minutes in a bowl of water.
In a food processor or meat grinder grind the seafood (both lean and fatty) into a smooth and fluffy paste. You may need to do this in batches for which I recommend making sure there are both lean and frozen fatty seafood in each batch. The frozen seafood is what keeps the fish mix chilled. If for any reason your mixture is not feeling cold, you can add in a few tablespoons of crushed ice or ice water to facilitate the process.
Use your hands to knead in all of the seasonings, including any finely chopped soft herbs that you fancy. We used chives. If you aren’t too squeamish you can put a little raw mixture on your tongue to check for seasoning and season to taste if it needs it. Alternatively you can fry up a small patty. Just be sure to keep the bulk of the fish mixture refrigerated while you do so.
Load your sausage press with the fish mixture and load the casings. Make the sausages. This is a two person job in my opinion; someone controlling the press and managing speed, and someone using wet hands to guide the fish into the casings. Don’t overfill the casings (just move faster for a lighter fill) as the lamb casings are delicate and may burst when they are twisted into links.
Allow the filled links to air dry in the fridge overnight before packing for the freezer. To cook simply bbq or cook gently in a skillet in olive oil until golden.
Tangy Apple Slaw
The perfect accompaniment to these rockfish sausages is this bright and light apple slaw. We filled sprouted wheat hotdog buns with the slaw and the sausage and were happy as clams.
For 4 hot dogs or 2 main meal salads
You will need:
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 a small cabbage
1 crisp apple (I love Pink Lady or Cosmic Crisp)
1 stick of celery
4 green onions
Handful of parsley
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp of salt
Method:
In a large bowl combine the yogurt, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir until throughly mixed together.
Cut the cabbage in half, save one half for another day and remove the core from the other half. Finely shred it and place into the bowl of dressing.
Cut the apple into thin matchsticks, finely slice the celery and green onions, and finely chop the fresh herbs. Combine with the cabbage and dressing and mix well using your hands. Serve with dogs in a bun or as a salad.